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Wednesday, 25th November 2009

PMQs Live Blog

David Blackburn 12:00pm

Stay tuned for live coverage from 1200.

12:03: Here we go. Brown gets things underway with the weekly Butcher's Bill and remembrance of those killed or otherwise affected by the floods in Cumbria.

12:06: And here comes Cameron - he follows Brown's thanksgiving lead. Cameron asks how quickly temporary bridges across the Derwent in Cumbria can be constructed. Brown doesn't know as yet as he and the Secretary of State await an engineers report. Brown adds that all costs will be met by the Department of Environment.

Cameron wants eveything that can be done for those affected be done. Brown rambles and says he will do everything he can and lists a host of new tractor stats about electricity and landlords. All very welcome information for those affected

12:10: Cameron wants to know if Hizb ut-Tahrir, a particularly horrendous Islamic extremist group, have recieved any public money? Oh dear, correspondance between Ed Balls and one of his ministers proves that Hizb ut-Tahrir have founded a school. Profoundly embarrassing for Brown and the government. Brown is shifting around. You can tell how desperate he is - here's the line about the vast majority of Muslims in this country are law abiding peaceful people and that Cameron should wait for the report and the evidence. Cameron seems to have the evidence already.

The government doesn't have a grip on Islamic extremism is Cameron's line and he wins.

12:17: Nick Clegg - Iraq, the Lib Dems favourite dated bugbear. Clegg wants the Chilcot inquiry's findings to be published in full except for those issues pertaining to national security. This is interesting, Clegg's got a piece of paper from the government to the inquiry stating 9 separate criteria under which findings can be supressed, not all of them, Clegg claims, seem terribly serious. It's about this government's shameful culture of secrecy, says Clegg.

Brown has no answer - it's a train wreck of a session for the PM at the moment.

12:20: A question about the bank charges case - Brown assures the House that Northern Rock, RBS and Lloyds Group have cut their charges in recent weeks. I can tell you from bitter experience that RBS at least have not followed his demands. The forthcoming Finance Bill will strengthen the rights of customers Brown argues.

12:22: A Cormack classic: When did the Prime Minister realise he was infallible?

12:25: Brown answers a plant from a Labour MP about the government's record on fighting terrorism, specifically relationship between ACPO and the government, and ends up talking about the Tories' IHT 'aspiration'. Doesn't work as well this week.

12:30: Copenhagen - Brown re-iterates his desire to broker a deal. Obama seems unwilling, so I think Brown's setting himself up for a fall here.

12:31: A Tory MP wants to know what is being done to deal with Karzai and corruption. Brown says he is on it, ponting to yesterday's announcement.

12:33: Labour plant about Sir Hugh Orde and the politicisation of the Police Force. Personally, I think both Labour and the Tories are as bad as each other on this, elected commissioners will provide accountability. 

12:34: Evan Harris on Catholic Succession - will Brown arrest this discriminatory Act of Succession, relevant for the whole commonwealth. Brown says he will.

Alistair Darling's making a statement about the secret loans now - trots out the spin line about the markets and how close we came to collapse. No real explanation about the length of the delay in disclosure and the HBOS/Lloyds merger.

Osborne - we support these actions as a financial principle of lender of last resort. But he wants to know about King and Darling's decision to delay announcement, why not in January? And the HBOS/Lloyds question? Is it acceptable that the Bank can leave these things off its balance book? Does the fact these sums were required illustrate the failure of the tripartite regulatory system, which is going to be enforced in next week's bill.

Verdict: Both Clegg and Cameron had damning revelations up their sleeves. Some might be surprised by Cameron's tack - not talking about the economy, the secret loan deal etc, but this was inspired - he's made the government look soft on and infact funded an educational front for an organisation that views non-combatants as infidels and therefore fair game. Clegg's disclosures were similarly damaging for Brown. The PM lost heavily.

Blogs: Martin Bright | Susan Hill | Alex Massie | Melanie Phillips | Faith Based | Cappuccino Culture

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Comments Post comment

AndyinBrum

November 25th, 2009 12:10pm Report this comment

Want to know when Brown is telling porkies (no, not just when he opens his mouth) he stutters and misspronounces names and words.

JohnOfEnfield

November 25th, 2009 12:11pm Report this comment

When did this extraordinary hijacking, using the lists of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, of PMQs start? Is it something Gordon Brown started or have Prime Ministers done it a periods of great danger in the past e.g. World war II?

Keith D

November 25th, 2009 12:15pm Report this comment

Not anything we didnt know. Import extremists to transform the UK and its a logical step to fund same. Disgraceful

Jimbo Jones

November 25th, 2009 12:25pm Report this comment

Yes they have - I got an email from RBS today saying they are cutting their charges

AndyinBrum

November 25th, 2009 12:25pm Report this comment

See what i mean about his inability to form sentence structure or pronounce words correctly, i mean, who is this Ali Kyida bloke, and why has he not been arrested?

Vulture

November 25th, 2009 12:36pm Report this comment

Credit where credit's due: as a critic of Dave, I'd like to congratulate him for at long last breaking the all party vow of Omerta re. the scandalous Govt. support & financing for Islamist loons who want to kill us. More of the same please.

TrevorsDen

November 25th, 2009 12:39pm Report this comment

Blair started this disgrace - i presume when he hoped the numbers would be low and to demonstrate he 'cares'.

Ibonaw

November 25th, 2009 12:41pm Report this comment

No you wrong have it - not Alim Qoida but Obi Wan it is. Moida da bum, say I!

Dirty Euro

November 25th, 2009 12:41pm Report this comment

Religious schools eh!
I thought the tories and right wingers said such schools are good idea.

strapworld

November 25th, 2009 12:55pm Report this comment

The revelation on the funding of muslim fundamentalist schools will hit our armed forces -especially when they have been so disgracefully underfunded.

I follow Vulture, as a critic of Cameron, at last removing muslims from the protective cover they have had for far too long. BUT will he go the full hog and demand expulsion from the Country for this enemy within?

However this must be exposed to the full. I expect the newspapers to be full of this and Brown cannot escape the hate that this will create against him and his government.

Credit also to Nick Clegg. His question with the evidence certainly shows that Brown will not allow the Chilcott enquiry to be as open and honest as Chilcott promised. Both are liars now!

I do hope the newspapers and the party leaders demand that this BOGUS enquiry be stopped now and announce that they will support a Royal Commission into the iraq War if they are elected!

Royal Commissions can take evidence on oath and can subpeona witnesses so Brown would have to appear ON OATH!

Time to get angry and serious with this shower of sh.. allegedly running the country.

Dirty Euro

November 25th, 2009 1:00pm Report this comment

I thought the tories supported private schools.

Private Schultz

November 25th, 2009 1:00pm Report this comment

@ AndyinBrum

No, it's Alchy Ada he's after - drunken behaviour causing a breach of the peace. ASBO?

Tiberius

November 25th, 2009 1:06pm Report this comment

Vulture: I'm sure you know that Cameron has been calling for the banning of Hizb ut Tahrir for years.

AndyinBrum

November 25th, 2009 1:22pm Report this comment

That could be it schultz. Although i thought Ali Kyeda was on X factor.

Back on topic. Brown got a right kicking today. Well done Cameron and Clegg

Alun Reynolds

November 25th, 2009 1:28pm Report this comment

@ AndyinBrum. No it's that renowned heavy drinking female from Edinburgh Alchy Aida :o)

mark c

November 25th, 2009 1:51pm Report this comment

no you have it all wrong .. i heard it was some drunk bird .... alchy Ada I think he said ....

Chuck Unsworth

November 25th, 2009 1:53pm Report this comment

@ Dity Euro

You 'thought'?

AndyinBrum

November 25th, 2009 1:54pm Report this comment

Maybe we should have a vote on it

Draft Crunt

November 25th, 2009 1:56pm Report this comment

"AndyinBrum
Want to know when Brown is telling porkies (no, not just when he opens his mouth) he stutters and misspronounces names and words."

Perhaps, he does the same, when he's writing. It would explain why he got "Janes", "Jamie" and all those other words wrong...............

Nicholas

November 25th, 2009 2:04pm Report this comment

Dirty Euro after your disgraceful attack on Holly I think you should be banned. I detest your ignorant posts and which you would flick off to a Lefty site where people would appreciate your gobshite.

michael

November 25th, 2009 3:08pm Report this comment

"The vast majority of muslims are law abiding"

The vast majority (67%) of cars in manningham BD8 are not insured.

Seacole

November 25th, 2009 4:00pm Report this comment

I second Nicholas's call for the banning of Dirty Euro. It is one thing to poke fun at people, but malicious lies are below the line.

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