European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

The amendments in this group have a number of things in common, and they relate largely to the ri...

When I was sitting in the hon. Gentleman’s place, Labour Ministers told us that the charter would...

It turns out that the charter does have value, and it certainly does have effect within the UK. I...

Is not an example of the use of the charter of fundamental rights the one given by our right hon....

Indeed. My right hon. Friend has stolen the punchline that I was building up to, because that is ...

Given that the charter has been part of British law for some years now, the case for repealing it...

Absolutely. We might hear a different argument from Ministers, but traditionally the Government’s...

Does my hon. Friend agree that one advantage of the new clause is that we could explore properly ...

Indeed. We need a far more detailed analysis from Ministers of the consequences of deleting the c...

When children in the world are still subject to slave labour or trafficking or are working as chi...

People will have many legitimate anxieties. We cannot simply erase a provision that currently has...

rose—

rose—

What a choice. I will give way to the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash).

One of the most fundamental questions is the notion of disapplying Acts of Parliament and the sup...

In no way would I wish to diminish the hon. Gentleman’s contribution to child protection and ensu...

Does my hon. Friend agree that this is about not just the application of the charter of fundament...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. If the Bill contained a provision to copy and paste many of th...

I have two points. First, when the charter of fundamental rights was introduced, it was said that...

It might well be the case that Parliament could salvage many of the protections over time and put...

As an old lawyer who enjoyed jurisprudence, I know that our laws and rights come from many differ...

I was trying my best to offer a hand of friendship across the Chamber and to say, “Let’s meet hal...

One of the differences between the charter of fundamental rights and the European convention on h...

It is probably time to elaborate on that example, because the Secretary of State—for it is he—sue...

As a Government lawyer at the time, I was honoured to present that case on behalf of the Governme...

I have no reason to question the hon. Lady’s capabilities in court, and I am in no way saying tha...

I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell)

I agree with the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) that we need more than a report; th...

My hon. Friend is correct. While we have powers on the statute and while rights accrue from case ...

rose—

I will give way to my right hon. Friend in a moment, because he has a great amendment relating to...

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind reference to my amendment 151. Going back to the case brought...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. If the hon. Member for Banbury (Victoria Prentis) had w...

The hon. Member for Banbury (Victoria Prentis) suggested that the charter of fundamental rights c...

The hon. and learned Lady makes the point very well, but perhaps the hon. Member for Banbury woul...

My point is not that we do not approve of the rights, nor that we thought it was not possible to ...

I hear the hon. Lady’s case that somehow the charter is not necessary, which is very much the cas...

Does the hon. Gentleman find it odd that we are transposing all EU law into our own law while tak...

I agree. I find it odd that Ministers are saying that, somehow, the charter does not matter but a...

Has the hon. Gentleman paid attention to protocol 30? Article 1(2) states:

“In particular, ...

I am not quite sure that is the interpretation of the courts, which have referenced the charter o...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I want to make a little more progress, if I may, because I need to reference a number of other am...

The recent prosecutions of the Government under clean air laws, for example, might not have been ...

My hon. Friend makes the point well. We can all imagine circumstances in which the Government cou...

My hon. Friend is making some excellent points. His amendment on Francovich echoes my own, althou...

My hon. Friend is correct about that and she has tabled a very good amendment on this issue. Mini...

As the hon. Gentleman will know, the threshold for claiming damages under Francovich is that the ...

Would it not be great if we were having a proper debate about retaining Francovich protections, a...

My hon. Friend rightly suspects that the Government will say that the charter from the UK will no...

We need to make sure that if we are transposing legislation, it is a true copy and paste, but tha...

I hope this will be a more helpful intervention. The hon. Gentleman is making a good point. The p...

Yes, the right hon. Lady makes a good argument about how we are transposing certain bits of Europ...

I have been listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman’s argument on transposing the charter of fu...

I have been in Parliament since 1997, on and off, and I find that amendments can often be rebutte...

rose—

I will give way one more time but I want to make sure that other Members can have a right to spea...

I am in violent agreement with the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) on the issue of F...

That is an exceptionally important point. Our legal system is one of the finest in the world. It ...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Mr Leslie). If I may say so...

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman also aware of the simple rights that many of us will have...

I place great respect on the fact that, for all the faults I can sometimes identify, when the Eur...

rose—

I will just make a little progress.

I do not have any problem with that vision at all. It w...

I have listened to my right hon. and learned Friend with great care and interest. Will he explain...

I thought Factortame would come along at some point in this debate. My hon. Friend is of course r...

My right hon. and learned Friend and former pupil master is making a speech with his characterist...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. As has been pointed out, this amendment just asks for a report...

Might I use as an example very cash-strapped services, which might not naturally wish to be exten...

The hon. Lady makes a valid point, but it is worth bearing in mind that that is covered by the Hu...

My right hon. and learned Friend raised the issue of the extension of rights. Is not one of the p...

That of course was one of the great anxieties when the charter was enacted. Indeed, it is the rea...

I just want to make sure that I understand what my right hon. and learned Friend is suggesting. A...

That could be a solution, but even if we do not have time to move to that and to have the necessa...

The general principles of European law do not cover the principles of environmental law. That was...

I agree that environmental law is an area that could do with the scrutiny that I have just outlin...

I just want to follow what my right hon. and learned Friend was saying a moment ago, because it s...

Yes, absolutely, and that was what new clause 55 sought to achieve, although it did provide the o...

My right hon. and learned Friend is making a typically thoughtful and deeply considered speech. O...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He has correctly analysed what the issues are and the categor...

Some of these rights are going to be incorporated in different statutes. For example, there is go...

If I understand my hon. Friend’s question, it goes to the point I made a moment ago, which was th...

But it will create uncertainty.

No, I do not think it will create uncertainty, any more than the Human Rights Act has created unc...

On the point my right hon. and learned Friend is making, I think I am in complete agreement with ...

Yes, and there we are in agreement. It is inevitable and regrettable that we face this situation,...

Is not the important point about clause 5 that any future Act of this Parliament takes supremacy,...

My right hon. Friend almost makes my case for me. He is absolutely right that, in so far as we wa...

In my right hon and learned Friend’s observations about schedule 1, paragraph 3(2), is he referri...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right and we are completely of one mind on this. I am talking ...

I am delighted, though not surprised, that my right hon. and learned Friend and I are thinking al...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his intervention. As I have said on many previous occas...

On whether the drafting is entirely right, so far, as far as I am aware, the Government have had ...

My right hon. and learned Friend makes a very good point. He highlights the difficulty faced by a...

rose—

Before my hon. Friend intervenes, let me say this to him. The big argument against EU law is that...

I hope that my right hon. and learned Friend will not go down the rabbit hole suggested by my rig...

I understand my hon. Friend’s point. However, the purpose of this Bill, as I understand it, is to...

Is there not an important change once we have left the European Union in that the European Court ...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. I slightly question the extent to which we have had cl...

It is a genuine pleasure to follow the right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve)...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I think I could probably get a few more sentences into my stride before taking an intervention, b...

Is the hon. Gentleman about to move on to explain why Tony Blair and the Lord Goldsmith fought so...

I was not about to go on to that, but clearly I am now. The hon. Gentleman knows that the charter...

The charter applies only when national authorities are implementing EU law. Does the hon. Gentlem...

I will come on to this point, but the charter is key to ensuring that retained law is treated pro...

Will not the hon. Gentleman’s proposals create more uncertainty and raise more questions than ans...

No. The right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield answered that point when it was raised by ...

The hon. Gentleman proposes that part of the charter should be erased and that it should undergo ...

I am genuinely puzzled by the hon. Lady’s point because she could make it in relation to all of t...

My hon. Friend is making a very powerful case, and my anticipation of the Minister’s speech incre...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Like him, I am looking forward to hearing the Minister ...

Our rights always used to be guaranteed, and will be guaranteed once we have left, through a comb...

I am puzzled by that point, because EU-retained law will effectively become statute law, and that...

I listened carefully to what the hon. Gentleman said about article 6 of the European convention. ...

As I understand it, it does not apply in all civil cases—only civil rights and obligations under ...

The hon. Gentleman said that he did not understand the point I was making. Our rights will be gua...

We are talking about statute law, and about rights such as the one on which the right hon. Gentle...

Has the hon. Gentleman considered the impact in relation to alleged and actual terrorists on the ...

In his keenness to tackle the argument, I think that the hon. Gentleman has missed the point. Tha...

On a point of clarification, the hon. Gentleman said that the date on which the retention would e...

If the Prime Minister’s words are to be taken at face value—we continue to operate during the tra...

The hon. Gentleman has touched on an important point. If we are going into a transitional period ...

I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman, who has made the point much more effectively than I...

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has made a number of statements about the f...

If the Government can identify the sources of rights covered by the charter and can explain exact...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield). At the outset,...

May I refer my hon. Friend to clause 5(2)? My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beacon...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and I will come on to address very carefully the spee...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will just make a little bit of progress and then I will give way to my right hon. and learned F...

Will the Minister give way?

I will not give way just for the moment, but I will give way to the hon. and learned Lady shortly...

Will the Minister give way?

I will give way shortly to the hon. and learned Lady, because I know she supports some of the ame...

rose—

Allow me to make the point and then I will give way, because there are two sides to my right hon....

No, I want these words removed because they are completely unnecessary. To use that wonderful wor...

I am not sure where this devilish plot has come from—I have made no such suggestion; I was simply...

On the subject of devilish plots and “The Screwtape Letters”, may I refer my hon. Friend to chapt...

My hon. Friend makes a considered and thoughtful point. Given the changes we are making—for the p...

The hon. Gentleman said earlier that one of his guiding principles was not to exacerbate any lega...

The hon. and learned Lady makes a perfectly respectable and legitimate point, but I will address ...

My hon. Friend reassures us that even without the charter of fundamental rights the House of Comm...

I will come shortly to my right hon. and learned Friend’s substantive generic point and also touc...

Will that report arrive before the Bill’s Report stage?

3 pm

Yes, it will, and, as I was about to say, there will indeed be a Report stage. If my right hon. F...

This has been a long and complex legal argument, but let me summarise it. The issue of data prote...

I know that my hon. Friend is an expert on these matters because of her time in the European Parl...

Will the Minister give way?

I will make a slight bit of progress, and then I will give way.

Seeking simply to transplan...

My hon. Friend has addressed my question, but, with great respect, he has failed to give an answe...

My right hon. and learned Friend’s intervention was not in quite the spirit in which we have cond...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am going to make a bit of progress, but I will give way shortly.

Let me, again, be clear ...

With all due respect, I do not understand the point that the Minister is making. The charter is a...

As we leave the European Union, it will make no sense to retain the institutional framework of me...

Will the Minister confirm that the evolution of our rights through history shows that the best wa...

I suppose the theory is that a majoritarian dominance—a Government with a huge majority—would tra...

Will the Minister give way?

I want to make a little bit of progress, but I will of course give way to the Chair of the Select...

I am grateful to the Minister. He said a moment ago that one of the arguments he was advancing fo...

I think that the right hon. Gentleman should look at, for example, the Devine case on prisoner vo...

rose—

I am not going to give way again.

The point I wanted to reaffirm is that, given that the su...

Does my hon. Friend accept that there may be a third category of rights that are in the charter b...

As I have made clear, we will publish a memorandum containing article-by-article analysis of the ...

Will the Minister give way?

I am going to make a bit more progress, but I will give way shortly.

The amendment relates ...

I thank the Minister for his words on the Data Protection Bill, which will give strong data prote...

I thank my hon. Friend; she has made her point in a very careful way. I suggest that that is some...

I am grateful to the Minister for addressing my amendment. Does he accept that it is essential th...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we need to be very careful to navigate our post...

rose—

I am going to make some progress, because I have been speaking for over half an hour and Minister...

rose—

I give way to my right hon. and learned Friend.

Is my hon. Friend about to move on to schedule 1, or is another Minister going to deal with it, a...

As I said at the opening of my remarks, given the intention to address clause 5 in some detail an...

I rise to give my support and that of the Scottish National party to the amendments designed to r...

I think I have already said this, but I am very happy to reaffirm for the hon. and learned Lady t...

I am grateful to the Minister for that. I had understood that the revision and repeal of the Huma...

I am flattered that the hon. and learned Lady is quoting me in the Chamber. Does she not find it ...

With respect, we have all that at present. The status quo is that the ECHR and the charter of fun...

Does the hon. and learned Lady agree that there is some kind of misunderstanding here, and that i...

The hon. Lady makes her point eloquently. Some of those on the Government Benches say that incorp...

Our independent judiciary is clearly quite capable of balancing the rights contained in the chart...

Indeed it has; that is its job. In particular, judges at the higher level such as the Supreme Cou...

Just before the hon. and learned Lady comes to her list, may I add one more item to it? The Gover...

Indeed I will. The hon. Lady has, in her usual clear and incisive way, anticipated something that...

I am listening with great care to the hon. and learned Lady’s remarks and to the interventions th...

I beg to differ. The Solicitor General is right about the dates, but as we know, the charter is m...

I wonder whether the hon. and learned Lady recalls the Mostyn judgment of 2013, in which a very s...

If I may say so, I think that that is to misunderstand. I am not responsible for the false assura...

The hon. and learned Lady and I both sit on that Committee. I would like her views on another poi...

Dr O’Brien did indeed make that point, and I think that anyone interested in the detail of why re...

The number of cases in which the charter is cited— 248 in England and Wales—does not mean that it...

I do know that, because I have sat through cases—so, too, has the hon. and learned Gentleman, I s...

The most familiar rejoinder of a judge when one cites the charter in the High Court is, “What doe...

The hon. and learned Gentleman is no doubt commenting on the English jurisdiction, and I cannot c...

I hope that the hon. and learned Lady can help me with a point of confusion that I am struggling ...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and that point was also made by Dr O’Brien in her evidenc...

As I have already suggested, both Tony Blair and Lord Goldsmith strongly resisted the charter of ...

It is for the European Court of Justice to continue to interpret what the charter of fundamental ...

The Supreme Court would be applying the European interpretation in that context, and I simply say...

My hon. Friend is making some excellent points about parliamentary sovereignty, but I am not sure...

I agree with my hon. Friend’s general proposition, to which I would add that it is up to us to ma...

rose—

I know he knows what I am about to say, but may I finish the quotation? He said that

“the E...

May I gently say to my hon. Friend that although this is fascinating, we are actually talking abo...

I simply add that I understand this with reference to the European Court in its existing situatio...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not, because, as the Chair will appreciate, I have taken a lot of interventions, as I ...

As I said, the drafting of amendments is quite a complex matter, and I am the first to accept tha...

Let me conclude. I do hope that my right hon. and learned Friend will not do what he has just sug...

I rise to speak to amendment 151, which, at first sight, looks rather technical but actually refe...

I was just listening to what the right hon. Gentleman said about the court cases. Would it not be...

The right hon. Gentleman gets right to the heart of the case. I believe that the answer to his qu...

Does my right hon. Friend recognise that if the European Commission makes a decision on equivalen...

My hon. Friend, who is a lawyer specialising in these matters, is absolutely right. I understand ...

My right hon. Friend is making a very powerful case. The Select Committee heard evidence from the...

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. My understanding is that the shortest period in whi...

My right hon. Friend is making an excellent case on a very complicated set of issues. Does he agr...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is such an invitation, and it is a terrible risk to take...

I should probably declare whatever the opposite of an interest is, in that unlike many of those w...

May I just challenge one point? If the right hon. Gentleman looks at the Data Protection Bill cur...

I will come on to that at the end of my remarks. I followed the right hon. Gentleman’s remarks ve...

Does this debate not show how technical this is and how good it is—I know people get a bit agitat...

I am grateful for that intervention. Actually two other useful points came out that I had not pre...

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee heard some very interesting evidence today...

That is a very helpful point. There may well be areas in which, because of the nature of the prod...

I agree: I do not think the Commission will be churlish or needlessly spiteful. But the problem i...

I accept that we should not take unnecessary risks, but it seems to me that we could deal with th...

Order. I have no power to impose a time-limit in Committee, but I do have the power to advise. We...

I rise to speak to new clause 79, which is in my name and the names of my right hon. and hon. Fri...

I believe that, taken as a whole, the Bill works and will do what it says on the tin. Indeed, I n...

Does my hon. Friend agree that a different amendment—perhaps a Government amendment on Report—cou...

Yes, my right hon. Friend made that fair point in an earlier intervention. I am happy to say that...

I rise to discuss new clause 78 and the amendments that are designed to retain the charter. I lis...

The hon. Lady rightly speaks of our living in a global environment, but she will acknowledge that...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point. Legal experts the Select Committee has listened...

Does the hon. Lady agree that it is hard to substantiate the claim that Britain leads the world i...

The hon. and learned Lady makes a good point. I am proud of the British legacy of fundamental rig...

I do not wish to criticise the UK Government, because in many ways and instances they do lead the...

I thank the hon. Lady for making that valuable point. As someone who is not a legal expert, I bel...

What exactly would the new clause add to the rights that already exist under article 14 of the Eu...

The new clause has been promoted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. I take it that the ...

I apologise for my brief absence from the Chamber during the debate—it was because of the excitem...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. We are told by the Treasury Front Bench tha...

That was certainly the stated intention when the charter was originally drafted, but the judicial...

My right hon. Friend talks about the expansion of the charter through the role of the ECJ. Can sh...

Of course, the key expansion as far as the United Kingdom is concerned was the confirmation by th...

As a former and, I have to say, very distinguished Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who d...

I can assure the hon. Lady that this Government and, I am sure, all successive Governments will r...

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Hanson. I rise to support amendments 101 and 105, ta...

Broadly speaking, there have been two means of protecting human rights in international law. The ...

I am wondering which country the hon. and learned Gentleman is talking about, because the common-...

No such charter existed with binding legal force before 2009, even in the European Union, but let...

Will the hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

No, I am not going to give way again. This will become a debate between lawyers, and that is not ...

It is actually on a moral point.

No, no. [Interruption.]

Order. The hon. and learned Gentleman is not giving way.

The point is that these broad and general rights are ripe with value judgments. Quite often, they...

Will my hon. and learned Friend give way?

If my hon. Friend will forgive me for a moment, I need to develop an argument, because I want to ...

Will the hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

I will give way to the hon. Lady, but not now.

Some say that there will be a collision. I a...

I thank my hon. and learned Friend for giving way. He makes a very passionate and highly informed...

It does make sense, because all that does is restore us to a position pre-2009 in the European Un...

I rise to participate in this debate as something of a rarity: a non-lawyer. I will try to keep m...

I had occasion to consider deeply the matter of rights and human rights when I drafted, tabled an...

As we are in effect transposing the whole of EU law, with all the regulations that people have co...

I agree with my hon. Friend. I think that it does make sense to look at this category of rights, ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke). I voted against this Bil...

There is genuine concern across this House about this matter, because it cannot be right that peo...

I thank the right hon. Lady for that intervention. Often the simplest sentences raise the biggest...

I have considerable sympathy with the points just made by the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Cre...

For the sake of the record, I would be grateful to my right hon. Friend—I nearly said “learned” b...

Oddly enough, I was going to say that, so I will not do so now. I agree with that. While we are a...

I rise to speak in support of amendment 46 in the name of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the ...

Stronger children’s rights protections exist in the devolved nations, and Ministers in Wales are ...

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, and she cites yet another powerful example of the ext...

My constituents voted overwhelmingly, by 67%, to leave—there were variations around the country. ...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. That is not my contention; my contention i...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes). I agree wi...

The extra rights, or third-category rights, in the charter seem to be predominantly matters of so...

I am afraid that the Walker case demonstrates exactly the opposite. Somebody was discriminated ag...

I entirely agree that there are anti-discriminatory rights contained in the charter. However, doe...

I do accept that that needs to be looked at. The problem with the sovereignty of Parliament is th...

The hon. Lady is making some excellent points. Some of her Conservative colleagues have argued th...

The hon. Lady does my colleagues a great disservice. The rights that my colleagues described as o...

This situation has evolved over a number of years, and it continues to do so. I do not want to in...

Is this an intervention?

It is. The then Labour Government said that they had a protocol that specifically ruled that out....

There has been much misrepresentation in the House of the protocol, but it is quite clear what it...

The hon. Lady is being generous in giving way. Can she expand on how she sees us getting from our...

I very much hope that those on the Front Bench will go away and undertake their promised exercise...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is really important, given the many concerns about the Bill, th...

I entirely agree with my right hon. Friend. In fact, I could not have put it better myself. In th...

I thank the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Antoinette Sandbach) for her speech, which showed her grea...

There have been a number of powerful speeches from Members on both sides of the Committee on this...

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. While the Government have made an argument that there is a ...

The case that my right hon. and learned Friend makes is completely unarguable. There is no answer...

On amendment 10, I am sure that my hon. Friend observed what was said about the absence of refere...

I think the most important principle is legal certainty. It may well be very sensible for us to s...

I support those amendments that seek to ensure that the charter of fundamental rights is not exem...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard). Let me take this ...

Before my hon. and learned Friend moves on—very authoritatively, I am sure—to the details of the ...

As the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Do...

Is not the answer to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe’s question that t...

I am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend, but I feel as though I am about to become a proxy in...

Will the Minister give way?

If I may, I will move on to amendment 10, which would remove paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) from sch...

I would like gently to point out that I did not delete clause 5(2), which refers to interpretatio...

I think that my right hon. and learned Friend has answered his own point. Without paragraph (2), ...

My hon. and learned Friend raised the question of scope and when they would apply, but it seems t...

I wanted to deal with the issue in this way, because it seems to me that the nub of the issue tha...

I am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend, who has just said some of the words that many of us ...

Let me turn to paragraph 3(1) of schedule 1 to be absolutely clear. I am interested in looking at...

I am most grateful to my hon. and learned Friend, who has made a really important concession at t...

As I have said, I want to ensure that the dialogue that has been opened continues. My right hon. ...

We are making some progress, but I point out that I am the second name on the amendments tabled b...

With respect to my right hon. and learned Friend, I have talked in detail about the different par...

rose—

rose—

I will give way to my hon. Friend.

I hope that the Solicitor General will be good enough to look at the deficiencies in amendment 10...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am always interested in looking at how one particular paragrap...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Lady, who has been very tenacious. Please forgive me.

Patience is a virtue, and I am not blessed with an abundance of it, so I am grateful to the Solic...

I know that the hon. Lady has a deep, long-term commitment to ensuring that the Good Friday agree...

Will the Solicitor General give way?

I had better make some progress, but I certainly will give way to the hon. and learned Lady in a ...

Will the Solicitor General give way?

If the intervention relates to the point I was making, I will give way.

I thank the Solicitor General for giving way. It is important that the House has clarity on the c...

I make it clear that, in the words of both the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, my hon. Fr...

Has not the Solicitor General, again, just answered his own question? I appreciate that some of t...

The rationale is quite straightforward in the sense that, in seeking to achieve maximum certainty...

I thank the Solicitor General for saying that he is going to look seriously at these points durin...

I can assure my hon. Friend that that will be the case. I know we have had a debate about this in...

I am just reminding the Solicitor General that I asked him to answer a crucial point earlier rela...

The hon. and learned Lady has a keen memory and she will not have forgotten the Government’s comm...

rose—

I am sorry but I must press on.

The first point to make on the amendments is that whereas s...

May I return to clause 5(1)? It states:

“The principle of the supremacy of EU law does not ...

I know that my right hon. Friend listens carefully to everything I say, and I am sure she would a...

Will my hon. and learned Friend give way?

No, I will not give way, as I need to develop my point.

For example, in 2015, in their lega...

I am very grateful to my hon. and learned Friend. I understand everything that he is saying. He k...

I did not say that. If that was the impression that was created, I am afraid that my right hon. a...

I am delighted to hear the Solicitor General say that. As he will appreciate, the point is a very...

Perhaps I can forgive my right hon. and learned Friend his eagerness to hear the remarks that I w...

Before the Solicitor General finishes his remarks, may I say, as a non-lawyer listening to what h...

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for making that observation. [Interruption.] I can assure Op...

I am most grateful to my hon. and learned Friend for giving way, because, unfortunately, I was no...

I am extremely grateful to my right hon. Friend.

For the reasons I have outlined, I would, ...

I rise to speak in support of amendments 8, 46 and 79, the excellent amendments 101 and 105 from ...

It is a pleasure to be able to say a few words this evening. May I say what a pleasure it has bee...

I am following my hon. Friend’s arguments very carefully, and I am very pleased to hear him setti...

This is about not furthering the rights of lawyers, but about how we as a House ensure that there...

As a matter of fact, my hon. Friend and I may be the only two Government Members who believe in h...

Three.

There are three of us. I am very grateful. [Hon. Members: “Four.”] Let us not count. In any event...

That is exactly right. I, respectfully, completely agree with my right hon. Friend. What has been...

I rise to support the Bill, particularly in opposition to amendments 8 and 46, as well as new cla...

I am pleased to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Mr C...

I think I agree with everything my hon. Friend has said. Does she agree that it would nevertheles...

In principle, that would be possible, but I pray in aid the comments of my hon. and learned Frien...

It has been a huge honour to listen to the debate, and to hear so many contributions from so many...

The debate on new clause 16 and the myriad other amendments has been held in a collegiate atmosph...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I should like to inform the House that on 11 and 17 Octob...

That has been corrected.

I rise to present a petition—[Interruption.] I will wait.

Order. Will Members leave quietly, please? I want to hear the petition.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I rise to present a petition bearing more than 1,500 names, c...