Parliamentary activity

That this House expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of Jack Vettriano OBE; recognises his remarkable journey from a self-taught artist in Levenmouth, Fife, to an internationally acclaimed painter whose prints of works, including The Singing Butler, have adorned countless homes worldwide; notes that his early inspiration came from the Kirkcaldy Galleries, where some of his earliest works were later exhibited; acknowledges his significant contribution to Scottish artistic life; cel...

That this House commends Earls High School for their longstanding support of the charity Project Gambia; congratulates their efforts in increasing student participation in the charity; praises the 32 Year 10 students who will be travelling to Gambia at the end of the month to volunteer with young children in various schools; commends the charitable work the Year 10 students have already engaged in before the trip, helping raise funds to support the construction of classrooms, purchase equipme...

That this House gives its best wishes to the Rt Revd Paul Butler, the 79th Bishop of Durham, in his retirement; notes that Bishop Butler has served as Bishop of Durham for ten years; further notes the rich history of the diocese of Durham, a diocese that stretches back into the medieval world; acknowledges his advocacy of the poor and for refugees in the diocese and in the Other Place; commends Bishop Butler for his advocacy of the North East; recalls that Bishop Butler’s first sermon was roo...

That this House mourns the loss of former Welsh rugby captain, Eddie Butler; notes that Mr Butler was a formidable number 8 and a key part of the famous Pontypool forwards pack of the 1970s and 1980s; further notes that Mr Butler was capped by Wales on 16 occasions, captained the national side and toured with the Lions in 1983 to New Zealand; respects Mr Butler's contribution as a journalist for the Guardian newspaper and the BBC, a brilliant wordsmith who became the voice of the beautiful ga...

That this House notes the Butler Committee's support for the Government's claims that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa; notes that, after stating that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999, the Butler Review's reasons for agreeing that this was to discuss uranium procurement were that (a) uranium is Niger's main export, (b) Iraq had purchased uranium from Niger in the 1980s, (c) Iraq could not access indigenous uranium and (d) due to 'other evidence of Iraq seeking to restart its nu...

That this House notes with concern the refusal of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to answer Parliamentary Question 182618 of 8th July put by the honourable Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on whether signals intelligence picked up by GCHQ concerning a visit by an Iraqi official to Niger was passed on to the International Atomic Energy Agency, instead stating that 'it would not be appropriate to comment publicly on the detail of this intelligence reporting'; notes that no detail was...