Speeches by Foord.

“Absolutely. Farming can be a very lonely business, and that does not need to be compounded with the stress of farm profitability, or the lack thereof. Looming over all this are the Government’s efforts to secure a comprehensive agreement with the European Union on exports. We encourage the Government to conclude an agr…”

“Does my hon. Friend recall that our hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) tabled a new clause on CIL guidance for the debate on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, but unfortunately the Government did not accept it? Does my hon. Friend agree that we ought to look at other legislative opportu…”

“If I were an uplands farmer represented by my hon. Friend, I would know that I had a fervent advocate in him. He is right to raise the issue of commoners; I spoke with one last Friday who said that the sustainable farming incentive IT system has yet to be adapted for payments to people who farm on common land. I had th…”

“Thinking about the No. 10 operation, later on that year do you recall any dismissiveness in No. 10 about the importance of vetting and, if so, how was that communicated to you?”

“Thank you, Sir Philip, for returning to the Foreign Affairs Committee to give evidence. The Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, was reflecting last September on the discussions that were had in Government the year before, about Lord Mandelson’s appointment. He reflected that you, Sir Philip, ha…”

“I just want to repeat back to you a couple of lines from Sir Olly’s testimony to this Committee last week. He said: “my strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”. Separately, he said: “Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s off…”

“My hon. Friend is right. From what I understand, there is a national shortage of planning officers, and many of them are stretched across a number of things; they might be looking at applications for big housing developments. Sometimes, farm improvements that are geared towards improving environmental practices are qui…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to that issue. Last year, farmers were devastated by the overnight closure of the sustainable farming incentive, which came with no notice. I welcome the Secretary of State’s pledge at the Oxford farming conference in January that there would be no further unexpecte…”

“But that pressure around the timeline may have been misinterpreted as pressure for an outcome. How would you reconcile the pressure that Sir Olly described last week with the Prime Minister having stated at Prime Minister’s questions last week that, “No pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case”?”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the plight of farmers facing crime. Some police forces do not consider this issue nearly enough. I am glad that in Devon and Cornwall we have a force that is quite alert to rural crime and has a particular focus on it, but I know that in other constituencies and o…”

“Last week, when Sir Olly gave evidence to the Committee, I said that Sam Coates had reported words around “just approve it”. I need to correct the record slightly, because Sam Coates did not actually report that. He did not file a report. He did discuss it with a member of this Committee. He didn’t actually put it in w…”

“Sir Olly, when replying last week, said that there was “an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”, and I wondered if you could comment on the atmosphere of pressure.”

“Thank you, Mr McSweeney, for coming before the Committee today. I would like to ask a few questions about communication between No. 10 and the Foreign Office. It was rumoured last autumn that the communication between you and Sir Olly Robbins was assertive and emphatic—sweary, even. You have denied that. How did you co…”

“Accepting the point that your communication was not directly with Sir Olly, we know from Sir Olly’s testimony that there was communication from No. 10 to the Foreign Office, even if it did not include you both individually. So who in No. 10 was applying this pressure that Sir Olly described?”

“I just want to repeat back to you a couple of lines from Sir Olly’s testimony to this Committee last week. He said: “my strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”. Separately, he said: “Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s off…”

“But that pressure around the timeline may have been misinterpreted as pressure for an outcome. How would you reconcile the pressure that Sir Olly described last week with the Prime Minister having stated at Prime Minister’s questions last week that, “No pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case”?”

“Sir Olly, when replying last week, said that there was “an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”, and I wondered if you could comment on the atmosphere of pressure.”

“Last week, when Sir Olly gave evidence to the Committee, I said that Sam Coates had reported words around “just approve it”. I need to correct the record slightly, because Sam Coates did not actually report that. He did not file a report. He did discuss it with a member of this Committee. He didn’t actually put it in w…”

“Thank you, Mr McSweeney, for coming before the Committee today. I would like to ask a few questions about communication between No. 10 and the Foreign Office. It was rumoured last autumn that the communication between you and Sir Olly Robbins was assertive and emphatic—sweary, even. You have denied that. How did you co…”

“Thank you, Sir Philip, for returning to the Foreign Affairs Committee to give evidence. The Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, was reflecting last September on the discussions that were had in Government the year before, about Lord Mandelson’s appointment. He reflected that you, Sir Philip, ha…”