This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/jun/26/tory-leadership-latest-news-boris-johnson-liam-fox-accuses-johnson-of-peddling-supposition-not-fact-on-brexit-trade-options-live-news

The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Theresa May faces Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs - live news Theresa May faces Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs - live news
(32 minutes later)
Frankly, does anyone care? Over the last year PMQs has become increasingly low-voltage; not irrelevant, because important issues are still being raised and debated, but it now longer feels like the forum where the great political conflicts of the day are being settled. And now that Theresa May is effectively working her notice the problem has intensified. Jeremy Corbyn chose to ask her about arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a cause he cares about passionately, and while it was good to see the topic get an airing (Corbyn did manage to make May squirm reasonably successfully, although she hit back very firmly in her final answer), it still felt like displacement activity, because he was ignoring the great crisis facing the country. The SNP’s Ian Blackford is always much more comfortable raising Brexit and for the second week in a row he used PMQs to engage in Boris Johnson character assassination. But without Johnson there to respond, it was like arm wrestling without an opponent. Still, only four more of these to go, and then come September, when the new PM is due at the despatch box for the first time, it might all liven up again.
In response to a point of order about why he did not ask Ian Blackford to withdraw what he said about Boris Johnson making a career out of lying, John Bercow, the Speaker, says he did not hear a specific allegation of dishonesty. (See 12.25pm.) He says what he did hear was distasteful, but he did not judge it disorderly.
Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader at Westminster, says Britons who were victims of IRA violence have not received compensation from the Libyan government, which provided the IRA with weapons, but Americans have.
May says she has discussed this issue with the Libyan authorities.
Gillian Keegan, a Conservative, asks about cancer care in West Sussex.
May says cancer care is addressed in the NHS’s long-term plan. She accepts that it is hard for patients if they are asked to travel long distances for treatment.
The SNP’s Marion Fellows says figures out today show that £973m is owed in unpaid child maintenance. The Child Maintenance Service does not use all the powers available to it to get parents to pay up, she says. Will May review this?
May says this is a difficult area. For many years governments have been trying to get this right. The simplified system in place now is better than what was there before, but she will ask the relevant department to look at this.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Conservative, asks about Nice, and the drug Spinraza, which is used to treat spinal muscular atrophy. He says Nice said this drug would be available in a statement on its website, and then had to clarify, meaning his constituent could not access it.
May says this should not have happened.
Unusually, John Bercow, the Speaker, intervenes to say if Rees-Mogg wants a debate on this before the summer recess, that debate will take place.
Labour’s Emma Dent Coad asks May to use her final days in office to respond to Grenfell Tower issues, including setting up a social housing regulator with teeth.Labour’s Emma Dent Coad asks May to use her final days in office to respond to Grenfell Tower issues, including setting up a social housing regulator with teeth.
May says the government has already taken many measures in response to the Grenfell tragedy.May says the government has already taken many measures in response to the Grenfell tragedy.
Sir John Hayes, a Conservative, asks May to use the tax system to steer resources away from big monoliths to small, local businesses.Sir John Hayes, a Conservative, asks May to use the tax system to steer resources away from big monoliths to small, local businesses.
May says the government has already introduced reforms to business rates.May says the government has already introduced reforms to business rates.
Labour’s Stephen Pound says May could be distracted by her imminent departure. But will she spare a thought for the 1m-plus PHMOs -pensioner households missing out (on benefits).Labour’s Stephen Pound says May could be distracted by her imminent departure. But will she spare a thought for the 1m-plus PHMOs -pensioner households missing out (on benefits).
May says the government wants people entitled to benefits to get them.May says the government wants people entitled to benefits to get them.
Labour’s Kerry McCarthy asks about the case of a 14-year-old girl with autism placed in a secure unit 150 miles away from home.Labour’s Kerry McCarthy asks about the case of a 14-year-old girl with autism placed in a secure unit 150 miles away from home.
May says the government has been looking at this issue very carefully. It wants more funding to be available for more facilities.May says the government has been looking at this issue very carefully. It wants more funding to be available for more facilities.
Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary, asks May if she accepts the UK should move to much more neutral position on Yemen.Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary, asks May if she accepts the UK should move to much more neutral position on Yemen.
May says the government is working for peace in Yemen.May says the government is working for peace in Yemen.
Labour’s Jo Stevens asks about a constituent who was abducted and taken to Libya. She asks if May will take up this case, and May says she will ensure that happens.Labour’s Jo Stevens asks about a constituent who was abducted and taken to Libya. She asks if May will take up this case, and May says she will ensure that happens.
Labour’s Karen Lee asks if May accepts her actions have made a no-deal Brexit more likely.
May says she voted three times for a deal. Labour did not, she says.
Alistair Burt, the former Middle East minister, asks May if she agrees that Corbyn’s comments about Yemen were one-sided. Both sides have committed atrocities, he says. May does agree.
Labour’s Khalid Mahmood asks about the recent poll showing that almost half of Conservative party members would not want to see a Muslim prime minister. Will May order an inquiry into what is increasingly a nasty party?
May says the Conservative party takes Islamphobia very seriously. People have been thrown out of the party. She says this contrasts with Labour’s approach to antisemitism. It is easier to get thrown out of Labour for voting Lib Dem than for antisemitism, she says.
Paul Masterton, a Conservative, asks about the Wimbledon tournament.
May offers her wishes to the players taking part.
Suella Braverman, the Conservative MP, says she will soon give birth. She says she is glad proxy voting has been introduced. She asks May to back a campaign for safer roads.
May wishes Braverman the best for her birth. And she commends the campaign.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, says the Scottish government was the first in the UK to declare a climate emergency.
Quoting Boris Johnson’s “do or die” comment, he asks May to condemn the idea of a no-deal Brexit.
May says as PM she voted three times for a Brexit deal.
Blackford says it is no wonder May is leaving, that was no answer. The Tories are asking the country to put their faith in the worst foreign secretary in the last 100 years, “a man who has made his career out of lying”.
Blackford condemns Boris Johnson as “a man who has made his career out of lying”.
Blackford also criticises Jeremy Hunt, but it is hard to hear because so many Tories are shouting “withdraw”.
He says neither candidate is fit to be PM.
May says either candidate would be better than the MPs sitting on Blackford’s bench.
Corbyn says the government stop the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. He asks if May accepts the UN assessment that the crown prince was involved in the murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
May says she has raised this case with the Saudi authorities. She wants the investigation to proceed.
Corbyn says more than 200,000 people have been killed from the war in Yemen. The court of appeal judgment should be a wake-up call, he says. He says the government should accept it.
May says bringing peace to the Yemen is exactly what the government is working on with its diplomatic partners. She says the relationship with Saudi Arabia has saved lives in the UK. But let’s look at Corbyn’s sympathies. After the Salisbury poisoning attack, Corbyn sympathised with Russia. When the IRA were killing Britons, he sympathised with them. And in the recent crisis in the Gulf, he sided with Iran. He is not fit to be prime minister, she says.
Corbyn says the PM does not understand the depth of feeling on this matter. It is estimated that more than 200,000 people are being killed in this conflict, many of them children. If the Saudi government say they are respecting human rights, do we ignore all evidence to the contrary?
May says while the government is appealing against the court case, it will not be approving new export licences for arms to Saudi Arabia. She says the government is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen. It has allocated more than £700m for aid.
Corbyn says UN experts have been saying for years the Saudi coalition has been violating international law in Yemen. The government says there can only be a political solution. So why is it putting more arms into the region.
May says the the only resolution will come from a diplomatic solution. That is why the government is working for one.
Jeremy Corbyn says climate change campaigners are lobbying MPs today. This parliament was the first in the world to declare a climate emergency he says (after backing a Labour motion).
He says he welcomes the court of appeal judgment last Thursday about arms sales to Saudia Arabia. Does the PM dispute the court’s finding?
May says the UK has one of the most robust arms sales regimes in the world. She says the government is disappointed the court found against the government on one ground, and it will be seeking permission to appeal.
Corbyn says Germany and Denmark have both banned armed sales to Saudi Arabia. Does May think there are serious, ongoing violations of international law by Saudia Arabia in Yemen.
May says the government considers these issues very carefully when considering arms sales. But there needs to be a peace settlement in Yemen. She says the Saudia Arabian intervention came in response to the legitimate government of Yemen.
May says discussions are continuing about a different approach to localism in Yorkshire.