Speeches by Gethins.

“The hon. Member is right. The UK as a second-tier power has left itself poorer, as the Minister, to his credit, has acknowledged, as did the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard); it is just a pity that the Liberal Democrats do not agree with me and the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) that we sho…”

“I thank the Minister for his statement—it was clearly preferable being here than at the reception that the Prime Minister is hosting for Scottish Labour MPs and MSPs later on. I have lost count of the number of times I have spent here dealing, in one way or another, with Westminster chaos. It often relates to Members o…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“rose—”

“I have great respect for the Minister, but he talks about the EU deal not covering human rights. We are all covered by the European convention on human rights, but that umbrella does not exist for countries such as India. That is important, especially because the Minister’s party and my party are committed to remaining…”

“That is Brexit’s fault.”

“I did say that the previous intervention would be my last, but I really ought to give way to the Minister.”

“I thank the Committee for its work on this issue. The hon. Member rightly raised the point about skills. Will she tell us about the impact of the energy profits levy on some of the businesses that upskill, not least in the area that I represent in the north-east of Scotland?”

“I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement, for her travel and for the prominence that she has given to this issue. May I thank her especially for her engagement with the victims of the conflict, not least the women and girls? I welcome the action on sanctions, but obviously state and non-state sanctions and sanct…”

“The hon. Member will be aware that, earlier on today, the Prime Minister made the concession from the Dispatch Box that he knew. Is this not a question of trust in the Prime Minister, given what he knew when he made his decisions? That is what makes it so serious for this Government.”

“I have raised the point about the Prime Minister, but there is a broader point here. Lord Mandelson was appointed to the Lords. For 115 years, Labour has been promising to get rid of the Lords. The Conservatives and other parties have appointed people to the Lords who we should be getting rid of. Please—is now not the …”

“T6. An opinion poll in the Sunday Herald at the weekend showed that three quarters of Scots would vote to join the European Union. They get that leaving the EU was a disaster a decade ago, and it is even more of a disaster given the international situation now, so why do this Government continue to pursue yesterday’s p…”

“I wish the Secretary of State the best for 2026. I am glad he caught “The Traitors”, because I am so sorry to have heard the language used about Scottish Labour MPs by Labour MPs in the press recently. If what he is saying is the best way to improve our lives and our economy, why is Scotland the only part of the UK whe…”

“I associate myself with the Minister’s comments, for which I thank him. I have some significant and substantive questions to ask, but I will reflect for a moment on the human side of this conflict, which is important. The hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) did that very well, as she always …”

“I would take the Secretary of State a little bit more seriously if so many Labour MPs had not lost the Whip for backing our vote on tackling the two-child cap. The Scottish child payment, which has been described as “game changing”, has been extended to provide additional funding for babies, meaning that those from dep…”

“Accountability is so important, as I know the hon. Gentleman and other Members agree. On the local element, will the Minister say something about the 100-year agreement? I know that this place has an important role in the response to the war in Ukraine, but the message I received during my travels at the weekend was ho…”

“Iran is a remarkable country and its people are remarkable, but I agree with the Foreign Secretary that the actions of the Iranian regime are no aberration. She was absolutely right to say that. Will she consider proscription of the IRGC? As others have said, we proscribed Wagner. That was the right thing to do. Will s…”

“I am afraid to say that it is almost 30 years since I made the transformative journey from Dundee to Antwerp for my Erasmus experience. I thank the Minister, because there is some progress in this area. May I ask him a couple of practical questions? First, obviously there is a different higher education system in Scotl…”

“Members of this House, including me, who have been targeted by Russia will be particularly horrified by the crimes of Reform UK’s former Wales leader. I am pleased that Philip Rycroft has been appointed to lead the review: we know he has been a fine public servant and has deep experience of Europe and Northern Ireland.…”

“I fought hard against Brexit in this place, and I continue to fight hard against it. I worked in the European institutions. I was an Erasmus student whose life was transformed by our membership of the European Union. The hon. Member’s party has removed, or refused to take decisions on, those opportunities for young peo…”