Speeches by Hoare.

“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”?”

“Conscious of that, Mr Speaker, let me say that I agree with my hon. Friend, and then conclude with two asks of the Government. First, will they confirm when a Bill will be introduced and that it will be passed speedily in both Houses before the Easter recess; and, secondly, although it is not my job to speak on behalf …”

“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…”

“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…”

“My right hon. Friend is right, but if this motion is passed unamended this afternoon, all those papers will be available either to this place or to the ISC, and then we will know. We are all aware of these sorts of things. Somebody will set a hare running at some point and we will say that we think this, that and the o…”

“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, Mr Speaker. This relates to the point the Minister made about the Metropolitan police asking that certain documents not be released, in case they prejudice a trial or investigation. You know as well as I do, Sir, the importance of privilege to this place. Will your office and counsel work with the …”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. My hospital pass has just gone through the shredder. Let me say to the hon. Gentleman, in all candour: yes. The likelihood of Mr Windsor ever putting a crown on his head is so remote as to be unimaginable, but for clarity and probity, I agree with him. I do, however, think we should deal with the…”

“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.”

“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?”

“I think, Mr Speaker, that we usually prefer for matters relating to those sorts of things not to be dealt with on the Floor of the House.”

“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Why else would we have an Intelligence and Security Committee with that remit? It is not as if we are retrospectively trying to establish a Committee of the House to do a specific job. It exists to do this sort of job, among other things. I hope that those on the Treasury Bench h…”

“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?”

“Maybe not in this light. Touché, Minister—damn, my secret is out! It all went very well, you will be delighted to hear, and it was long-term rather than just transactional—with my surname, I have to be careful about that. Do you see part of your role as being the Minister of HMG? I do not mean that in an actual sense. …”

“On the point about granular knowledge, when the Committee undertook a trip to the States as part of this inquiry, we were very struck by the importance of having a mayor—a pinnacle, local point of contact—and, in relation to the semiconductor sector, our attention was drawn to the fact that a much faster and more knowl…”

“The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is right to say that the other place must modernise its disciplinary procedures, but that kicks the Mandelson can down the road. This is not the first time this modern-day Icarus has flown a little too close to the sun, usually over money; we all remember the Geoffrey Robinson m…”

“And the Hinduja passport, yes. Where I disagree with the Minister is in conflating the updating of the disciplinary procedures of the other place and the bringing forward of legislation—which is allowed—to remove Mandelson’s peerage. I am absolutely certain that, were the Government to bring forward a Bill, which need …”

“Minister, you are new to post from a heritage of business rather than politics, so I wanted to ask you a first-base type of question. We know that the world is a highly competitive place for investment, and that lots of emerging countries are looking for inward investment and so on. We have city mayors, the Senedd, the…”

“Is that a regular programme to make sure that the Welsh Government are carrying out the strategy?”