Speeches by Murray.

“If there were to be further drug consumption facilities, do you have a view on whether they should follow the model of the Thistle, or would you be open to further pilots that take different models?”

“I understand the legal implications, but I am actually focusing more on the implication with wider drugs policy. That is what I am trying to drive at. You raised the issue of Edinburgh, which you were absolutely right to do, and it is a really important proposal. You mentioned that it is really important to use these f…”

“There is some international evidence, particularly on the west coast of the United States, where there can be quite big impacts on local communities where safe consumption takes place. I am thinking particularly of San Francisco. Do you look into that evidence and does that inform your view on safe consumption in the U…”

“You started touching there on the economic impact of migration. It is clear that the Government’s No. 1 mission is economic growth, but I think this is the first White Paper that the Government have published that does not address economic growth particularly. Why is that, and what is your view on the economic impact o…”

“I recognise it was all inherited.”

“When I asked that question, I did not expect you to say you had smashed a gang today, so that is very interesting to hear. I have one final question. A lot of the people who come over in small boats end up in asylum hotels, which are so controversial. They have cost the Home Office £7 billion over this contract. They a…”

“Would you see a return to Dublin as an option for the Home Office? Is it something you are pursuing, given that when we had it before, we did not have small boat crossings?”

“Yes, we’ve met them.”

“Sorry, but we do not have much time; I want to be really specific about international co-operation on this issue.”

“Home Secretary, 10 years ago, we did not have small boat crossings, but now they are one of the biggest challenges that your Department faces. What has changed in the interim is that we do not have the Dublin system; there is no mechanism for the Home Office to send people back to the European countries where they shou…”

“My final question is on skills and immigration. The concern would be that as you reduce people coming into the country, there will be a skills gap that will not be met by the domestic workforce fast enough. We see that in a lot of sectors, but some of them are really critical to the Government achieving their objective…”

“Thank you for that answer, Home Secretary. I want to pry a little bit on that confidence issue. If you are saying that the reason you do not want to set a target on immigration is because of public confidence, that implies that you know what the target is, but you just do not want to be clear with the public about it, …”

“I draw the Committee’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and the support that my office receives from RAMP. Home Secretary, I want to ask you about the immigration White Paper, which you published a fortnight ago. It is one of the biggest changes in British immigration policy for a l…”

“The problem with the immigration system we inherited is that it had very high levels of low-skilled immigration, but what the economy actually needs is low levels of high-skilled immigration. We need to attract worldwide top talent for some key sectors, many of which are based in Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, so that…”

“The hon. Gentleman talks about control, but that result was mainly motivated by immigration. After the Brexit vote, annual migration tripled to 900,000. Does he call that control? Also, does he welcome the fall in net migration to 400,000 that was announced today? If he does, would he call that reasserting control on m…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) and my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) on securing this important debate. I represent a city that has phenomenal ties to Europe. Edinburgh was made by Europeans and con…”

“I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the point of a Government is to deal with the challenges that the country faces at the time. That is why I would argue that it was insane to stand like King Canute on the shores of this country asserting that a Rwanda scheme was going to work, when it clearly, patently would n…”

“That leads me to my next question: is the data that you get from the Home Office timely, accurate and in the way you would want it? I am thinking specifically of those who are coming post-arrival, so they have been triaged already by the Home Office and end up with you. We have heard a lot of stories about age disputes…”

“One final question to you from Clearsprings. There have been reports of £17 million paid by Clearsprings to an offshore consultancy with links to your owner. I wonder if you could shed any light on that for us and give us any explanation.”

“What are those services? Sorry, that was not clear.”