Results 1-20 of 5,517 for speaker:Keith Vaz

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: The hon. Gentleman is to be forgiven even before he speaks, because, as chairman of the all-party group on the Holy See, he arranged for me, my wife and other members of the group to meet the Holy Father. Whatever he says, I shall forgive.

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), even though after I hear him speak I tend to feel extraordinarily depressed about the state of the country. He is always a doom-and-gloom speaker about the Government, as he is an Opposition MP, but I hope in my speech to take up a couple of his points, especially concerning the financial services Bill,...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: I agree with what my right hon. Friend says; it is very bad when those in positions of responsibility in another place try to frustrate the will of this House. Now that the Conservative leader in the other place has heard the Queen's Speech, I hope that he will reflect on the proposals put forward. Some good speeches have been made in this debate. The points that the right hon. and learned...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: Perhaps they have gone to fix their broadband internet as a result of the digital economy Bill. I welcome that Bill because it will implement, in full, the recommendations of Tanya Byron's review, which was set up by the Prime Minister. She produced a very good report last year about video games. It is important that we do our best to ensure that the House has a say in how the video games...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: My hon. Friend is right, and I do remember that. It is important to revisit what people said then. Of course I do not blame the Opposition for the global economic crisis or the failure of the banks-it would be wrong to do so-and I am not saying that everything went wrong as a result of the suggestion of light-touch regulation. I am not that partisan. However, we need tough regulation, so...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: The right hon. Gentleman was a member of the last Government when BCCI-the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which was the sixth largest private bank in the world-closed because of a lack of regulation. I think he may have been at the Department of Trade and Industry at the time. There then followed the Bingham report into why the bank failed and why it was not properly supervised....

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: The right hon. Gentleman did not mention the digital economy Bill. Surely, he will support the measures in that Bill to implement for the first time the recommendations of the Byron report on violent video games. He must accept that there is a need for legislation to deal with such issues-we cannot just talk about expenses all the time.

Coroners and Justice Bill: Clause 27 — Increase in penalty for offence (12 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: It is most pleasing to see Government and Opposition working together to try to strengthen proposed legislation before it becomes law, rather than passing legislation before reflecting on it and wanting to change some of it, which is what we have done over the past 10 years in respect of the so-called 24-hour drinking culture. I commend the hon. Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire) on...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Clause 13 — Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc: England and Wales (12 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: Of course, my right hon. Friend is well travelled around the world, so he will have made his own inquiries, but I have to tell him that when I and other members of the Select Committee went down to meet those prostitutes, they were very contented with what they were doing. Many of them were from eastern Europe, and they had come here because they wanted to earn money. Their only...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Clause 13 — Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc: England and Wales (12 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: I wish to speak briefly about the amendments. I welcome what the Government have done. There was concern on Second Reading about the original proposals. As the Minister knows, the Home Affairs Committee looked into human trafficking. One problem, however, is that it is very difficult to find victims prepared to admit that they have been trafficked. My worry on Second Reading, therefore, was...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Clause 13 — Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc: England and Wales (12 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: Unfortunately, my right hon. Friend was not available, otherwise I am sure that we would have taken him with us. We engaged some ladies in a conversation about how they got there and what they were doing. They, too, we concerned that this was in some way a reflection on them. While accepting all the points that I know that my right hon. Friend—he is my dear friend, and was my successor...

Written Answers — Transport: East Midlands Trains: Standards (12 Nov 2009)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many East Midland Trains rail services have been delayed due to (a) rail works and (b) system failures in each of the last five years.