Irene Campbell

Animal Testing

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments, and I agree with every point that has been raised. On a positive note, it is most welcome that this Labour Government have published the “Replacing animals in science” strategy—something that we have never seen from previous Governments. The strategy brings a lot of good news, such as £75 million-worth of funding for the new UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods. It also refers to using validated alternative methods to reduce the use of non-

Animal Testing

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind comments. I absolutely support the implementation of Herbie’s law sooner rather than later. I welcome the strategy, and I will say more about it later. A year ago tomorrow, I led a debate on a very similar petition entitled “Ban immediately the use of dogs in scientific and regulatory procedures”, which was also created by Maria Iriart. It is clear to me and many others that neither the public nor parliamentarians are letting this issue go.

Animal Testing

I fully agree with everything the hon. Member said. I will go on to say more about that. The petition refers specifically to dogs, as well as other animals that are used in testing. In 2024, 2.64 million procedures in British laboratories used animals—every minute of every day, five animals are used in research in the United Kingdom—over 16,000 experiments were carried out on specially protected species, including cats, dogs, horses and monkeys, and 1,651 dogs were used in experiments.

Animal Testing

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank the Minister for his response, although I am sure he is not surprised that I disagree with quite a bit of it. I hope the responsible Minister will consider implementing at pace—I use that word again, as many others have—the replacement methods we have heard so much about in this debate. I urge the responsible Minister to rescind the forced swim test licences immediately and to prioritise a review of the whole licensing system,

Animal Testing

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. We have the potential to lead the way in this field; that is something we should definitely be striving towards. Through my role as chair of the APPG on phasing out animal experiments in medical research, I have met many scientists working in the animal-free research area, including at XCellR8, the UK’s leading animal-free testing laboratory. There is an untapped market in this area that is ready to grow, and we must invest in it. With the right Government

Animal Testing

The hon. Member raises an important point; that is not an area that I had considered before, but I absolutely agree. Any of us in this Chamber could go on an afternoon course and tomorrow be injecting people with botox, so his point is valid. Virtual Second Species has created an AI-powered virtual dog, trained on historical dog tests. From an economics perspective, it is worth thinking about how much we could save by transitioning from animals to AI. What is the price of our not moving to a mor

Animal Testing

I agree with everything my hon. Friend said. I will speak about some of this later on, but I have on occasion met the relevant Minister and we are due to have a meeting soon. At one meeting, I asked specifically that we remove dogs immediately from medical testing. I was very disappointed by the answer, but we need to keep up the momentum on these serious issues. There are alternatives to animal research—known as new approach methodologies, or NAMs—that are constantly being researched and develo

Animal Testing

I agree with everything my hon. Friend said, and I will say more about that.

Animal Testing

I agree wholeheartedly with everything the hon. Member said. I will speak more about organ on a chip and the need to move more quickly towards phasing out animals in research, but there is an opportunity to phase out dogs almost immediately. It is important to note that figures released in the Home Office annual reports cover only animals protected by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and that individual animals can be used many times in different tests. However, the statistics count

Animal Testing

I absolutely support Herbie’s law and, as I mentioned, the APPG is supported by Animal Free Research, which hopes to implement it. I agree 100% with the hon. Member. Another extremely cruel test is the forced swim test, for which there are still three licences granted in the UK, lasting until 2028. The Government’s “Replacing animals in science” strategy states specifically: “The test has limited scientific validity, particularly its translational relevance to human mental health disorders. Anim

Animal Testing

I agree with both my hon. Friend’s points. It is important that this issue is dealt with sooner rather than later, and I will say more about that later.

Animal Testing

I thank the hon. Member for his comments, and I agree with everything that he said. I will say a bit more about that later on.

Animal Testing

I fully agree. I think it is really important that younger people take this cause forward. Earlier today, when I went out to speak to representatives from Camp Beagle, I met a young woman—she is 10—who is really keen that we get it moved forward. I thought that was great. In the petition debate last year and in others since, I have referenced a 1927 debate on the Dogs Protection Bill, in which the surgeon Sir Lambert Ormsby was quoted as saying: “Experiments on dogs may now be discontinued. All

Animal Testing

I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 736578 relating to animal testing. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on phasing out animal experiments in medical research, for which Animal Free Research provides the secretariat. I am a long-time campaigner in this area, as well as on many other topics relating to animal welfare. It is important to me and many others that animals are replaced

Pride in Place: Regeneration

2. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues through the Pride in Place programme to support regeneration in Scotland.

Pride in Place: Regeneration

I am pleased to say that after a huge amount of hard work was put into a Pride in Place application, investment has been successfully allocated to the three towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that the £20 million of UK Government Pride in Place funding will provide great opportunities for community projects that can improve our town centres and regenerate our shorefront areas?

Fur: Import and Sale

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) for the excellent work that she has done and continues to do on this important campaign. I fully support her Fur (Import and Sale) Bill. I am pleased to say that my constituents have highlighted this debate and asked me to attend. I would have attended anyway, as she knows. I shall keep this brief, as many points have already been raised. I will focus on fashi

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 728677 relating to type 1 diabetes testing for infants. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank the petitioner, Mr John Story, for starting the petition and telling us the devastating story of what happened to his daughter Lyla, who tragically died when the warning signs of type 1 diabetes were missed. I also congratulate him on gathering over 120,000 signatures from across the United Kingdom on a topic that I

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I agree with the points that my hon. Friend raises. The research and emerging information from the ELSA study should be considered as soon as possible. In Diabetes UK’s campaign, the four Ts stand for “toilet”, “thirsty”, “tired” and “thinner”. Recognising those symptoms is key to the campaign. In preparation for this debate, I met representatives of the Royal College of General Practitioners, who advised me that after hearing Lyla’s story, they urgently reviewed their curriculum and made sure t

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I thank the hon. Member for raising that important point. I look forward to the Minister’s response. The rapid finger-prick glucose test is readily available and can be administered quite easily.

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. Again, I refer to the Minister’s response. This is a very important issue, and it is crucial that we get it right. There can be barriers to diagnosis if there is the appearance of another illness, such as a cold or tonsillitis, that can make diabetes more difficult to recognise. Young children are often unable to fully express themselves in relation to symptoms, which can be problematic. There must be more awareness of that possibility. Tr

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I thank my hon. Friend for making that important point. Yes, I agree. The survey also found that 73% of GPs report that patient safety is being compromised by their workload pressures, and 58% said that they do not have enough time during appointments to adequately assess and treat patients. It is concerning to hear that a high number of GPs do not have time for professional development and quality development. While the number of patients GPs are expected to see rises, the pressure is higher an

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I agree with what my hon. Friend says. As I say, I am looking forward to hearing the Minister’s response on how we can make progress. As we have heard, DKA is a life-threatening complication of diabetes, which is caused by extreme insulin deficiency. We urgently need to change and reduce the rates of DKA. One issue is that it is difficult to know exactly how many children have been missed, discharged and reassured after presenting with these symptoms who will then return for later diagnosis. As

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. Yes, I agree. That sounds like a very good way to take this forward. The petition and the surrounding conversation can serve as a call for change, not only for young children and infants but for all undiagnosed patients with type 1 diabetes who are at risk of their condition leading to dangerous complications. In the words of the petitioner, “Lyla was bright, full of life, and had her whole future ahead of her. But in a matter of days, everything ch

Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing

I thank the Minister for her response. The petition and the surrounding debate focus on a very important and sensitive area: the importance of timely diagnosis. I thank Mr John Story again for his tireless campaigning on Lyla’s law and for taking the time to meet me to tell his story. I hope, as he does, that no parent ever again has to go through what he and his wife Emma have gone through. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Dame Diana Johnson),

Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

12. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

We know that conflict can dis-proportionately affect women and children and exacerbate gender-based violence. We cannot let this crisis in Sudan be ignored. There has been an alarming rise in gender-based violence and sexual abuse against women and girls. Can the Foreign Secretary tell me what further steps her Department is taking to tackle this horrific abuse against women and girls in Sudan at this time of conflict?