Employment Rights Bill – in the House of Commons at 4:49 pm on 5 November 2025.
Votes in this debate
Division number 343
Employment Rights Bill: Government amendment (a) in lieu of LA62
The House divided: Ayes 311, Noes 152.
Question accordingly agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (
That Kate Dearden, Nesil Caliskan, Dr Jeevun Sandher, Laurence Turner, Antonia Bance, Andrew Griffith and Charlotte Cane be members of the Committee;
That Kate Dearden be the Chair of the Committee;
That three be the quorum of the Committee;
That the Committee do withdraw immediately.—(Christian Wakeford.)
Question agreed to.
Committee to withdraw immediately; reasons to be reported and communicated to the Lords.
Chris Philp
Shadow Home Secretary
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker, at Prime Minister’s questions earlier today, the Justice Secretary and Deputy prime minister was asked by my hon. Friend James Cartlidge no fewer than five times whether he was aware of any prisoner being released early, having claimed asylum. We now know that he had in his possession at that time a folder containing details of the accidental release of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif from Wandsworth prison last week—a man previously convicted of sex offences and who is, as we speak, at large and posing a risk to the public. It has emerged since then that another man, William Smith, was accidentally released on Monday.
The Deputy Prime Minister failed to disclose that relevant information to this House. The House and the public are entitled to be told about such things, but the Deputy Prime Minister withheld that information. The police have subsequently confirmed that they have no objection to that information being released, contrary to briefings from the Government. Will the Justice Secretary come to this House before the close of business and make a statement so that Members can question him? We cannot wait until the House returns on Tuesday for a proper account.
Judith Cummins
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means), Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee
I thank the right hon. Member for his point of order. Whether the Government choose to make a statement is not a matter for the Chair; however, the Treasury Bench will have heard the right hon. Member’s concerns.
Iain Duncan Smith
Conservative, Chingford and Woodford Green
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker, I understand that the Deputy prime minister has made it clear that he was held back for operational reasons by the Metropolitan police from answering that question at Prime Minister’s questions. Mr Swinford of The Times has published right now that far from that being the case, there is
“significant frustration in the Met Police”,
as they said that there was clearly “no operational issue” at all with the release of that information. I wonder if you will take that into consideration, Madam Deputy Speaker, because surely this is a process of misleading the House.
Judith Cummins
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means), Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order. I refer him to my answer to the previous point of order. It is not a point of order and not a matter for the Chair, but it is a matter of debate.
Graham Stuart
Conservative, Beverley and Holderness
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—
Graham Stuart
Conservative, Beverley and Holderness
It is, Madam Deputy Speaker. You will be aware that a Bill was presented to Parliament only this week that provides for a duty of candour for public servants. It is not enough simply to tell the truth; there has to be a duty of candour. Can you, Madam Deputy Speaker, share with the House whether the sponsoring Minister, the Justice Secretary, has decided to remove himself as the sponsor of that Bill?
Judith Cummins
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means), Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order; it is not a point of order, but a point of argument.
Andrew Murrison
Conservative, South West Wiltshire
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—
Andrew Murrison
Conservative, South West Wiltshire
It very much is, Madam Deputy Speaker. We have this week had the publication of a very important Bill—so important that the Prime Minister himself came to this House to present it on Second Reading. The sponsor of that Bill is the Justice Secretary. While I have no doubt that the Justice Secretary was being truthful today, there is a question over whether he was being candid, which is a higher test. Can you advise me on how the Justice Secretary might be requested to come to this House to clarify his position?
Judith Cummins
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means), Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Programme Board Committee
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order. However, I repeat that this is not a matter for the Chair. It is not a point of order.
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Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
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The post has existed intermittently and there have been a number of disputed occasions as to whether or not the title has actually been conferred.
More from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom
The Deputy speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in the absence of the Speaker.
The deputy speaker's formal title is Chairman of Ways and Means, one of whose functions is to preside over the House of Commons when it is in a Committee of the Whole House.
The deputy speaker also presides over the Budget.
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