The Prime Minister has been referred to the Privileges Committee of the House of Commons, which looks into allegations that MPs have misled Parliament. This is the first time a sitting Prime Minister has ever been referred to the committee. Even the Prime Minister’s own backbenchers were lining up to criticise him for his shameful behaviour partying during lockdown.
 
The Home Secretary attempted to distract from the Prime Minister’s bad behaviour by announcing a new policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. I challenged the Home Secretary on why she could not answer basic questions about how much taxpayers' money will be spent on sending victims of war and persecution to Rwanda (see here). These plans are shameful, unworkable, and will not break the business model of people traffickers and smugglers. I’ll keep pressing the Government to change its mind.
 
I also secured a debate on residential buildings with communal heating systems. These homes are not protected by the energy price cap, which means some families are seeing eye-watering increases of nearly 700 per cent in their energy bills. The Minister confirmed that the Government intends to legislate to address this issue. But hard-hit Hackney families need support now – I urged the Government to also act now to support families whilst it is preparing legislation to fix this issue in the long-term. See here to watch a clip of my speech and see here to watch the debate in full.