argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Deaths of Journalists: Conflict Zones — House of Commons, 2016-02-01
Topic: Civil Rights
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (Conservative, Centre-right): Marie Colvin was a The Sunday Times journalist killed in Syria in 2012, while reporting from the siege of Homs. She passionately believed that through her work she could be the voice of all those experiencing conflict, from whatever perspective. During the latter part of her life, her determination to be that voice had a physical manifestation: an eye patch, the result of injuries sustained in Sri Lanka, where she was hit by shrapnel as she tried to cross the front line Following her death, the columnist Peter Oborne wrote: "Society urgently requires men and women with courage, passion and integrity to discover the facts that those in authority want to suppress." Marie Colvin herself said: "In an age of 24/7 rolling news, blogs and Twitter, we are on constant call wherever we are. But war reporting is still essentially the same—someone has to go there and see what is happening. You can’t get that information without going to places where people are being shot at, and others are shooting at you." The relationship between Members of this House and the fourth estate—our friends up in the Press Gallery—is complicated, but although much of modern-day politics could often be described as a conflict zone, we do not daily put our lives on the line in our place of work. When a member of our armed forces is killed in a conflict zone, the Prime Minister rightly takes a moment at the beginning of Prime Minister’s questions to remind the nation of the sacrifice that that brave serviceman or woman has made. But with the notable exception of people such as Marie Colvin, we do not hear anywhere near as much about the sacrifices made by a large number of professional and citizen journalists every year in the name of newsgathering The Committee to Protect Journalists, which I want to thank on the record for its assistance in preparation for this debate, has recorded that 98 journalists were killed last year. It has been definitively confirmed that 71 of them were murdered in direct reprisal for their work; were killed in crossfire during combat situations; or were killed while carrying out a dangerous assignment, such as covering a street protest.
Deaths of Journalists: Conflict Zones — House of Commons, 2016-02-01
Topic: Mixed Topics
Nigel Paul Huddleston (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and I congratulate her on securing this very important debate. Does she agree that the pace of news in the modern age means that we can no longer wait for dispatches to be informed about what is going on in conflict zones? Journalists are best positioned to give us this real-time accurate information of what is really going on.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is, as ever, making a very compelling case. Does he have any idea of the annual cost to British taxpayers of imprisoning foreign nationals? I know that many of my constituents are very concerned about this issue, and thank him for raising it.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I would be delighted to give way to my hon. Friend in just a moment, once I have answered the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley. I did promise to give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker)—I keep thinking of Hebden Bridge, which is in his constituency—but then I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North. I think that the figure is £26,000.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Karen Anne Bradley (Conservative, Centre-right): Again, Mr Speaker, I would just like to clarify that point. The Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and Family Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) is in the building, and will be attending the Chamber shortly. I think that she had a couple of things to do beforehand.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Craig Whittaker (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. He has obviously done a great deal of research, as he has some impressive figures. I think that he said there are 10,442 foreign national prisoners from more than 160 different nationalities. Can he enlighten the House on the mix between EU and non-EU foreign nationals who are in our prisons?
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): The forensic analysis of my hon. Friend’s brain is illustrated to us all, because that is exactly the question that needs to be addressed. According to the figures that I was sent in response to my parliamentary question at the end of January, the breakdown, continent by continent, is as follows: 20% of foreign national offenders in our country come from Africa; 18% from Asia; 1.5% from Central and South America; a whopping 47% from Europe; 7% from the West Indies; and a negligible percentage from Oceania.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the difficulties is that, under article 8 of the Human Rights Act, we are not allowed to deport people to so-called unsafe countries. If 40% of these people come from Europe, by definition they do not reside in unsafe countries. Therefore, we need a Bill such as this so that they can all be sent back immediately to France, Italy, Germany or wherever.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend and I thank him for that intervention. He is far more expert than I am in legal matters, given his extensive parliamentary experience, legal training, and great deal of common sense, but I am not sure whether he is correct. My understanding is that, in our bizarre human rights system, even member states of the European Union are not deemed to be safe countries to return to. I believe that Greece is classified as a country to which it is not safe to return individuals, either under the asylum regulations or the prison regulations. That is a country to which millions of our fellow citizens go on holiday every year—
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to give way in a moment. Our citizens go there on holiday every year and yet we are not allowed, legally, to send back to that country people whom we do not want here.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): That is an interesting question. It is probably a combination of political correctness, Government incompetence, human rights legislation and an obsession with not upsetting our friends in the European Union. It is probably a combination of those four factors, with some other issues thrown in.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I have a wealth of parliamentary talent before me and I am happy and keen to give way to all my hon. Friends, but I am operating a taxi queueing system, and to be fair to all my hon. Friends I shall take the interventions in order.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Julian Carlton Knight (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for giving way; he is being most generous and diligent in how he is taking interventions. His account has been forensic in its detail, and he is making a compelling case. I am absolutely shocked at the figure of £850 million, but this is not just about numbers or forensic analysis. It is also about individual stories and individual victims, and a country that is wronged. I draw his attention to the case of William Danga, 39, a Congolese national and convicted rapist who, while challenging his deportation proceedings on human rights grounds, went on to abuse two children in this country. Will my hon. Friend reflect on that?
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is always skilful in the Chamber, and as always he is being very courteous. I am grateful to him for allowing me a second intervention I want to come back, if I may, to the personal effects of foreign national offenders in this country. In the last Parliament, I had a constituent who was the victim of a rape by somebody from north Africa. After the offender had served his sentence, he was released back into my local community and not deported. Will my hon. Friend reflect on how such a situation could come about? I suggest that the problem lies in article 8 of the European convention on human rights, as set out in the Human Rights Act. Perhaps we should repeal that Act and replace it with a British Bill of rights and responsibilities that better protects our constituents.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend speaks not just for Crawley and its good citizens, but for the nation. He is spot-on. We need to get rid of the Human Rights Act and replace it with a Magna Carta-like domestic Bill of Rights that we can all understand and that implements justice in the way that the British people would like to see it implemented My hon. Friend probably has more foreign national offenders going in and out of his constituency than any of the rest of us, because of the location of Gatwick airport. I am shocked and appalled, as I know his constituents will be, that such a violent offender was released back into his local community. That cannot be right on any level. Such people need to be sentenced and convicted, serve their time in jail in full in their country of origin and not be let back into our country. Then the citizens of Crawley and the rest of the United Kingdom would be able to sleep safe in their beds at night.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): We are now hearing nothing about the repeal of the Human Rights Act. What has happened to that? A moment ago my hon. Friend mentioned the return of foreign criminals. If I am fortunate enough to catch your eye, Mr Speaker, I hope to deal with that in more detail later, but the problem with the present system is that there is nothing to prevent deported foreign criminals—however few are deported—from returning later, because no biometric information is kept. That is one of the points made by Migration Watch, and the Government should change it. As biometric visas are introduced in the future, we will be able to track people who have been convicted and sent to jail here and then sent back to their country of origin.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Civil Rights
Julian Carlton Knight (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for showing characteristic generosity in taking interventions. I echo his views on the Human Rights Act. It seems anathema to me that as a country with the best part of 1,000 years of common law, we have to accept a Human Rights Act designed for countries that have experienced fascism within living memory. We did not go down that road. We are Britain and we have the common law. The point about increased capacity in prisons is interesting. That would allow us to pursue a more vigorous justice regime, particularly in the case of burglary. My hon. Friend is aware that it is becoming commonplace that many burglars are not receiving custodial sentences, which is an appalling state of affairs. Burglary is a crime that impinges on people’s lives. Will he reflect on the need for greater capacity in our prisons?
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I have no objection to the number of interventions—that of itself is perfectly orderly and many would say that it should be encouraged. But if Members could have some regard to their length—shortening thereof—that would greatly assist our deliberations.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for that intervention. My hon. Friend’s attention to detail, which he has just demonstrated, is legendary in this place. He gives me a good idea. I have been struggling to think of somewhere to send the 434 individuals who refuse to declare their nationality. I wonder whether the prospect of a prison place in Antarctica unless they state where they originally came from might encourage them to reveal their true identity At the top of the list of shame is Poland, because 951 Polish nationals are incarcerated in our prisons.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Is my hon. Friend aware that before we had the free movement of people within the European Union, which Polish people took advantage of, the number of Polish people in our prisons was only in double figures? Indeed, I think in 2002 it was as low as 45.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Jeremy John Elton Lefroy (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is talking about a very serious matter. I must declare an interest, because I believe that I have some Polish ancestry. Does he not agree that an awful lot of Polish people make a big contribution to this country? In Stafford I have a Polish club that resulted from the sacrifice and service that many free Poles gave to the allies during the second world war. Indeed, the Poles who come over and work hard on fruit farms and in factories around Stafford do a tremendous job. What we are talking about is a very small minority who abuse this country’s hospitality.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am second to none in my admiration for the Polish people, the Polish nation and individual Poles. The Polish work ethic, frankly, would give many of our own citizens an example of how to behave in life. We have a lot to learn from them. My criticism is not of Polish people; it is of the EU system. Under EU rules, we are unable to prevent Polish citizens with criminal records from coming into this country, we are unable to send back to Poland the few Polish citizens who are convicted of criminal offences and imprisoned in our country, and we are unable to prevent them from returning. I am full of praise for the Polish nation and for hard-working Polish citizens. As on so many issues, my hon. Friend is absolutely right, but we must not ignore the fact that of the 160 countries represented in our prisons, Poland is in first place.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. I say very gently to the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone) that I hope he is not intending to provide biographical details of each of the people from Poland before proceeding to the second of the 160 countries of which he wishes to treat. If that is his intention, it might test the patience of the Chair. I feel sure that he is planning no such mission. On that note, no doubt he will take the intervention from the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope).
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I bow to his huge knowledge and experience of the Council of Europe and its various pronouncements. He is right to highlight the EU prisoner transfer agreement, introduced some years ago, which was meant to be the great panacea for the number of EU citizens in our jails. We were apparently going to be able to send EU prisoners in our jails back to their EU countries.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Craig Whittaker (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to apply a different principle. My hon. Friend has noted that there are 10,442 foreign nationals in our prisoners. Can he tell us how many British nationals there are in prisons around the world? If we applied the same principle to them, how much would it cost us to have them back in our prisons?
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very helpful intervention; his lateral thinking on the issue demonstrates that he is an assiduous Member of the House. In answer to his question, I believe that each year about 4,000 people with British nationality are imprisoned overseas. I got that figure from Prisoners Abroad, which seems a very worthwhile human rights and welfare charity; it provides those people with humanitarian aid, expert advice and emotional support I hope that we will get the official figure from the Home Office or the Foreign Office when the relevant person arrives. Some of those British nationals will be in prison not because they have been convicted of any crime, but because they have been detained by the authorities of whatever country they might be in—and most of those countries will have criminal justice systems that are far less rigorous than our own It seems to me that, were we to sort this system out, 4,000 British nationals could be repatriated to serve their time here. I am not suggesting for one moment that all 4,000 would return immediately, but my hon. Friend asked for a figure and that is the one I have. In practice, the number of returnees would be a lot lower. Of course, that number is still a lot lower than the number of foreign nationals convicted and imprisoned in this country.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point Mr Speaker, you will be relieved to hear that I do not actually know any personal details of any of the Polish prisoners, so I will not trouble the House with that information, but I am grateful, as ever, for your wise counsel and guidance.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point about a key issue, and I will answer it, but his intervention has reminded me that I did not answer fully the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch on the EU prisoner transfer agreement. Now that we have that agreement, apparently we can send back to EU countries those foreign EU nationals convicted and imprisoned in our country. But it is not working Specifically, Poland has a derogation until December 2016. Given that Poland is No. 1 on the list of shame, I would have thought that a key part of our renegotiation of the terms of our membership of the EU would have been for that derogation no longer to apply to Polish citizens living in the UK. As far as I am aware, however, Her Majesty’s Government made no attempt at all to tackle the issue during the renegotiation. Poland has the largest number of foreign nationals in our prisons, yet Her Majesty’s Government have done nothing, as far as I can see, to tackle the issue.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Immigration
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way—he is the very model of generosity. I asked specifically whether the clause meant any custodial sentence, because we had an arrival over new year who was a resident of the Netherlands but an Afghan national. He assaulted a member of check-in staff at Gatwick airport. He was then released on to the streets of Crawley without any address. A few days later, he assaulted a female police officer with a hammer. He was then, finally, arrested again. I put it to the House that this foreign national should never have been allowed into this country. He also had a previous murder conviction in the Netherlands. I am therefore pleased to support the Bill, which would mean we were able to remove people from this country at the earliest opportunity.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I knew the situation was bad, but the example brought to the House by my hon. Friend makes me think that it is a lot worse than I had feared. I invite him to intervene on me again to update the House on where this individual is now.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. Two things. First, "pithiness personified" is normally the title that I would accord the hon. Gentleman, and I hope that he will want to recover that status. Secondly, he referred to "your Bill". Debate, of course, goes through the Chair—I have no Bill before the House, but the hon. Member for Kettering has.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Other
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): In fairness, Mr Speaker, it is not actually my Bill. The Bill is in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough. However, I do have the privilege of being one of the sponsors, and I am pleased to be one of them.
Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill — House of Commons, 2016-03-11
Topic: Mixed Topics
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): I can see that the Bill Committee will be extremely interesting. I appreciate my hon. Friend’s point. I would take the view—I think other members of the Committee, although perhaps not all, would too—that a foreign national in this country who shoplifts should be removed forthwith and never be allowed to darken our shores again.