Speeches by Foord.

“The hon. Member is right to talk of inflation-proof, because we have seen costs skyrocket in recent months. Fuel and fertiliser costs have shot up, while the price of feed for livestock is set to follow. Farmers are facing volatile international markets, while being told constantly that support is under review or “bein…”

“I recognise your distinction between time pressure and pressure on the substance of the vetting process, but it is reasonable to suppose that one can affect the other. If there is time pressure—if there is a desire to get the ambassador out to Washington DC before inauguration—and the FCDO has the delegated power to gi…”

“My hon. Friend is right. From what I understand, there is a national shortage of planning officers, and many of them are stretched across a number of things; they might be looking at applications for big housing developments. Sometimes, farm improvements that are geared towards improving environmental practices are qui…”

“Absolutely. Farming can be a very lonely business, and that does not need to be compounded with the stress of farm profitability, or the lack thereof. Looming over all this are the Government’s efforts to secure a comprehensive agreement with the European Union on exports. We encourage the Government to conclude an agr…”

“I just want to repeat back to you a couple of lines from Sir Olly’s testimony to this Committee last week. He said: “my strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”. Separately, he said: “Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s off…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the plight of farmers facing crime. Some police forces do not consider this issue nearly enough. I am glad that in Devon and Cornwall we have a force that is quite alert to rural crime and has a particular focus on it, but I know that in other constituencies and o…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Farming is not just another sector; it is critical national infrastructure, just like power stations and data centres. Too often, it is an afterthought—under-supported, neglected and left exposed to global shocks. I want to focus my remarks on international trade, tax and planning, d…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for agriculture. It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Mr Turner. It is good to have the Minister in her place. I hope she will forgive me if I take a direct tone. It was a direct tone that members of the National Farmers’ Union in my area of …”

“Sir Olly, when replying last week, said that there was “an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”, and I wondered if you could comment on the atmosphere of pressure.”

“Does the right hon. Member share my view that when the community infrastructure levy was introduced, it was not designed to penalise people who were adding extensions to their homes or seeking to self-build? Rather, it was designed as a levy on large-scale infrastructure that would help through reinvestment into the co…”

“I just want to repeat back to you a couple of lines from Sir Olly’s testimony to this Committee last week. He said: “my strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”. Separately, he said: “Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s off…”

“Accepting the point that your communication was not directly with Sir Olly, we know from Sir Olly’s testimony that there was communication from No. 10 to the Foreign Office, even if it did not include you both individually. So who in No. 10 was applying this pressure that Sir Olly described?”

“But that pressure around the timeline may have been misinterpreted as pressure for an outcome. How would you reconcile the pressure that Sir Olly described last week with the Prime Minister having stated at Prime Minister’s questions last week that, “No pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case”?”

“Thinking about the No. 10 operation, later on that year do you recall any dismissiveness in No. 10 about the importance of vetting and, if so, how was that communicated to you?”

“The Prime Minister said at PMQs last week: “No pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case.” How can that be squared with Sir Olly’s evidence last week, when he said that there was a “strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure”?”

“Last week, when Sir Olly gave evidence to the Committee, I said that Sam Coates had reported words around “just approve it”. I need to correct the record slightly, because Sam Coates did not actually report that. He did not file a report. He did discuss it with a member of this Committee. He didn’t actually put it in w…”

“Thank you, Mr McSweeney, for coming before the Committee today. I would like to ask a few questions about communication between No. 10 and the Foreign Office. It was rumoured last autumn that the communication between you and Sir Olly Robbins was assertive and emphatic—sweary, even. You have denied that. How did you co…”

“Sir Olly, when replying last week, said that there was “an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”, and I wondered if you could comment on the atmosphere of pressure.”

“I recognise your distinction between time pressure and pressure on the substance of the vetting process, but it is reasonable to suppose that one can affect the other. If there is time pressure—if there is a desire to get the ambassador out to Washington DC before inauguration—and the FCDO has the delegated power to gi…”

“It does, thank you. I have another, which relates to that time in December. I just want to get an idea about some of the events that were happening in December 2024. The Prime Minister gave a speech on 5 December where he talked about the “tepid bath”. To recap, for people not familiar with it, he said that “people in …”