Speeches by Wright.

“Just a quick question: I am interested in your view of how important it is to teach complexity in decision making. One of the things that strikes me is that it is much easier to think ill of a politician if you think it is a simple choice: they could have done the right thing or the wrong thing, and they chose, in my v…”

“Thank you very much. Professor Ramanna, can I ask for your thoughts on, first, the acceptability of abuse of public figures, and secondly, the line between what is abuse and what is legitimate political commentary or criticism? Professor Karthik Ramanna: Sure—I am happy to comment on both issues. I agree with my fellow…”

“Thank you. Elisabeth’s point—she will correct me if I have misunderstood it—is that where that line is drawn has moved in many people’s minds, and it has moved largely because of the nature of social media debate. Do you have any sympathy with that view, and should that be the case? Should we accept that the line has m…”

“I am sure we will. Professor Fenwick, you will obviously have views on that question. In many cases, the distinction between abuse on the one hand and legitimate political criticism on the other is very difficult to make. Do you have any observations on how we reach a decision about where that line should be drawn and …”

“It seems to us that people increasingly find it acceptable to abuse public figures. If it seems that way to you too, why do you think that is?”

“I think that is a fair point, but you can always write that the Cabinet Minister has refused to respond. Does that not do enough?”

“That was not quite the question I asked. If the justification for going is to get a response you cannot get any other way, surely, we have to consider how often that tactic ever succeeds in order to consider whether it is justifiable?”

“We have to be conscious of our remit, which is not to stray too far from the levels of abuse and intimidation, which nobody will argue are appropriate, however evasive the politician may have been in an interview. You have mentioned social media, and one of the consequences of political exchanges being on social media …”

“The policy of successive UK Governments has been that the United Kingdom will recognise the state of Palestine when it is conducive to the peace process and the ultimate realisation of the two-state solution. Up to this point, I have accepted the argument that the Minister and his predecessors have made that that momen…”

“I am conscious of the confines of the Minister’s role in the process, but what assessment have the Government made of the capacity of a panel to investigate for itself anything that is not brought before it either by one of the relevant doctors or by the person seeking a certificate? The panel’s capacity to do so is su…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. I think we can expect that the psychiatrist on the panel will subject the requirement on mental capacity, in particular, to some considerable professional scrutiny, but nobody on the panel, whatever their professional competence may be, is capable of doing the job properly if they…”

“I certainly am, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am doing my best, I hope as briefly as I can, to explain these technical amendments in a hugely important Bill, in a part of the Bill that the promoter has advocated for because she believes it is a safeguard. I think it is important, Madam Deputy Speaker, that we establish wheth…”

“In view of the number of hon. Members who wish to speak in the debate, I will restrict my remarks to amendments 47, 48 and 49, which stand in my name and the names of others. The amendments focus on the stage in the process that involves the multidisciplinary panel established by clause 14, and their purpose is to make…”

“I understand the hon. Lady’s point and I have seen her amendments on the subject, which are very sensible. We need to think about the way in which the panel process will actually unfold. If we believe that this is an important safeguard, as, I think, is a common view, we need to do everything we can to make sure that i…”

“I understand my right hon. Friend’s point, but I am not sure I entirely agree with him. I think some of the procedural problems I am describing would have existed even with the previous iteration of the Bill, but certainly they are there in its current iteration. At this Report stage, I am seeking to fix the problem th…”

“Although the Government should have volunteered to defend their position, I accept, having held ministerial responsibility for the prison estate, that they had no good options at this point. Does the Minister accept that the problem with what he is choosing to do is that the return to prison for breach of important lic…”

“The Secretary of State knows that High Speed 2’s central purpose is to deliver economic growth, but she knows, too, that it is taking far longer and costing far more to deliver than anyone expected. Given that projects of the scale of HS2 require parliamentary approval, is it not important that Parliament has accurate …”

“I think it would be fair to say that this is not the first Government who have disregarded this particular provision of the ministerial code, but may I put it to the Leader of the House that if the charge is that the Government, for their own calculated and tactical advantage, have breached the ministerial code by anno…”

“I thank all hon. Members for their co-operation and self-discipline. I now call the Front-Bench speakers, beginning with the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his brevity, as I am sure is Brian Mathew.”