Speeches by Hoare.

“Can I ask the Chief Secretary the following points? He said in answer to an earlier question that the documentation would be released in compliance with the Metropolitan police. Can he ensure that his Department, No. 10 and the Met understand what parliamentary privilege means and assert it on behalf of this House? Sec…”

“Yes, so we can see if there is a dramatic tilt. Obviously, Nick Thomas-Symonds and the wider Government are looking at SPS and developing relationships with the EU. Do you pick up any sense, commercially, of pressing the pause button on initiatives to see how that settles down, when it might be delivered and what, if a…”

“I think my colleagues on the Committee and I would welcome your assessment of the effectiveness of UK Government policy in supporting NI businesses to operate cross-border and, allied to that, your assessment of whether the UK Government, the Executive and indeed the Irish Government are providing enough effective and—…”

“I have one final question; it is very brief. Is enough being done to exploit the Celtic fringe of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales? One automatically defaults to what Westminster is doing, but is there sufficient business focus to support growing collaboration between the devolved regions?”

“Is it your hope that the creation of the one-stop shop will, cumulatively, maximise the bang for the buck?”

“I think my colleagues on the Committee and I would welcome your assessment of the effectiveness of UK Government policy in supporting NI businesses to operate cross-border and, allied to that, your assessment of whether the UK Government, the Executive and indeed the Irish Government are providing enough effective and—…”

“I appreciate that. The question is: are people saying, “This is a very fluid situation. We think we know what the direction of travel and the landing spot is. Let’s hold off on investing in kit, software, whatever, for overcoming ‘barriers’ that will, hopefully, be temporary”?”

“That would be helpful to see what the balance is.”

“Do you have a split for what the value is of trade from north to south?”

“For clarity, can I check whether those rather encouraging figures of north-south, or inter-island, trade were for specifically the value of the trade from north to south, and not two-way figures?”

“What is your view on how Northern Irish businesses can better leverage their position on the island of Ireland to support growth? I am thinking particularly, but not exclusively, about the access to two very distinct and lucrative markets.”

“Good morning. Could you set out for the Committee—bullet-point form might be helpful, for clarity—the challenges and opportunities as you see them that the all-island economy presents for those doing business or looking to do business in Northern Ireland?”

“Is it your hope that the creation of the one-stop shop will, cumulatively, maximise the bang for the buck?”

“I have one final question; it is very brief. Is enough being done to exploit the Celtic fringe of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales? One automatically defaults to what Westminster is doing, but is there sufficient business focus to support growing collaboration between the devolved regions?”

“I appreciate that. The question is: are people saying, “This is a very fluid situation. We think we know what the direction of travel and the landing spot is. Let’s hold off on investing in kit, software, whatever, for overcoming ‘barriers’ that will, hopefully, be temporary”?”

“Yes, so we can see if there is a dramatic tilt. Obviously, Nick Thomas-Symonds and the wider Government are looking at SPS and developing relationships with the EU. Do you pick up any sense, commercially, of pressing the pause button on initiatives to see how that settles down, when it might be delivered and what, if a…”

“That would be helpful to see what the balance is.”

“Do you have a split for what the value is of trade from north to south?”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. My point relates to the point of order from the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas), which he did not quite finish. The hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) has in the published register of interests significant monthly payments from X Corp, headquartered in Ca…”

“Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that there may be some considerable merit in both the European Commission and the European Parliament looking over their paperwork to see precisely where these things link up and whether Peter Mandelson breached rules when he was serving as Commissioner?”