02/10/2026 | 11:09:11 Thank you, Madam President. And it's great to see you in the chair. I have the honour of having the final speech at this session and I'll also just mention the clerk to your left hand side. Ms Anne-Marie GRIFFITHS, is somebody I know well from the UK Parliament and is very diligent in her duties there, as I'm sure she is here. Madam President, I'll start by praising the pilot, Captain Smit MACHCHHAR. His heroism, courage and presence of mind to open the cockpit door was truly astonishing. He... 01/10/2026 | 16:41:41 "Computer says no". It's used as a regular phrase in the comedy Little Britain, but it's really a mindset regularly experienced by too many in all walks of life. Now, this isn't just about sorting the frustrations of bureaucracy, or indeed, a computer saying no collapses and paralyses the flight network in the United Kingdom (UK). But right now, I think we have to be very clear that humans have to be in control, including in the world of work on which this report focuses. I commend the... 01/10/2026 | 11:14:25 Thank you. I want to congratulate my friend Ms Aurora FLORIDIA on putting together this report and resolution. And while she knows that there are elements in her recommendations I don't support, I think she has highlighted many key issues that all governments, all parliaments, absolutely do need to address. We know that climate change is real. It matters on so many fronts for people now, but particularly for young people and indeed future generations not yet born. And understandably, young... 25/06/2026 | 16:10:09 I thank Ms Aysu BANKOĞLU for her report and I will say at the start that access to justice for women should be a lot more straightforward than it is. And while I sympathise with a lot of what she says, I cannot support the resolution as it stands, not least because of Paragraph 16 which seeks the legal recognition of the concept of gender apartheid. Now, Ms Rian VOGELS mentioned the Istanbul Convention. I am pleased that the UK finally ratified this in 2022. But today, I am focusing on the... 25/06/2026 | 13:15:41 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) In the last two years, the number of people receiving British citizenship has gone up by just over half a million people, about 350,000 of those through naturalisation. The total number of people in the asylum system in the United Kingdom (UK) has not been published since summer 2024, but to give a sense, there are about 100,000 asylum seekers receiving state financial support. While the issue of people coming into the UK illegally by getting... 24/06/2026 | 19:08:11 "Ensuring sustainable food security is essential for maintaining global stability. By solving the issue of access to food and overcoming hunger as a tool of war, the international community can build resilience, and promote sustainable development and long-lasting peace." These are the closing words of the resolution first tabled by our rapporteur Ms Larysa BILOZIR back in October 2024 that led to this report. While I think the broader issue on food security in crisis is well covered in the... 23/06/2026 | 10:32:52 Good morning, Mr Alain BERSET. When you visited the UK last month, you suggested that if the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Convention of Human Rights, it would be a bad signal for Ukraine, which I found disappointing as it was the UK led by Conservative Prime Minister Boris JOHNSON that was first to respond. And, of course, we still stand by Ukraine today. Now, it's 10 years ago today that the people of the UK were asked whether they wanted to stay in the European Union (EU). I voted... 23/04/2026 | 10:37:01 Thank you, Madam President, As President Volodymyr ZELENSKYY said in 2023 in The Hague, “there can be no peace without justice”. Over a quarter of a million crimes due to the aggression of Russia and its various agents have been recorded, of which over 220 000 are war crimes. We must maintain our determination to hold Russia to account for its illegal and barbaric actions in Ukraine, and to ensure that justice prevails. I am very proud that the British government has been a leader on... 21/04/2026 | 20:39:29 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) I am particularly concerned about people in our Jewish communities right now. Attacks on synagogues. People feeling intimidated walking down the street. Can people wear the Star of David openly? Anti-semitism is rife and I know that we, together, condemn that. I fear for Christians in various countries around the world. I think now of the hundreds of girls and women abducted in Nigeria just a few months ago. Many are still missing. That was... 21/04/2026 | 19:55:05 Judges at every level should be respected by default. And the role of appointing judges to the European Court of Human Rights is actually the most important role that this Parliamentary Assembly undertakes. But in addition to the qualities highlighted in the report, I strongly believe it is essential that candidates for European Court of Human Rights should be practising judges. Not people who've just done it in theory, done academic studies, but people who've actually been in courts and...