Mr Gregory Campbell
MP for East Londonderry · Democratic Unionist Party · United Kingdom
“The hon. Member talked about publication of the audit, with which I hope everyone will agree. Does he agree that it should be shared across the nations of the UK in order that all our Executives—the Parliaments in Scotland and Wales and the Executive in Northern Ireland—can take action where that is appropriate?”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that confidence in policing is often undermined by the public’s use of finite clips on social media, which do not take account of what happened immediately before whatever incident is broadcast?”
“A few years ago, we had an appalling incident when a reporter of Jewish extraction, from Israel, was in licensed premises in Northern Ireland.”
“That incident happened in my city at the weekend. Jewish athletes from Israel were forced to withdraw from the triathlon as a result of the hateful bile of these hard-left bigots. They complain about the far right, but we have to be consistent in any criticism and calling out of violent rhetoric, whether on the right or the left.”
“The right hon. Gentleman referred to the need for a humanitarian response. Does he agree that that can have an impact only if it is internationally co-ordinated? The scale of the catastrophe in Sudan is such that anything less that will be a piecemeal gesture.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that a classic example of that, which we had some time ago, was when companies selling plants and seeds in Great Britain could not supply them to Northern Ireland, but people could buy them here and take them over on a plane?”
The complete record
Every one of 600 lines we hold for Mr Gregory Campbell, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 12.
“The Secretary of State will be aware of the very high dependence in Northern Ireland on home heating oil. Although the Government have offered some help in the past 10 days, has consideration been given to what happens beyond the summer period if the crisis in the middle east continues over the next few months?”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. The timelines he is outlining have not been met, but that has coincided with a remarkable increase in the cost, particularly of first-class stamps, in the past five years. Does he agree that that is what drives the downward trend in the community’s trust in Royal Mail to deliver, and it needs to modernise and be more efficient?”
“On the issue of population change, it would appear that in the past 25 years the population of the United Kingdom has increased by over 10 million, while our economy has been largely stagnant. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that most people agree that there is a distinct difference between those who come from around the world to contribute to our society, pay their taxes, help the NHS and work, and those who come illegally? That distinction is often lost in this debate.”
“Can I wish you a happy St Patrick’s day, Mr Speaker? St Patrick is sometimes somewhat disparagingly referred to as a “west Brit”, which is very unfortunate given where he was born. Will the Minister have discussions with the Department of Justice and the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland to ensure that victims are not experiencing delays and prevarications in the court system, which lead to justice being denied as well as delayed?”
“Will the Minister undertake to consult with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister? Violence against women and girls continues to increase, with another woman killed in the past few days in Northern Ireland, and we need to take positive action to stem this misogynistic abuse of both women and girls.”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. To summarise what he is saying, we need to better spend the money that is currently being deployed in the NHS. Does he agree that this has to be the underpinning feature going forward? More and more money has been poured into the NHS; we all think it is a fantastic organisation and praise those who work in it, but we need to spend that money better and modernise the monolith that is the NHS.”
“The hon. Member for Rugby (John Slinger) raised the issue of balancing different opinions. Does my hon. Friend agree that, whether in Northern Ireland or across the UK, we always need to keep at the heart of what we say and do the balance that has to be struck between people, however stringent and difficult the circumstances might be? We need to understand those who may have opposing opinions, and try to ensure that life goes on and that we make progress for everybody, whatever their differences.”
“Has Mr Speaker received any indication from either Department of their intention to come to the House in advance of 17 March to indicate that this issue will be remedied as soon as possible? What might I do if they do not do that?”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Next week we mark St David’s day, and the relevant flag will fly on the parliamentary estate. Similarly, the relevant symbols fly on St George’s day and St Andrew’s day. However, this does not happen on St Patrick’s day, which occurs in three weeks’ time. I have raised this matter on numerous occasions inside and outside the Chamber. Mr Speaker kindly responded to my latest letter to him and said that responsibility with regard to this issue rests with both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. I have written to both Departments and am awaiting a response.”
“At last year’s spending review, the Northern Ireland Office announced a £2 million allocation to support the integrated education sector. Given that a range of schools in Northern Ireland have been offering an integrated educational ethos for many years, will the Government review that policy to support integrated education per se across a number of schools in Northern Ireland?”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. He itemised those that do an excellent job, such as Surfers Against Sewage and others, and there is also Feargal Sharkey from my city of Londonderry who has campaigned on and championed these issues for many years. All these people are doing a magnificent job, but we need to see a strategic response from the Government to deliver what we all want to see.”
“There have been numerous references to the cost of energy and reducing that cost in the United Kingdom. Has any assessment been made by the Minister or the Department of the comments made by the International Energy Agency in the past few days, which seem to indicate we have one of the highest prices in the western world?”
“A couple of weeks ago at Prime Minister’s questions I raised the issue of a very young civil servant trying to access her pension as she has only months to live. It was an exceptionally difficult and heartrending story, but thankfully, because of the appearance of her case at Prime Minister’s questions, the issue was resolved shortly afterwards. The point that was made then and since is that it should not take raising something at Prime Minister’s questions to get issues resolved. We need to get Capita, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the Cabinet Office or whoever to sort the issues out as quickly as possible.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that we have the potential for a win-win here? Many people complain about high street shops being derelict and empty, but if we can encourage people to live adjacent to or above retail units, we can increase footfall and protect people, provided the police are present, particularly in the evening time.”
“T9. A transparency campaigner who availed himself of legal aid to take a case against the Government 17 years ago has appealed and reviewed my attempts to have the total cost of legal aid he received made public and, ironically, transparent. The case is still ongoing six and a half years later. Will the Justice Secretary have discussions with the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland to stop this attempt to prevent transparency?”
“Given that we have a growth policy that aims to support UK bus manufacturing, does the hon. and learned Member agree that it seems totally counterproductive that we subsidise overseas bus manufacturers to bring buses into the United Kingdom? We have such magnificent manufacturing bases in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.”
“I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing the debate, the timeliness of which should be obvious to us all. She alluded to notifying people of this debate via social media. Does she agree that, particularly among younger males, part of the problem is the internet and the manifestations of unhealthy lifestyles online? We need to tackle that so that young males understand and appreciate that they should aspire to proper relationships between males and females.”
“I know the Chancellor would say that the Northern Ireland budget was an exceptionally good one, but would she agree that there are extreme circumstances pertaining to three areas in particular—policing, education and health—at the moment? Will she at least get into discussions with the First and Deputy First Ministers in Northern Ireland to see what can be done to alleviate the problems that are coming towards us?”
“The Minister has mentioned apprenticeships. Does he agree that there should be opportunities through the future town funding that the Government have announced? Coleraine and Londonderry, in my area, should enable young people to take advantage of the opportunities and ensure that local employers offer more training and apprenticeships.”
“Q9. I have a constituent who, although not yet 30 years old, has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. She has been told that she has a very short time to live. Because of her condition, she was given a retirement date—she is a civil servant—which was just last week. She has not received notification of any actual pension payment, and she has spent long hours trying to contact Capita. HM Revenue and Customs has claimed that all outstanding documentation was supplied to Capita in November. I have written to the Chancellor, and contacted the MPs’ hotline and Capita, but the issue remains unresolved. Will the Prime Minister, along with the Chancellor, help to get the issue resolved immediately?”
“Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that a classic example of what he is saying was the Shankill bomb? The perpetrator of that bomb was an IRA terrorist. He was killed along with the innocent people whom he murdered, yet Sinn Féin and republicans insist on trying to portray him as a victim, as opposed to those who he genuinely caused to be victims.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that clarity is required and that, in any statutory duty of care, account must be taken of the potential seriousness of the problem for those affected? Does he agree that we need to do it in a way that does not impose an extreme burden on universities to implement any statutory duty of care, so that it becomes a win-win for both students and their concerned parents?”
“My hon. Friend mentions compassion and understanding —and the lack of it. He reminds me that many years ago, when I was on the Transport Committee, we met a certain chief executive of Ryanair who is not noted for his compassion and understanding. He made it absolutely clear to us MPs that he did not care—I will not use the expletive—if passengers had to crawl over broken glass to get to the airport. Compassion and understanding need to be shown by the airport operators, because they certainly will not be shown by Ryanair.”
“My right hon. Friend is rightly alluding to the issue of consensus. Does he agree that the one fundamental building block to making any progress is some form of consensual approach to how we make politics in the Assembly work? I am not talking about vetoes, but we cannot make progress unless there is agreement among the divided communities that make up Northern Ireland.”
“My hon. Friend is outlining some of the benefits that have flowed from devolution, flawed as it is. Without denigrating the Minister, does my hon. Friend think we would have got those things if it had been down to the Northern Ireland Office, or did devolution deliver in the absence of the NIO?”
“Yesterday the hon. Member outlined the tremendous work being done to privately raise about £1 million for research. Does she agree that that needs to be supplemented and complemented by statutory funding to make the dramatic difference that she, and hopefully all of us, agree needs to happen?”
“I have personal experience of a very young constituent who lost her father for the exact same reason. The trauma affects not just the immediate family, but close friends too, and it lives with them for years. Hopefully, we can see some progress both today and in the next few weeks, whenever the cancer issue is addressed in the main Chamber.”
“Engaging with and listening to stakeholders is good, but there needs to be a positive outcome to both. There also needs to be specific and clear references in the Bill to paramilitaries not being permitted to serve on the victims and survivors advisory group. Will that be the case?”
“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate, in particular given his personal circumstances. He rightly outlined the need for early diagnosis. Does he agree that that is particularly true of those of us who are males, who sometimes have an extreme reluctance to go to a GP to ascertain what might be wrong? That needs to be addressed urgently.”
“My hon. Friend touches on Israel. Only last week, we heard that the BBC is now about to fork out £28,000 to an Israeli family whose home Jeremy Bowen went into in the aftermath of 7 October, without getting permission to do so. We are going to have to pick up the bill for that as well.”
“I congratulate the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) on securing the debate. Fairness and impartiality should be the hallmarks of the BBC, and many years ago they were, but unfortunately that has not been the case in recent years. The BBC understands, as I am sure others do, that the anniversaries of historic incidents from our troubled past in Northern Ireland are very important. If they are done well, people recognise them, acknowledge them and pay tribute to them; if they are done badly, people complain about them. I will use two topical examples to try to show the need, under the charter renewal, for the BBC itself to be renewed. It needs to be seen to be impartially reporting events, whether in the middle east, Ukraine or Northern Ireland.”
“The BBC never mentioned that context, but yesterday it did mention the context in relation to what may be regarded and described as the other side of the political equation. I raise those two topical instances to show that the BBC needs to take more care. It needs to be meticulous in trying to be seen to be fair and balanced in reporting incidents that are still raw, even though they may have happened many, many years ago.”
“It seemed to many that that was an attempt to explain why the IRA took the step that it did in shooting innocent workmen. What was absent from those bulletins, as was pointed out by Kenny Donaldson, from the South East Fermanagh Foundation victims group, was that the Kingsmill massacre was meticulously planned by the IRA months previously. But the BBC did not report that. In contrast, in the same month—January each year—the BBC has long-standing coverage of the Bloody Sunday event, which was close to my constituency, in Londonderry. The audience is never reminded that, immediately preceding the Bloody Sunday incident, two policemen were murdered. There is never any context given about that. On the very day of Bloody Sunday, Major Robin Nigel Alers-Hankey, the first British Army officer killed during the troubles, died from his injuries.”
“Yes, I can report that it is. People have told me that they no longer purchase a licence because they do not watch live TV, and that shows a lack of confidence in the BBC’s ability to report accurately. I return to the two topical examples, which demonstrate, unfortunately, what the BBC has turned into in recent days. Just yesterday, it was the 50th anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre in County Armagh, where the IRA murdered 10 innocent Protestants. BBC Radio Ulster had a programme to acknowledge that, and it was good, right and proper that it should do so. In subsequent hourly radio news bulletins and on that programme, the BBC also told us that loyalist paramilitaries had murdered Catholics in the days immediately preceding that massacre.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that, whether on straightforward illegal immigration or on protected characteristics, part of the problem is that there are concerns in wider society about the United Kingdom’s stagnant economy and expanding population. That lead to protests and to demands that we close our borders so that we do not further exacerbate the problems of a growing population and a shrinking economy.”
“Both this Government and the previous Government tried to get to grips with the increasing problem of the smuggling of illegal drugs into prisons. Can the Secretary of State indicate that, this time, this Government will get to grips with the problem so that people can be reassured that it is not a continuing and escalating issue?”
“My hon. Friend has just touched on affordability. Would he agree that, by and large, people across communities—whether in Northern Ireland or across the UK—want to embrace green energy and be environmentally friendly, but they do not want to pay a massive premium to attain a goal that is unrealistic in the timeframe? The important thing is reconciling those two things to bring the community with us.”
“In analysing the report and the Secretary of State’s statement, people will be looking to the future as we try to ensure that no one rewrites the past. However, in trying to do that, does he agree that the murky world people such as Scappaticci inhabited brought about the consequences of 1994, when both the IRA and loyalists declared ceasefires, and that now is the time for the leaders of the political republican movement to say that what happened in the past was wrong and should not have happened, and to issue an unequivocal apology for the actions of the Provisional IRA?”
“On the issue of local and national BBC, does the hon. Member agree with me about one tremendously heartwarming story this week? I am not a rugby league fan but Kevin Sinfield does fantastic work, going beyond any category of endeavour to draw attention to the vile, awful condition of motor neurone disease. The promotion of that on local and national media helps to drive forward the campaign.”
“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. Does he agree that the continuing uncertainty is driving the problem and causing issues for the medical profession and consumers in Northern Ireland, and that it has to be clarified and resolved immediately?”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the big problems in Northern Ireland and across the UK is the lack of affordable homes? Many families are finding that that is the difficulty with getting on the housing ladder, and there are social housing issues as well.”
“Will the Minister have discussions with some of the large retail chains in which we often see occasions of misuse of labour in overseas territories, particularly in Africa and the far east?”
“I welcome the Secretary of State’s indication that he is awaiting the outcome of that report on screening for prostate cancer. If that report recommends what many of us hope it will recommend, will he act quickly to develop the report’s recommendations, whatever they are?”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this debate. On the point about training and upskilling, does he agree that we need to do more to develop the skills and competitiveness of our manufacturing base, and that that needs to spread beyond the large cities so that smaller towns and their residents can benefit?”
“Will the Secretary of State step up his efforts to ensure that there is no disadvantage to companies trading within Northern Ireland? Further to that, he will be aware of the potential threat posed by Chinese-built buses. Given that excellent UK-made zero emission buses are built in Northern Ireland at Wrightbus, will he liaise with the Department for Transport and mayors in Great Britain to ensure that purchases of those buses, which have no security risk, are seen as infinitely preferable to purchasing those made in China?”
“I was hoping that the hon. Gentleman would turn to the Giant’s Causeway UNESCO world heritage site. Does he agree that that is one of the nation’s tremendous tourism facilities, but we have to be very careful with it, because there have been attempts by developers in recent years to put offshore wind farms in immediate proximity to it? We must be extremely cautious about proceeding with developments of that nature in such close proximity to a national heritage site.”
“The Minister has outlined his determination and urgency on nuclear power. I hope he is able to confirm that everyone across the United Kingdom will benefit from lower costs as a result of the construction of mini nuclear reactors.”
“On the quick reaction alert force, the NATO coverage and the contribution the Typhoon fighter would provide, does my hon. Friend agree that the proximity of the Irish Republic to the UK means that, in effect, we offer that nation some coverage and protection—which I presume we are quite happy to do—but at no cost to it whatever? Every NATO state has to pay considerably into NATO expenditure; the Republic pays nothing. Should our Government not approach the Government in the Republic to say, “We are covering for you. How about spending some of your money?”?”
“Given the existing retirement age for prison officers and the increase in the number of violent offenders in prison, along with the increase in illegal substances getting into prison, does the Minister not agree that it is time urgently to review the age at which prison officers retire, as many older prison officers are looking to retire?”
“Sometimes when assessing things like the BBC, there is the Westminster bubble and then the real world outside. Some of us in Northern Ireland have been pressing the BBC for many years to be more transparent, independent and impartial, so this latest debacle is but one in a long line. We are not talking about light entertainment or drama—no one questions that, and that by and large gets a green light from most people—it is news and current affairs. There is no point in people distracting by introducing a conspiracy within the BBC board. Is now not the time to start afresh with a transformed BBC service to give us the impartial news service that many of us have demanded for years?”