April 2026

The attention to the process began very much in September ’25, when the Bloomberg emails were published. That is when I agreed with the Cabinet Secretary that he would carry out a review of the entire process, and I have set that out at some length this afternoon.

I remind the hon. Lady that, in the last two weeks, my senior officials have brought this to my attention, which is—[Interruption.] No, before the Guardian. They brought it to my attention on Tuesday evening. That is what led me to ask further questions and make this statement to the House.

Parliamentary appearance by Gurinder Singh Josan

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? As the Prime Minister will know, that means “Who guards the guards themselves?” With that in mind, and on the subject of holding those in power to account, can he explain why he took almost a week to come to this House, when the public will have been expecting answers much sooner?

With the leave of the House, I will close this really important and special debate. It moves us another step closer to this Bill becoming a much-needed law for all victims, and I sincerely thank all hon. Members who have spoken, particularly my hon. Friends the Members for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers), and for Knowsley (Anneliese Midgley), the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson), the Liberal Democrat Front-Bench spokesperson, the hon. Member for Chichester (Je

The Minister for Policing and Crime, the Home Secretary and I—and all our ministerial colleagues —will do everything we need to do to ensure that the Metropolitan police and all police forces around the country have the resources they need to do this difficult job. Yes, there are moments of challenge, but we will ensure that our response is proportionate to the nature of the threat. Whatever it takes, we will provide it.

On Thursday this week an excellent apprentice in my office will graduate with a first-class degree. Unfortunately, no one will be able to follow in his excellent footsteps, because the Government have withdrawn funding for the chartered management degree apprenticeship. Given the benefits of degree apprenticeships, will the Minister please reconsider?

The Prime Minister made the political decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, but central to that decision, along with other decisions about policy and political position, would have been the Prime Minister’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. Can the Prime Minister confirm to the House whether Morgan McSweeney passed all his security vetting and whether he ever handled documents for which he had anything other than the appropriate level of clearance?

I will not give way, because we are rushed for time.

I have accepted that I made an error in the appointment, and apologised to the victims, as I must.

T2. There are some brilliant specialist SEND schools in my constituency, such as Muntham House and Aurora Vincent House. In the White Paper, there is currently no clear definition of a specialist school, and concerns remain that provision is being framed as something to be reduced, rather than planned for. What role does the Department see special schools having in the reformed system, and how will they be funded?

There is a simple question to which we still do not have an answer. Did Peter Mandelson fail his vetting procedure because of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, or was there some other reason as yet undisclosed?

I beg to move, That this House disagrees with the Lords in their Amendments 2D and 2E but proposes in lieu of those amendments Amendment (a) to its Amendment 2B and Amendment (b) to its Amendment 2C.

I was asked about the vetting process, and the due diligence is part of the vetting process. Rather than rest on a technicality, I gave the House the information that I had about what I knew from the due diligence. It was clear what the Leader of the Opposition was asking; it was about Epstein. I knew that was in the due diligence, and that is why I told the House about it.

I have dealt with that issue on a number of occasions.

Parliamentary appearance by Laurence Turner

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. For clarity, could he confirm to whom, and when, the UK Security Vetting report outcomes were made available? Could he also say what guidance is given to senior officials on matters that must be escalated to their Ministers?

We are now. The time has come for the will of the elected House to prevail. We have listened and responded positively to the great majority of amendments put forward by the House of Lords. We should send these amendments back in the hope, and indeed the expectation, that it will be for the last time. We have been debating the Bill for long enough—14 months—so it is time to stop talking. It is time to deliver the changes wrought by the Bill to protect all our communities. Question put.

Parliamentary appearance by Laurence Turner

Some of my borough’s schools are among the top 1% in the country, but we have a forecast drop of 6.1% for reception and 8.3% for year 7 over the next three years. The picture is poor across London, but Hackney is one of the worst-affected boroughs. Given the patchwork of local schools, with academies, free schools, which fall under the Secretary of State’s remit, and voluntary aided and maintained schools, how will we ensure that the school communities and families work together across our capit