Speeches by Roca.

“Where I agree completely with my hon. Friend is that this debate—as has been pointed out already—has become incredibly toxic. We are seeing, with Reform and others, an attempt to import American-style politics to our country. We need a rational, reasonable debate that safeguards the dignity of all people, so I am glad …”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. As other colleagues have pointed out, the sky did not fall in when these reforms, also passed in so many other countries across the world, took effect. We heard from hon. Members today about the EHRC’s first proposed guidance following the ruling, which allowed just two weeks fo…”

“My hon. Friend makes that point extremely well. It is so depressing to hear of the fear that many of our constituents up and down the country have expressed to us, and the chilling effect that the judgment has had. I believe my hon. Friend’s constituents have in him a wonderful champion and supporter of the LGBTQ+ comm…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) for securing the debate. I want to speak in strong support of continued investment in these organisations, but particularly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. …”

“A layperson looking at this would see that there was an offer from the A’s at 9.75% that came with financial incentives to retain people, and there was an offer from the B’s at a lower interest rate, and there might be some scepticism or a suggestion that one offer was gone with for other reasons. What would you say to…”

“The Class A offer involves an incentive scheme for executives that could be worth up to £1 million for yourself, I suggest, Chris. Is that correct?”

“But urgency will have worsened the conditions that you will have got from lenders, will it not?”

“What sort of size are these bonuses?”

“So very substantial bonuses.”

“Are there any hidden conditions?”

“Was this at the point where you had five weeks left of liquidity that you were talking about earlier?”

“Does the deal include any financial retention incentives for executives at Thames?”

“Can you give us an idea of what those incentives might be?”

“Again, the Class B creditors have suggested there are hidden terms and conditions in the terms that you agreed to in the end. Can you talk a little about what they might be referring to?”

“Can we talk a bit about the time pressure? We have just talked about the five weeks’ liquidity. The Class B group said that the loan took advantage of the time pressure Thames is under. So was the urgency that drove the deal solely about liquidity?”

“Can I ask about the £3 billion loan from your Class A bondholders including Elliott Management and Silver Point? We have had a note from your Class B creditors—you will not be surprised to hear—who described it as a payday loan style arrangement. Can I ask Chris perhaps for your assessment of the loan and its potential…”

“But it would be up to £1 million for some executives, would it not?”

“Customers will find that extraordinary in view of that earlier amount.”

“So the reason you went with the A proposition is because you could not see an agreement. The difference between the two offers was quite substantial, was it not? The As offered an interest rate of 9.75% and the Bs offered an alternative at 8%, which would have potentially saved £375 million.”

“And that was on the principle that that was a solid offer that you needed immediately, whereas the other offer—which was a lower interest rate—there was no certainty of it being accepted.”