Jeremy Corbyn has mocked Theresa May’s appeal for cross-party cooperation on government policy making, telling her that if she is running out of ideas, she should read the Labour manifesto. (See 4.09pm.)
May has signalled that her call for more cross-party cooperation does not extend to working with Corbyn on security matters. In the Commons, where May was making a statement on the G20, the Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne expressed doubts about May’s initiative, asking her:
About this new love-fest with the benches opposite - given the record of [Corbyn] on the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, do you possess a very long spoon?
May replied:
Yes, I can say to you that I have in the past, as home secretary, welcomed the co-operation which I have had from the Labour benches - not from [Corbyn], but from others on his benches who have seen the need to ensure our agencies have appropriate powers to deal with the terrorist threat we face.
I look forward to Labour MPs, and indeed others on the benches opposite in this House, coming forward and supporting those counter-terrorism measures when we bring them forward.
May has insisted that after Brexit the UK will maintain a close relationship with Euratom, the European civil nuclear regulator. Several Tory MPs have expressed concerns about the government’s plans to leave Euratom (see 12.09pm) and, when May was giving her Commons statement, several MPs asked her why the UK was withdrawing from it. In response to Hilary Benn May said:
Membership of Euratom is inextricably linked with membership of the European Union.
But what we are doing, as was signalled in the Queen’s Speech with reference to a future bill on this issue, is wanting to ensure that we can maintain those relationships, that cooperation with Euratom, which enables the exchange of scientists, the exchange of material.
There are countries around the world that have that relationship with Euratom which are not members of the European Union but we need to put that bill in place and I look forward to your support for that bill.
The government has rejected claims that leaving Euratom could reduce the supply of radioactive isotopes in the UK, which are used for cancer scans and treatment. The Evening Standard highlighted these concerns in its front-page splash. In response, a government spokeswoman said:
This simply isn’t true. The availability of medical radioisotopes will not be impacted by the UK’s exit from Euratom. The UK supports Euratom and will want to see continuity of co-operation and standards. We remain absolutely committed to the highest standards of nuclear safety, safeguards and support for the industry.
Labour’s Rachel Reeves asks why May is saying membership of Euratom is inextricably linked to EU membership when the UK was a member of Euratom before it joined the EEC.
May says the treaty makes it clear the two are inextricably linked.
Labour’s Louise Ellman asks if the UK will retain membership of Europol and Eurojust after Brexit.
May says she has defended membership of Europol in the past. She says she wants the UK to retain its cooperation with EU countries on criminal justice matters.
Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem former business secretary, asks if the UK will accept lower food standards and investor state dispute settlement mechanisms in its trade deal with the US.
May says Cable is asking about a deal that has not yet been negotiated.
Labour’s Ben Bradshaw says there is a majority in the Commons to stay in Euratom and in the European Medicines Agency. So why won’t she stay in?
May repeats the point about Euratom being inextricably linked to the EU. But the government wants to retain the benefits of Euratom membership, she says. That is why there was a bill for this in the Queen’s speech.
The Labour MP Mary Creagh asks May if she will rule out intelligence sharing with the US, in the light of President Trump’s announcement of plans for a pact with Russia on cyber security.
May says the government is serious about protecting its intelligence, and is aware of the threat from Russia.
Sir Desmond Swayne, a Conservative, asks, in the light of the proposed “love-fest” with the opposition, and Jeremy Corbyn’s record on security, whether May has “a long spoon”.
May says she has worked in the past on counter-terrorism legislation, not with Corbyn, but with other MPs from his party.
Corbyn tells May she should read Labour manifesto if her government running out of ideas
Anushka Asthana
Here is the key quote from Jeremy Corbyn, in his response to Theresa May. (See 3.47am.)
I’m really surprised she had so much to contribute to the G20 given there was barely a mention of international policy in her party’s election manifesto. Or indeed any policy - so much so that the government is now asking other parties for their policy ideas. So, if the prime minister would like it, I would be very happy to furnish her with a copy of our election manifesto - or better still an early election, in order that the people of this country can better decide.
Labour’s Hilary Benn says MPs are concerned about her plan to withdraw from the Euratom treaty. What does the UK gain from this?
May says membership of Euratom is inextricably linked to EU membership. But the UK wants to retain the benefits of membership, she says. She says there are countries not in the EU that benefit from Euratom. That is what the government’s bill will do, she says.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, accuses May of “hypocrisy”. He says she talked about tackling terrorist funding, but the government is refusing to publish the Home Office report into the role Saudi Arabia is playing in funding extremism in the UK.
John Bercow, the Speaker, says he must withdraw the charge. An MP cannot accuse another MP of hypocrisy in the chamber.
Blackford does withdraw.
May says the G20 focused not just on large scale terrorist funding, but small scale funding. That is clear in the communique, she says.
She does not address the point about the Saudi Arabia report.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion