The Northern Ireland Protocol sets out Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit relationship with both the EU and Great Britain. Under the Protocol, Northern Ireland must follow the EU’s rules for bringing goods in and out of the EU while Great Britain sets its own customs and regulatory rules.
As a result of these changes, new checks and controls are necessary for goods coming from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
A number of constituents wrote to me regarding violence against worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
I wrote to the Government and have recently received a response from the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly MP, on this issue.
Click the pdf link below to read the response in full.
Thanks to Plastic Free Hackney for raising with me concerns about the poor recycling rates of disposable cups in Parliament. During the pandemic, I’ve become increasing concerned about the impact that many new behaviours are having on sustainability and our need to urgently transition to a net zero economy. On the parliamentary estate, for instance, you are no longer allowed to bring your own reusable cups when purchasing a drink. This is a small but important example of how we can slowly start going backwards on these important issues.
I pressed the Government over concerning reports that the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock MP, and other ministers conducted government business using private email communications.
If true, it would mean that neither government officials nor the National Audit Office were able to scrutinise these exchanges to ensure due process was followed. This is unacceptable. How decisions on taxpayers’ money are reached should be fully transparent.
A number of constituents wrote to me regarding arms exports to Israel.
I wrote to the Government and have recently received a response from the Minister for International Trade, Ranil Jayawardena MP, on this issue.
Click the pdf link below to read the response in full.
I am clear that there is no place for this dangerous and harmful practice in the UK. I am disappointed that nearly two years after first pledging to ban this practice, the Government has not yet done so.
I wrote to the Government to press it on this issue. The Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, has recently replied to this letter. You can read her response in full by clicking the pdf link below.
I will continue working with my frontbench Labour colleagues to urge the Government to introduce a swift ban on this practice.
The Government needs a coherent approach to ID cards – not just an approach that stops the poorest from voting.
See my full speech on this here.
I pressed the Government over the appalling reports of human rights abuses against the Uighurs and other minorities in China. See the Government’s response here.
The high cost of Home Office fees means too many young people in Hackney and London are priced out of citizenship.
Throughout the pandemic there’s been too little transparency from the Government about how it spends our money.
I pressed the Minister over whether a six-week inquiry is enough to shine sunlight on the millions of taxpayers’ money given to organisations such as Greensill.