Results 1-20 of 1,618 for speaker:Richard Shepherd

Bill Presented: Coroners and Justice Bill (9 Nov 2009)

Richard Shepherd: I am reminded of a former Foreign Secretary in the ABC case of the late '70s, who felt that he had been assured that witnesses would not be exposed. The judge took a contrary view and the Government dropped the prosecution, having maintained that it was essential for national security reasons.

English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings) — [Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair] (21 Oct 2009)

Richard Shepherd: I am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth) for enabling me to have a brief shot at this debate. Article 9 of the Bill of Rights was not a matter of light spluttering on our constitution. It followed on a century when the authority of the Executive—power controlling the courts—could stop or threaten people who spoke freely. It is followed by the...

English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings) — [Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair] (21 Oct 2009)

Richard Shepherd: It is an impertinent intervention, but there are only four minutes left for Back Benchers to speak in the debate. I should be very grateful.

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: I had not thought of the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) as a Robespierre of liberty, but I would not look to him to protect me in the face of an extradition order in any other country. It is useful that the Home Secretary has come back at this moment, because this all goes back to something that happened long before his time as Home Secretary. In March 2003, while Parliament...

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I could not let pass that reference to what was a highly contentious piece of legislation because at the heart of it was a mutual recognition of the legal systems of other countries. There were big queries about the role of investigating justices who can hold British citizens in prison for many months in Italy—Greece was another...

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: Within the grand sweep of words that the hon. Gentleman just used lies the poor British citizen who might be stuck in prison for six months while a trumped-up or inadequate case is explored and investigated in another jurisdiction's domain. That was at the heart of it. It is our concern for the British citizen that is central to these arguments.

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: To be traduced in such a way by that former Minister for Europe— the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane)—is outrageous. Of course we are missing the essential debates on these matters. The hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) is right to have mentioned the treaty provisions in 2003, the discussions on which took place during the passage of the Police and Justice...

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: Will the Home Secretary give way?

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: I am obliged to the Home Secretary. He has referred to the Second Reading debate, but the fact is that we had a series of debates on the subject, including an important one when the right hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (John Reid) was Home Secretary. The arguments about rough equivalence and so forth were examined and fought over. The underlying principle was that when a British citizen...

Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day]: US-UK Extradition Treaty (15 Jul 2009)

Richard Shepherd: I seem to recall that the original negotiations were done in an unusual manner and were peculiarly related to terrorism, war and defence implications. The heart of the Government's argument at the time was that there was "rough equivalence", but the very use of the word "rough" demonstrated that there was no equivalence. That lies at the heart of our current difficulties. If the new Home...

Hydrofluorocarbons Limitation: Clause 2 — MPs' salaries (30 Jun 2009) has video

Richard Shepherd: My hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan) used the word "automaticity" about our pay: I take an entirely different view, of course. It has been a historic function of a self-governing Parliament to set its own pay and be responsible and accountable to those who send us here. I remember the voices of Enoch Powell and Michael Foot arguing that very point: what we do will...

Hydrofluorocarbons Limitation: Clause 2 — MPs' salaries (30 Jun 2009) has video

Richard Shepherd: My hon. Friend says that it is fantastic. That tells us what is happening to Front Benchers.

Hydrofluorocarbons Limitation: Clause 1 — Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority etc (30 Jun 2009) has video

Richard Shepherd: Across the Front Benches.

Parliamentary Standards Bill (29 Jun 2009) has video

Richard Shepherd: When I came here, I came here as a Member of a Parliament. I look back across 30 years and I think, "What am I now?" I am on the outer reaches of a court. The King sits over there, the heir to the kingdom sits here, and I am a minor courtier if I hope to receive some favour—or not. That is what has happened. The slamming of the door is on the wrong person now. The Crown moved, as we...

Parliamentary Standards Bill (29 Jun 2009) has video

Richard Shepherd: I certainly will. I think that is an important statement to make, and I also hope the right hon. Gentleman will vote on the guillotine.

Parliamentary Standards Bill (29 Jun 2009) has video

Richard Shepherd: Yes, on the guillotine and against it. All I am doing is asking the House to face up to these things. A week ago, 10 people stood in front of this House. It was the only time, however, that I bet that any of them had been able to address a Prime Minister in this Chamber uninterrupted with him sitting there for the entire five or six minutes. That is a privilege that is never extended to...