argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Liam Dominic Byrne (Labour, Centre-left): May I follow up the question that was well posed by the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) earlier? On the package of sanctions announced today, what specifically is that designed to deter, and what is the ultimatum that is being sent to the Russian Government today?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Matthew Toby Perkins (Labour, Centre-left): Everything we have heard today has suggested that the Government have started from the point of saying, "Here’s some sanctions. We know you’re going to do more. And when you do more, we’re going to do more." The message coming from this place could not be much feebler. I appreciate what the Minister has said about the conversations that he is having with partners across the west. Will he ensure that they know that the resolute opinion of this House is that the sanctions that have happened so far are only a start, and that much stronger action needs to come for the sake of Ukraine and for the sake of President Putin getting that message?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I am very grateful. One of the problems with the Government’s argument is that President Putin has already said the whole of the Donbas is now effectively to be either independent or part of Russia. Two thirds of that territory is currently held by Ukrainians and a third by separatists. That is an incursion already. It feels as if what we have announced today by way of sanctions is remarkably puny, yet it feels also as if we are not going to do anything more if the Russians just stick with this. Does the Minister not understand the anxiety there is, I think across the House?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander David Sobel (Labour, Centre-left): Last time I saw the Minister, he was about to enter the UN Security Council, and I thank him for how strongly he represented our country at that point Are the Government intending to release the Russia report on interference in UK democracy? Surely some of the names contained in it are exactly the people whom we should be sanctioning now. They previously interfered in our democracy and are clearly in hock to the Russian regime.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I know the Minister said that, but I am just trying to check whether he intends to do that under this proposed legislation. There is a legal argument that he cannot, not least because the statutory instrument lists what is considered to be a member of the Government of Russia and it does not include members of the Duma. However, in proposed new regulation 6(3)(a), I think the Minister is intending to include anyone who promotes a policy or action which destabilises Ukraine. It would just be helpful if he could explain that.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
David Lindon Lammy (Labour, Centre-left): I begin by thanking the Government for the confidential briefings that they have provided to the Opposition on this very urgent and pressing situation We sit in this Chamber with dark clouds gathering over Europe. For eight years now, Vladimir Putin has illegally occupied Crimea and stoked conflict and division in Donbas. For two months, he has menaced Ukraine’s borders, mustering the largest build-up of military forces in Europe since the second world war. Last night, he recognised the independence of the breakaway entities that he has created in Ukraine in a flagrant violation of international law and yet another rejection of the diplomatic commitments that he has made All the while, Putin has spun lies and mistruths, denied reality and fabricated justifications for his actions. In a speech to the Russian people, he sought to deny the legitimacy and sovereignty of Ukraine and the identity of its people. He concocted grievances and manufactured threats to legitimise his aggression. He spouted myriad lies to the people of Russia, with whom we and our NATO allies want only friendship and peace. And now he has followed that with the explicit deployment of Russian military forces into the internationally recognised territory of Ukraine. The prospect of tanks rolling across the borders of European states recalls the darkest moments of our continent’s history. This is a crime against peace; it is an assault on international law. Let us be in no doubt: Putin bears responsibility. There can be no justification for his actions, no defence of his aggression. While the west has sought a way out of this crisis through firm and principled diplomacy, Putin has doubled down. The dream of Ukrainians—I felt this very definitely on my trip to Kyiv just four weeks ago—is to shape their own future, to decide their own destiny and to choose the sort of nation that they wish Ukraine to be. All states enjoy that fundamental right, which is why we must be very clear that a line must be drawn at this point. Putin’s assault on a sovereign United Nations member state should be condemned not just by the west, but by every single nation that has a stake in the universal principles at the heart of the post-1945 United Nations system, so Britain must build the widest possible international coalition to show Russia that the world will not tolerate this aggression The people of Ukraine have our complete and total solidarity. We admire their courage, we will champion their democratic rights and we will support their right to defend themselves and the democracy that they have built.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander David Sobel (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend mentions the UN. At the UN last week, I met Lesia Vasylenko and Alona Shkrum, two Ukrainian MPs who impressed on me the importance of sanctions on Russian interests in the City of London. They will be disappointed today with the narrow scope of the regulations. I think that many Ukrainian MPs will want to see a far broader set of sanctions than those being proposed.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
David Lindon Lammy (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend is exactly right. I have already seen Ukrainian MPs saying today that they are disappointed that our sanctions regime does not go further We have sought to send a unified message across this House and to provide constructive opposition in the national interest. It is in that spirit that we approach today’s announcement. As the Minister knows, while we welcome these measures, we believe that they are too limited and too partial—five banks and just three individuals. The Prime Minister recognised at the Dispatch Box today that this move is a further invasion of Ukraine. It is very hard to square the rhetoric with the reality of these measures.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I have to agree with my right hon. Friend about the limitations of the sanctions on those individuals. However, does he agree that if the regulations’ definition of "involved person", especially the reference to being "involved in…obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia", is interpreted widely with the right political will, it could take in a lot of individuals who have a lot of money salted in the UK, including a lot of the oligarchs who have property or other interests here?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
David Lindon Lammy (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend is exactly right: it could, but it needs enforcement and we need to hear more individuals named. The danger in this debate is that the punishment does not befit the crime. I understand the Government’s desire to maintain a broader deterrent against further escalation, but it is also clear that a threshold has been crossed. The gravity of Putin’s actions requires a broader, firmer and fuller response, otherwise we risk his calculating that the rewards of aggression outweigh the costs.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: Law and Crime
Liam Dominic Byrne (Labour, Centre-left): My right hon. Friend is making a brilliant speech. When the new sanctioning regime was introduced, it was all about increasing our capacity to act independently to sanction bad actors. Is my right hon. Friend therefore disappointed that, Magnitsky sanctions aside, we have added only three people to the sanctions list for economic crimes since 2014? That seems pathetic, given the threat we confront.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour, Centre-left): It does sometimes seem that the Government play hot and cold with Russia. They accept donations from Alexander Temerko and others, and then do not provide the fullest sanctions possible. This is not a new issue, is it? This is a long-running dispute. We know that Russia has been the aggressor here for a long time. Is there not a danger that this is a bit too late and too little, and is actually a signal to the Kremlin that it can keep getting away with its bully-boy tactics?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-22
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I agree, and on all these promises of legislation, which I think it is being suggested will come in the next Session of Parliament, frankly, we need to get a bit of a bloody—sorry, we need to get a bit of a move on, because all of this should have been in place years ago. Our report came out in 2018, the Intelligence and Security Committee report came out in 2019, and we still have not done any of this. I say to the Minister that we all stand ready to help in that process. We do feel a bit as though we are dragging him to be chased, so do not run away from us, but be chased and help us to bring in the legislation that will put us in a better place My final point is that I do not understand the Government’s ratchet decision at the moment. It is a complete mystery to me. There has already been an invasion and incursion, and we said prior to the incursion that we would hit Russia hard with sanctions. That is not what is on offer today. When the Prime Minister resigned as Foreign Secretary, he said that his greatest failure—his biggest mistake as Foreign Secretary—was his relationship with Russia. I think he has a long way to go to rescue what has happened today. We want tougher action and we beg the Government to introduce it.
Speaker’s Statement — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): Before we begin today’s business, I wish to thank the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) for withdrawing his invitation to the Russian ambassador to address the all-party group on Russia. I was very uneasy about the visit and did not think it appropriate to invite a Russian official who had said only weeks before that there would be no invasion. Therefore, I am grateful for that decision I would also like to thank the hon. Member for Henley (John Howell) for his successful efforts in ensuring the suspension of the Russian Federation’s right of representation in the Council of Europe I also say to all hon. Members, and all those who follow our proceedings: we stand in solidarity with Ukraine and its people and have raised their flag at the House of Commons. I will send around an email about further events planned this week to show our support for them and their fight for freedom.
PCSOs: Neighbourhood Crime — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Daniel Stephen Zeichner (Labour, Centre-left): I echo the Home Secretary’s comments and am sure that we will extend a generous and gracious invitation to those fleeing from Ukraine In the year to September 2021, 1.7 million cases of antisocial behaviour were reported to the police. In Cambridge, I have more and more people coming to me with problems. We used to have police community support officers, who were a welcoming, reassuring, uniformed presence on our streets. Where are they now?
PCSOs: Neighbourhood Crime — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Emma Ann Hardy (Labour, Centre-left): The PCSOs are doing a fantastic job of supporting residents with regard to the increase in car crime happening in one area of Hull. What particularly upsets residents, however, is seeing those criminals uploading videos to TikTok and celebrating their crimes. Will the Home Secretary update us on what her Department is doing to work with social media companies to help them identify evidence of criminality and support police investigations?
Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Jessica Rose Phillips (Labour, Centre-left): Since the publication of the VAWG strategy, rape charging has fallen to an all-time low, leaving more people accused of rape in communities than ever before. Operation Bluestone found that the monitoring of previous offenders was failing to use "intelligence to establish whether suspects had been named in previous offences." Operation Soteria found that "officers were not routinely monitoring known offenders of sexual crimes", leading to a "total lack of morale" among police. This week the inspectorate said that alleged rapists were escaping justice, citing a case in which an alleged rapist was acquitted after the police and the Crown Prosecution Service had failed to present evidence in court showing that he had allegedly raped two other people previously I ask the Home Secretary to set out for the House exactly where, in the strategy and in her plans, are the proper monitoring and offender management that will stop any offender, let alone the most violent and repeat rapists, because that is not even nearly happening now.
Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): The Home Secretary has talked in a muscular fashion about the need for exemplary punishment of the perpetrators of violence against women and girls. She will recall her commitment to the deportation, where appropriate, of offenders in Rochdale, and indeed in other parts of the country. She also committed herself to meeting me to discuss the issue, and I still await that meeting. May I have an update?
Antisocial Behaviour — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): Is the Minister aware that some kinds of antisocial behaviour sometimes become violent and that some of the young people swept into that have autism backgrounds? Is she concerned that under joint enterprise it is now believed that many young people are in prison who should not be there? Is she worried about joint enterprise and is she making any investigation to do something about it?
Antisocial Behaviour and Organised Crime — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Shabana Mahmood (Labour, Centre-left): Crooks, fraudsters and those with links to organised crime are exploiting loopholes in the law to access taxpayers’ cash in the exempt supported housing sector. The Minister for Crime and Policing is aware of the problem and he knows that the proliferation of this type of housing units is causing an avalanche of antisocial behaviour that is destroying neighbourhoods. He recently promised, when he visited Birmingham, that he would have urgent conversations with colleagues in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Work and Pensions, but in the Opposition Day debate that took place in this Chamber last week there was no reference to any such conversations having taken place and no Home Office interest in this matter. Can the Minister tell us what steps are being taken by Home Office officials and Ministers after that visit to Birmingham by the Policing Minister to make sure that the Home Office plays an active, cross-Government role in shutting down the loopholes that causing chaos in communities?
Police Accessibility — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Justin Piers Richard Madders (Labour, Centre-left): Does the Minister agree that the police and crime commissioner for Cheshire needs to reconsider his priorities when he is talking about closing down Ellesmere Port police station to the public and getting rid of 40 police community support officers while, at the same time, giving his deputy a 33% pay rise despite their having been in the post for five months?
Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): In December last year the Government rejected the recommendation to create a firewall to enable migrant victims to safely report domestic abuse to the police without fear of being reported to the immigration authorities. Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services said that that would be in the public interest. Can the Minister say how exactly the Government plan to protect victims too frightened to come forward, and to protect the public from the rapists and abusers left free to offend with impunity?
Violence Against Women and Girls — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: Law and Crime
Sarah Ann Jones (Labour, Centre-left): We have heard lots of words on strategies, taskforces, roundtables and action plans, yet many victims will never see justice, and more and more criminals are getting away with it. The House of Lords has voted to introduce a new crime of sex for rent, which Labour Members support and will be voting for tonight. Will the Minister back us?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Margaret Eve Hodge (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Foreign Secretary for the progress that she is making. I ask just two questions. First, it is still unclear to me and, I think, to most members of the public whether members of the Duma can be sanctioned by this Government. Will the Foreign Secretary clarify that point for us? Secondly, it is not just Russia; jurisdictions such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are also complicit in supporting Putin in his endeavours. Is she taking any action to sanction members of those jurisdictions?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): I also want to say that I stand with Ukraine and support the Foreign Secretary in the measures she has announced this afternoon. I congratulate her on the unifying way in which she is doing that, but does she agree that the language we use is incredibly important in these delicate times? Also, can she say anything about the Commonwealth’s involvement?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Marsha Chantol De Cordova (Labour, Centre-left): Many of my constituents are affected by the war in Ukraine. Like me, they recognise the need for the toughest possible sanctions on Russia. The Foreign Secretary’s statement is welcome, but it does not go far enough. What steps is she taking to ensure that sanctions are imposed on the extraction and technology industries?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): May I offer the Secretary of State a little advice, as I have been in the House for quite some time? No one now likes oligarchs, but some important and substantial figures we call oligarchs in London and in this country are very intelligent people who are influential on Putin. Does she agree that she should consult them as a way of getting a voice of experience and reason to Putin, in order that we could get a better, peaceful resolution of this horrible crisis?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. She talks about a hit list of oligarchs. She knows as well as I do that some of the individuals on that list are well-known and some are not so well known, but the one thing they all have in common is that they have all supported and continue to support Putin’s regime. Will she tell me about the timescale in dealing with some of these individuals? She says that she wants more evidence, but surely we have the evidence against certain of those individuals. What timescale is she talking about for when we will see lists of these individuals being printed and sanctions taken?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): I have been overwhelmed by messages from constituents who are horrified by Russia’s action in Ukraine. This morning I visited Lewisham Polish Centre, which is doing brilliant work co-ordinating the local relief effort for those fleeing the country. What everyone I have heard from has asked for, however, is an assurance that we are putting forward the strongest possible package of sanctions, providing humanitarian relief for refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries and offering comprehensive safe sanctuary routes to the UK. May I press the Foreign Secretary to give us those reassurances today?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher John Bryant (Labour, Centre-left): I do not understand why Abramovich and Usmanov have still not been included on the sanction list. I do not really understand why the Prime Minister said last Thursday that we were not going to engage in cultural or sporting boycotts, because we certainly should—we should throw every single thing we have at the Russians. Finally, I do not understand why the Prime Minister also said last Thursday that we will not be sending any Russian diplomats back. Surely we should at least be cutting the Russian embassy here by a half or three quarters, if not deciding that the ambassador, who has lied through his teeth to this House, should go back home.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Catherine Jane Smith (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the sanctions that the Foreign Secretary has set out and her words about getting Putin’s dirty money out of UK finance, but can we also get it out of UK politics? Would she support the Conservative party’s handing back its £2 million from Russian oligarchs?
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): The House should commend the Foreign Secretary’s statement, but does she agree that with any sanctions regime it is the detail that ensures we can police it? In that light, will she look into the case of the plane of Mikhail Gutseriev, a friend of Putin who is already sanctioned under Belarus sanctions? The plane itself was sanctioned by the Foreign Secretary’s predecessor, but, I am told, landed twice at Luton airport. That cannot be right.
Sanctions — House of Commons, 2022-02-28
Topic: International Affairs
Liam Dominic Byrne (Labour, Centre-left): The whole House will welcome the Foreign Secretary’s ambition this afternoon, but can we speed up the process of hitting the people on the hit list? There are 23 people on the EU sanctions list who are not on the UK sanctions list as of this morning. The ban on trading in state bonds is in place in Europe, but not in the UK. The ban on import and export from breakaway regions is in place in Europe, but not in the UK. The asset freeze and travel ban on Duma members is in place in Europe, but not in the UK. The asset freeze and travel bans in place in Europe number 22, but there are just eight in the UK announced in the past few days. What further power and resources does the Foreign Secretary need for us to catch up with our American and European allies?