Speeches by Foord.

“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?”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“Thank you, Sir Philip, for returning to the Foreign Affairs Committee to give evidence. The Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, was reflecting last September on the discussions that were had in Government the year before, about Lord Mandelson’s appointment. He reflected that you, Sir Philip, ha…”

“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?”

“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.”

“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 …”

“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”?”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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?”

“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…”

“I am grateful to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for his statement. He said that, “in line with the process agreed by the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Government will not publish information that undermines or threatens our country’s national security or international relations.” That sentence is …”

“My hon. Friend mentions the business of medical decisions. In most cases, MPs and our caseworkers do not have the medical knowledge to be able to determine somebody’s fitness to drive. Although it is lovely for us to be able to restore people’s licences by intervening in their cases, does she agree that this really sho…”

“Q7. Leaders can delegate responsibility but cannot delegate accountability. Lord Carrington learned that in the Army, and he lived it as Foreign Secretary when Argentina invaded the Falklands. In 1982, he held himself accountable for the failures of Foreign Office officials and resigned, even though he was later cleare…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing the debate. The cases she referred to make the point that everybody’s insurance premium is going up as a result of this terrible activity. I am grateful for the opportu…”

“Yes, I can. The car was damaged, but thankfully the third-party driver did exactly the right thing: they came forward immediately with no dispute, no exaggeration and no injury. Like anyone else in this situation, Nicholas contacted his insurance company to arrange for repairs, and the insurer appointed a mechanic from…”