February 2026

Parliamentary appearance by Charlotte Cane

Parliamentary appearance by Helen Grant

It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker, and a pleasure to speak on behalf of the Scottish Affairs Committee. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this statement on our fifth report of the Session. Over the past year, the Committee has undertaken a wide-ranging and ambitious programme of scrutiny. We have examined topics including Scotland’s energy future, the financing of the Scottish Government and the UK’s first safer drug consumption fac

In all our inquiries, skills have been high on the agenda—in fact, the loss of skills is really high on the agenda. In my area of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, 800 young people did not get into college—for engineering and IT skills—due to a lack of funding. Our young people are being left behind because we are not putting enough money into education and skills. We need to look at that as a Government, and as a Scottish Government. We need to make sure that our young people are equipped for the futur

Yes, it was absolutely fantastic to see the young people at Babcock and BAE Systems. It was great to see their enthusiasm and how they are looking forward in their lives. I asked questions such as, “What have you done since you became an apprentice?” They said, “I’ve bought a new car and I’ve been able to go on holiday. I’m going to buy a house.” Those are the things that we want our young people to aspire to, so it is great to see companies making sure that apprenticeships are in place for them

My constituency has problems similar to those in my hon. Friend’s. When mines, textile factories and companies close, it leaves a terrible legacy for our young people. We are now into a fourth generation of unemployed young people who have no skills, no jobs and no opportunities. That rips the heart out of not just communities but opportunities. When those things happen, people migrate to other areas. The young people are not living in the area, buying houses and spending in the local economy, s

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this question and for her continued work campaigning on child abduction and domestic abuse. The UK is actively engaged on this issue internationally and domestically. Where a child abduction offence has been committed, prosecutors will always consider the motivations and circumstances of the alleged abduction, recognising that some cases arise from complex family breakdowns. Ultimately, any decision will prioritise the safety and stability of the child.

I am very sorry to hear of situation of the hon. Member’s constituents. I am aware that the hon. Member has met colleagues from the Ministry of Justice, and I commend her for her dedication to championing these issues. We are considering further qualitative research on the operation of the Hague convention in cases of domestic abuse, and we will ensure that research is given full and proper consideration. I am not sure of the exact details of her constituents’ cases, but if she writes to me with

The EU reset deal is predicted to slash around a third of the Government’s farming budget from farm profits in its first year, cause higher food prices and lower food production, and sink the UK fishing industry. As the Prime Minister’s authority seeps away, will the Secretary of State insist that this shoddy deal is renegotiated while she is still in post?

The Secretary of State and I have just spent a couple of days in Manchester looking at that with the international science panel on nature. We will report on Monday about how business can do better in tackling those risks. We are bringing the nature and climate debates together, and I am sure there will be time to debate them in the House, subject to your approval, Mr Speaker.

We said in our manifesto that we would deliver nine new national river walks—one in every region—to bring nature closer to people and make it accessible to everyone. My hon. Friend paints an amazing picture of the beautiful River Derwent. The first river walk, in the north-west, will be completed in the spring. The locations of the next walks will be subject to a competition later this year. I encourage her and all the partners she mentions to apply.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her tireless campaigning on that disgraceful site. The Environment Agency has served a notice requiring the operator to reduce the risk of smells, and the deadline is 9 February. We expect the operator to comply. If it does not, all options, including suspension and closure, remain on the table.

There is a fundamental contradiction at the heart of Government. The Minister for Courts and Legal Services says that she would scrap jury trials even if there was not a crisis in the courts. The Lord Chancellor says that he is open to a conversation about alternatives and wants the backlog to come down. Which is it? Is it about the backlog, in which case what alternatives to scrapping jury trials are actually being considered, or is this just an unworkable attack on our civil liberties wrapped

My hon. Friend is a superb champion for Paisley. Her constituents deserve a Scottish Government who match her dedication. For our part, we have delivered a record funding settlement. We are investing £280 million in Pride in Place across 14 Scottish communities. We have secured shipbuilding on the Clyde for over a decade and have just announced an AI growth zone in Lanarkshire. The choice is clear: a third decade of failure under the SNP, or real change for Scotland under Anas Sarwar.

Let me start where I must: with the victims of Epstein. All our thoughts are with them. Our thoughts are also with all those who lost jobs, savings and livelihoods in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. To learn that there was a Cabinet Minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the 2008 crash is beyond infuriating, and I am as angry as the public and any Member of this House. Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party. He lied repeatedly to m

Parliamentary appearance by Angela Rayner

As the House would expect, we went through a process. There was a due diligence exercise, and then there was security vetting by the security services. What was not known was the sheer depth and the extent of the relationship. Mandelson lied about that to everyone for years. New information was published in September, showing that the relationship was materially different from what we had been led to believe. When the new information came to light, I sacked him, but we did go through a due dilig

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I have a civil service pension, having started my career in the Home Office in 2001. It is tradition to thank the Member who secured the debate, but I want to place on record my personal thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) on behalf of my constituents affected by this issue and on behalf of

I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s flagging that point, and I was coming to that. I have taken the quite unusual step of bringing a print-out for colleagues, which will be available at the end of the debate and will be shared with colleagues more widely. It has an email address on it. I am keen that hon. Members bring their cases directly to us. Of course, we are addressing the wider issues, but it is a cause of great concern to me that, where cases are raised with Members of Parliament, they sho

Yes, it did. As a result, various questions were put to him. I intend to disclose to the House—the national security and prejudice to international relations on one side; I want to make sure that the House sees the full documentation so it will see for itself the extent to which, time and time again, Mandelson completely misrepresented the extent of his relationship with Epstein and lied throughout the process, including in response to the due diligence.