Speeches by Blackman.

“13. What steps he is taking to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.”

“Over the past two years, as co-Chair of the all-party parliamentary group on UK-Israel, I have hosted innumerable meetings where the families of hostages have come before us pleading for our support and help. In addition, we have screened multiple films of the terror events on 7 October 2023 that use real-life footage …”

“In the wake of the terrorist attack in Heaton Park, I am very proud to say that Belmont shul, in my constituency, hosted a Shabbat service following a meeting of the Harrow Interfaith council at which representatives of all religions stood together with the Jewish community to say that hatred will not be allowed to win…”

“The problem that the Government have is that the story keeps changing, either each day or within a day. The right hon. Gentleman, who is obviously stating the Government’s position now, is giving us a view that completely contradicts the messages given by Ministers over the weekend. He has clearly referred to a huge nu…”

“One of the keys ways to reduce reoffending is to ensure that ex-offenders leaving prison have secure places to live and are not tempted to go back to a life of crime. However, it can be a consequence of early release that that is not prepared in advance. What action will the Minister take so that prison governors and t…”

“I welcome the Leader of the House to his position. I hope that we can have an early meeting to ensure that Back Benchers can have their voice heard in this Chamber, as before. I thank the Leader of the House for giving us the business for 13 October, when we return from the conference recess. Given past experience of w…”

“The Minister will know that the part of London where MSD was going to invest has received significant investment for medical research, particularly research of brain-related diseases. This decision casts doubt on the future of the greater King’s Cross area. What are the implications of the decision to disinvest on that…”

“I was surprised and disappointed that there was no word from the Secretary of State in relation to the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Monday, where terrorists opened fire on a bus, killing rabbis and women. The reality is that Hamas’s leadership not only condoned the attack, but praised it. Does the Minister agree th…”

“I welcome the new Secretary of State to her position. Will she look at the downloading of virtual private networks, which allow people to get content from all over the world? Many VPNs are based overseas. Once they are downloaded, parents have no control whatsoever if their children are then accessing immoral and illeg…”

“11. What steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to prosecute people for grooming gang offences.”

“I welcome the fact that the backlog of those cases will be examined again, and that historical cases will be looked at, but one of the challenges is that whistleblowers in local authorities were sacked under non-disclosure agreements. What advice is the Crown Prosecution Service providing to ensure that those NDAs are …”

“I thank the Leader of the House for announcing the Backbench Business for next week. She will know that 50 Back Benchers were frustrated on Monday that they were not able to debate transport inequalities. Obviously there were important statements—we understand that—but will she consider giving that debate protected tim…”

“The Minister will be well aware that many of the victims of this disgraceful, despicable type of activity were originally taken from broken homes and put into the care of a local authority, and then groomed ruthlessly. Social workers turned a blind eye. Managers told social workers to turn a blind eye. The police, in m…”

“The remaining hostages in Gaza—those who are still alive—are being starved, persecuted and prevented from getting any form of medical aid. When the Foreign Secretary visits the region, will he force the International Red Cross to seek the hostages and ensure that they are given the medical attention they need?”

“The Home Secretary has spoken about tweaks to the rules and regulations, and potentially to interpretation of the law. The problem with that, of course, is that our courts will also interpret the law, and may go against what the Home Secretary wants to do. Will she set out what changes to the law she will introduce to …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment. I should say, for the benefit of new Members, that this is quite rightly called the Sir David Amess debate, because this was his debate. I remember a poor Minister having to respond to him after a five-minute time lim…”

“I will not, because many Members want to get in. The justification for these “tough choices” is the need to address a £260 million funding gap, yet this is not the right area in which to be cutting vital support. For years, Sadiq Khan has told us how much better London would be with a Labour mayor and a Labour Governme…”

“We have had a wonderful debate, to which 38 Back Benchers have contributed, and we have also heard three excellent Front-Bench speeches. If I may say so, the hon. Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin) may be looking forward to the reshuffle that, it is rumoured, may take place over the summer; we may hear more of he…”

“Last week, I hosted Keith and Aviva Siegel, both of whom were hostages and were released. The previous week, I met families of hostages who all pleaded with all of us to get the hostages released. The hostages have now been in captivity for 654 days, without any access by the International Red Cross. Will the Foreign S…”

“I thank the Leader of the House for announcing the business in the Chamber. If she could also look forward to the September sitting and give us dates early, it would help us to plan debates in the Chamber. In addition to the business that the Leader of the House has announced, we will have the following debates in West…”