continue, british prime minister theresa may faced questions on the issue during her weekly question time with members of the house of commons. topics included the border dispute between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. future trade agreements, once the uk leaves the eu, and her upcoming speech to the nation on the state of the negotiations. this is just over 45 minutes. >> order. questions to the prime minister. it's your lucky day, man. >> not for us it isn't. >> it is, except we didn't reach -- number one. number one. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this morning, i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. in addition to my duties in this house, i shall have such meetings later today. >> paul blumfield. >> a group supporting inspirational young people who balance all the normal

challenges of their young lives with the demands of caring for a parent or a sibling often with acute needs. people like john who has been caring for his mother with fibromyalgia since the age or ten or phoebe supporting her father with mental health problems since the age of 8. they have practical ideas what the government can do to make their lives easier. will the prime minister agree to meet with them and hear their proposals? >> i think it's absolutely right that the gentleman raise this issue. many young people are caring for their parents. sometimes caring for their other siblings as well and all too often going unseen and unheard. and certainly one of the things that we're doing as a government is trying to ensure that we do see more opportunities, more ability to identify, to assess young careers in their families and to support them and to make the rights of young careers clearer. i know the department of health and social care is intending to publish a plan putting out our

target cross-government action, but i'd be happy to hear from them. >> mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i believe in a global britain and i want us to trade freely with the world. so can my right honorable friend explain the difference between a custom toms union and a custom toms arrangement? there seems to be some confusion. >> can i say to my honorable friend, he's absolutely right, we want to have good trading relationships with the european union, but we also want to negotiate trade deals around the rest of the world with an independent trade policy. a speech i believe given by the labor leader on this subject where he said that he wanted labor to negotiate a new comprehensive customs union, that would mean we couldn't do our own trade deals, and actually would betray the vote of the british people. and in about the next sentence, he said he wanted a customs

arrangement, meaning we could negotiate our new trade deals. that's the government's position. what does he want to do, let down the country or agree with the government? >> . >> good afternoon, mr. speaker. i hope the whole house will join me in passing our deepest condolences to the families of the people who died in and those injured in the explosion in leicester. can we say thank you to all the emergency services and hospital staff who worked to save lives in that terrible situation? >> mr. speaker, the prime minister emerged from her checkers away day to promise a brexit of ambitious managed divergence. can she tell the country what on

earth ambitious managed divergence will mean in practical form. >> expressing our condolences to the family and friend office those who lost their lives in the explosion in leicester. and i agree with him. the work of the emergency services who day in and day out do so much for all of us, but in circumstances like that really showed the great job that they do in dealing with that issue. now, he asks me -- he asks me about the government's position on the european union, well, it's very simple, we want to deliver on the -- we will bring back control of our laws, our borders and our money. now, of course, that's in direct contrast with the labor party's position, who want to be in a customs union, have free movement and pay whatever it

takes to the eu. that would mean giving away control of our laws, our borders and our money and that will be a betrayal of the british people. >> i understand the prime minister is going to make a speech about this on friday, but i hope she will address the concerns of 94% of small and medium-sized businesses who say that govern is ignoring there concerns about how we leave the eu. but who does she think might be better at identifying the business opportunities of the future? the confederation of british industry, the engineering employer's federation and the institute of directors or the international trade secretary? >> well, the right honorable gentleman talks about the views of business and talks about the views of small business. can i just refer him to what the federation of small businesses has said about our position. the uk's small business

community sees the potential wins of an end uk global trade policy. we want trade kept as easy as possible with the eu 27, that's our position. small businesses are pushing to export to new growth areas. the u.s., english-speaking nations, emerging economies and the commonwealth. a good trading relationship with the european union and free trade deals around the rest of the world under an independent, sovereign nation. >> mr. speaker, the international trade secretary says that business organizations and tuc have got it all wrong, that they don't know best how to prosper or grasp opportunities. i just put it gently to her, it might be they've got more of a clue than he has about the interests of business jobs and living standards. last week, the health secretary, and it's wonderful to see him here today, i assume he was speaking on behalf of the government when he said there will be areas and sectors of

industry where we agree to align our regulations. he seems to know the answer. so can the prime minister enlighten the rest of us as to which sectors of the government wants to remain aligned and which they plan to diverge? >> good question. >> well, first of all, the right honorable gentleman himself has said i'm going to be making a speech on these issues later this week, so he could -- just calm down. all right. i've already -- i've already set out -- i've already set out in some detail the position that the government is taking. i will elaborate on that further this week. what we want to ensure that across a variety of sectors, the goods sector, but also looking at issues like financial services, which are such a crucial part of our economy, that we get a relationship that

means that we are able to ensure we can see that trade going across the borders between the united kingdom and the remaining eu 27 members and we have no hard border between northern ireland and ireland and we're absolutely committing to differing on that. but he talks about people not having a clue. i'll tell you who hasn't got a clue about business and jobs, that's our labor party, who wants to borrow $500 billion and bankrupt britain. >> the endless round of after dinner speeches by the prime minister on europe doesn't really suss duty for negotiations as to what is actually going to result from these negotiations altogether. one of the sectors already suffering very badly is that of health and social care. it is highly reliant, mr. speaker, on migrant workers. we depend on them for our health and the care of those that need it. isn't the prime minister just a little bit concerned that

european union workers with vital skills are leaving britain in unprecedented numbers now? >> as the right honorable gentleman might have noticed from the last set of immigration figures, we actually still see more people coming into the uk from the european union than are leaving the uk going back to the european union, but we do want -- we do have a care about the number of nurses and gps that we have in the nhs. that's why we have set the highest levels of training, numbers of people in training for both nurses and gps. it's why we've significantly increased the opportunities, not just for people who are coming from the european union to work in our national health service, but actually for those people here in this country who want to work in our nhs to get those training places and do the excellent job that we know they will do for patients in our national health services. >> mr. speaker, from a

government that has cut the nurse training -- doesn't seem to understand it takes eight years to train a doctor and completely oblivious apparently to the fact that there are 100,000 vacancies in the nhs now, i suggest some members get a life and go and visit a hospital and see -- and see just how hard -- just how hard those people work in order to cover for the vacancies that are there. surely we need to give immediate real assurance to eu nationals they have a future in this country. >> mr. speaker, just three months ago, the foreign secretary told the house with regard to northern ireland, and i quote, there can be no hard border, that would be unthinkable. that's what he said. yet, in a leaked letter to the prime minister, he wrote, even if a hard border is

reintroduced, we would expect to see 95%-plus of goods pass. he's shouting at the moment. he's obviously mixing up the border with the camden border. so, mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, can the prime minister confirm that she will not renege on commitments made in phase one to keep an open border in ireland? >> can i say to the right honorable gentleman, he actually raised three different issues in that question so i'll address all of them. he raised the issue of rights for european union nationals and, of course, a key part of the december agreement, the december joint report that we agreed with the european union, was about the rights of eu citizens living here in the united kingdom and the rights of united kingdom citizens living

in the eu 27. that was an important thing to have agreed at an early stage in the negotiations. we said we would do it and we did just that. he talks about the number of nurses. of course there are now 13,900 more nurses on our wards then there were under labor. just while he's talking about the number of years it takes to train doctors. he said it takes eight years to train a doctor. well, if he's worried about the number of doctors there are now, eight years ago, it was the labor government that was deciding the number of doctors that were going to be trained. so they can talk about that. and then -- and just finally, because he referred to the position on northern ireland, the foreign secretary and i are absolutely committed to ensuring that we deliver on no hard border between northern ireland and ireland. that's the position of the uk government. it's the position of the parties in northern ireland.

it's the position of the irish government. and it was what we agreed in the december agreement at that joint report. we are all committed to ensuring there is no hard border between northern ireland and ireland. >> jeremy corbyn. >> why is the secretary in private discussions doing just the opposite of that what was agreed in stage one? mr. speaker, this is a government in disarray. every time the cabinet meets, all we get is even more bizarre sound bites. remember when we had brexit means brexit? then we had red, white and blue brexit, which presumably appealed to the member's opposite. then we had liberal brexit and now we have ambitious managed divergence. the government is so divided the

prime minister is incapable of delivering a coherent and decisive plan for brexit. so when is she going to put the country's interests before the outsized egos of her own cabinet? >> can i say to the right honorable gentleman, my priorities are the priorities of the british people. yes, we're going to get brexit right and deliver a good brexit deal for them, but we're also building the homes that the country needs so people can earn their own home. we're raising standards in our schools so our kids all get a good education. we're protecting the environment for future generations. that's a conservative government delivering on people's priorities and giving them optimism and hope for the future. as opposed to a labor party that would bankrupt britain, betray voters and drag this country down. >> ms. davis.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. >> we're getting overexcited. i was calling chris davis, the honorable gentleman behind you. >> thank you, mr. speaker. may i start by wishing you, mr. speaker, the prime minister and, indeed, the whole house a very happy st. davis day for tomorrow. can i thank my right honorable friend for taking representatives of river simple, a leader in the field of hydrogen-powered automotives and based, of course, on her recent successful trade visit to china. what is the government planning to do to help regional smes to make the most of potential trade opportunities with emerging markets once we leave the eu? >> say to my honorable friend i was very happy to take a large business delegation with me on

the trip to china, including representatives of river simple. it was a very good trip, very positive in terms of the connections and deals that were agreed as a result of that trip. i can assure him that the department for international trade is working hard to support smes across the uk to help connect by exporters with buyers around the world. and, of course, companies in the uk can access our overseas network and our program of international events. and i would also commend the work of colleagues around the house who are trade envoys who are working, including my honorable friend, the trade envoy for china and who also accompanied me on that trip. i'm pleased to say last year uk export finance provided 3 billion pounds in support helping 221 uk companies selling to 63 countries, 79% of those companies were smes. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

in 2012, the prime minister talked about, and i quote, a future in which scotland, wales, northern ireland and england continue to flourish side by side as equal partners. does the prime minister still stand by this? >> of course i continue to stand by wanting to ensure that all parts of the united kingdom continue to flourish. i think the best way to do that is to ensure that all parts of the united kingdom remain in the united kingdom. >> of course, mr. speaker, the emphasis was on equal, and we're faced with a situation there is a power grab by westminster and it's no surprise that the scottish and welsh governments are putting forward continuity bills to stop the power grab by westminster. the leaked letter on the irish border shows he can't get to grips with one of the most fundamental issues of brexit. the foreign secretary compared

crossing the irish border to going between camden and westminster. frankly, you could not make this stuff up. this is a uk government that is prepared to put at jeopardy the good friday agreement. does the prime minister agree with the bumbling foreign secretary who is making the united kingdom a laughing stock? >> first of all, this government is absolutely committed to the belfast agreement. so that commitment to the belfast agreement stands and we're committed to the belfast agreement and the institutions under the belfast agreement. he refers to this issue of devolved powers coming back from the european union, that was his reference. we have also given an absolute commitment to manneding clause

11 and that remains unchanged. my honorable friend has recently met with representatives of devolved administrations. he acknowledged he put forward a further proposal for them which ensured more powers are directly devolved to the scottish and welsh governments and in course with the northern ireland executive. it was acknowledged that that was a significant step forward. and i have to say to the right honorable gentleman, he talks about the continuity bills. the proposal being put forward are unnecessary. it would be rather more helpful if he were to concentrate on reaching an agreement in relation to withdrawal agreement because we want to ensure more powers are devolved to the devolved administrations. that's what we're going to deliver. >> mr. speaker, back in the real world, last year, network rail paid out 181 million pounds to trade operating companies for cancellations and delays, only 74 million of that was mass passed on to passengers.

why should train operators benefit financially for failure to deliver service when it's the customers who suffer the cost and what is she planning to do to make sure the money goes to the rightful place, the passengers? >> can i say to my honorable friend, yes, he's right that rail operators are compensated. they're compensated when disruptions on the track run by network rail. it's compensation for something that has happened not as a result of their doing, but as a result of something the network rail is doing. yes, we do ensure that there is also compensation available to those who suffer from the disruption, to the passenger who's suffer from the disruption. i'm pleased to say that automatic payments are available for many rail operators, but not everybody can be automatically refunded. we are operating a delay repay scheme, which means everyone regardless of their ticket type can have access to the compensation they deserve. we want to ensure that passengers do get the

compensation they deserve when their journeys are disrupted. >> david simpson. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i would ask the prime minister to re-enforce her earlier comments, given the eminent publication from the eu of draft legal attacks rising from december's joint report. will the prime minister confirm that she will never agree to any trade borders between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom? >> can i say to the honorable gentleman that we continue to stand behind all the commitments we made in december and my negotiating team with work with the commission to agree how they should be translated into legal form, but he's right, the draft, legal text the commission have published if implemented would undermine the uk common market and threaten constitutional integrity of the uk by creating a customs and regulatory border down the irish sea. and no uk prime minister could ever agree to it. i will be making it crystal

clear to the president and others that we will never do so. we are committed to ensuring that we see no hard border between northern ireland and ireland, but the december text also made clear that this should continue to be trade between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom as there is today. >> mr. simon clark. >> unemployment has fallen faster in the northeast than anywhere else in our country. which is tremendous news. the next step to put rocket boosters under the economy would be to create a free port -- will my honorable friend look seriously as i do for support from -- and local business leaders? >> can i say to my honorable friend when i visited tea's port this was one of the proposals that they did put to me. i'm very happy to join with him in welcoming the fall in unemployment we've seen in the northeast. there are a number of ways in which we are providing and

ensuring that we see that economic growth continuing in the northeast. that's why we're investing 126 million pounds through the tea's valley local growth teal. i know my right honorable friend, the chancellor, has confirmed recently, we do remain open to ideas that could drive growth and provide benefits to the uk and its people so we'll keep all these options under consideration. >> thank you, mr. speaker. agents from the shale gas company recently posted a preknown contract to my constituent alison davis, asking her to agree to a gee lodgeal survey on her farm. alison already rejected this request when she was doorstepped a few days later. does the prime minister know what it's like to get an unsolicited letter from a group who won't take no for an answerer and and will he join the welsh and scottish government by saying no to fracking in england?

>> can i say to the honorable gentleman that shale gas extraction could be a very important part of ensuring energy security in this country. and i'm sure all his constituents and the constituents of others represented in this house will want to ensure the government is doing everything it can to ensure we maintain our energy security, we don't see the lights being turned off. >> mikal tomlins. >> mr. speaker, it's obvious there will be concern about the draft of the eu from the the withdrawal agreement. can the prime minister assure me when she responds she'll have utmost in her mind both preserving and strengthening the union of the united kingdom, great britain and northern ireland? >> my honorable friend raids an important point. first of all, if i can reiterate the point that i made in response to an earlier question, we're very clear that we want to ensure that we are able to see that trading, that movement between all parts of the united

kingdom, that common single market within the united kingdom, that all parts of the united kingdom benefit from, and we are committed to protecting and enhancing our precious union of england, scotland, wales and northern ireland. the devolved administration should be fully engaged in preparations for the uk's exit. they are. discussions have been taken from them. as i said earlier also in response to the leader of the westminster leader of the smp, it's our intention the vast majority of powers returning from brussels will start off in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast, not in white hall. the single market of the united kingdom. >> mr. gregory campbell. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last december's report, the joint report guaranteed continuing unfetterred access for northern ireland businesses into the uk internal market. does the prime minister agree with me that the eu appears now

to be trying to cherry pick that agreement by ignoring such critical comments to our economy? >> well, can i say to the honorable gentleman that it is absolutely clear, i mean, first of all, we do stand by the commitments we made in december. we're going to work the negotiating team will be working with the commission to agree how we put that into legal text for a withdrawal agreement. part of that agreement was, of course, that we will see no hard border between northern ireland and ireland. another part was, as the honorable gentleman had said, that there would be guaranteed access for northern ireland business to the united kingdom market. as i said earlier, and i'm happy to repeat again, the draft legal text that the commission has published, if implemented would undermine the uk common market and threatens the constitutional integrity of the uk by creating a customs and regulatory border down the irish sea. no uk prime minister could ever agree to it and i will be making that absolutely clear.

>> mr. kenneth clark. >> can i welcome the prime minister's very firm reaffirmation to the commitment to the good friday agreement and the open border and to the december agreement she made on the withdrawal terms, which included, if necessary, full regulatory convergence on both sides of the border. does she accept that means, if necessary, there will be full regulatory convergence between the united kingdom and the european union? >> can i perhaps at this stage prior to my speech on friday refer my right honorable and learned friend to the speech i made in florence last year, which set out very clearly that we recognize there will be some areas where we will have the same objectives as the european union and we want to achieve those objectives in the same way. there are other areas we want to achieve those objectives by different means and other areas where our objectives will

differ. what matters is that it is this united kingdom that will be able to take the decisions about the rules that it applies. >> representative cooper. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my constituents are in a terrible state of repair. in all my life, i've never seen such a mess. small potholes are being left by lancaster county council with big potholes and these are emerging to become trenches. the situation is dangerous for elderly pedestrians. cyclists take their life in their hands, motorists either damage their cards or swerve to avoid them. does the prime minister agree with me this is an unacceptable state of affairs and not least because of the failure to -- of -- >> order. no, no, sit down. this is very discourteous. the remainder of the honorable lady's question will be heard. it's a simple and unarguable at

that. no point people ranting. the honorable lady will be heard on her feet and that's the end of the matter. >> thank you, mr. speaker. does the prime minister agree this is unacceptable, not least because the failure at one stitch in time is leading to far more expensive repairs. >> well, can i -- can i say to -- can i say to the honorable lady that we all recognize the issue of potholes and the importance of the issue of potholes. it's why my honorable friend, the member from northampton north, and actually why as a government we put more money into the issue of precisely dealing with potholes. she talks about a stitch in time. i won't take any of that from a labor party when in government failed to mend the roof when the sun was shining. >> rachel mclean. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker.

so next week we celebrate international women's day. celebrating the achievements of women globally. with a record of action on the gender pay gap, with more women in work and more childcare to help them, doesn't the prime minister agree with me that it's the conservatives while in government with two female prime ministers that are really delivering for women? >> can i say to my honorable friend she's absolutely right. i'm happy to join her in celebrating international women's day because i want girl who's are growing up, up today to know they can achieve anything they want. how far they go is about them and their ables and their willingness to work hard. we do see female employment at a joint record high. there are 1.2 million women-led businesses. that's the highest since the records began. and the gender pay gap is at an all-time low for full-time employment. that is a conservative party in

government that is delivering for women. >> will the prime minister support the joint endeavors of 18 conservative and labor councils from yorkshire, the yorkshire cbi, the york shire institute of directors, the york shire tuc in their efforts to get an all yorkshire -- >> can i say to the honorable gentleman that we are committed to devolving powers to local areas where it will deliver better local services and greater -- i'm pleased to say we've already agreed an ambitious deal with chshefld ci. i hear the enthusiasm he set form for more in yorkshire. i'm pleased to say i believe my right honorable friend, the housing secretary actually met with a group of councils from

yorkshire yesterday to discuss these very ideas. >> excellent to see the right honorable gentleman back in his place. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it is very good to be back. last year i had the privilege to open the guys car center in sidcup in my constituent circumstances not knowing then how relevant that might be to be. i pay tribute to the nhs and the outstanding people who work within it, and my own treatment has been absolutely outstanding. but i know that early diagnosis and early treatment is key. and therefore, with this in mind, will my right honorable friend see that the lung health check program announced by nhs england last november is implemented as speedily and as

widely as possible? and will she do all that she can to challenge the stigma attached to lung cancer and some of the false judgments that are made so that it receives the attention it deserves and those suffering with the disease receive the care that they need? >> well, can i say to my right honorable friend that i am absolutely delighted to see him back in his place in this house. and can i also commend him for the interviews that he gave over the weekend and the way he spoke about his own experience. and he is absolutely right about early diagnosis. and can i say i think the message that my right honorable friend gave from his experience needs to be one that we all promote around the country, which is if there is the slightest doubt for someone, if something happens that you think is potentially problematic and the sign of something, then please go to the doctor and get it checked out.

there are many men particularly who think oh, no, well, it's better not to. we'll just put up with it. actually go get it checked out. because crucially, in cancer and in many other areas, but in cancer like lung cancers my right honorable friend has said, if that right early diagnosis and right action can be taken and it means an enormous difference to the patient. and i can assure him that we are looking very carefully and monitoring the effective, particularly of scanning of high risk groups, and will be looking carefully at the results of that. but as he says, we need to ensure that we get rid of the stigma of lung cancer, and that anybody who has the slightest suspicion of a problem actually goes to the doctor, gets themselves checked out and gets the treatment that they need. >> mr. speaker, for many people in the northeast employment is precarious and low paid. and since the reduction of the asprent tisship levee it has remained stubbornly stagnant

while apprenticeship has declined by 35%. having a plan or developing a plan is simply not good enough. what is the prime minister actually going to do to resolve the problem of youth unemployment in the northeast of england? >> we heard earlier from my honorable friend from middlesbrough. overall in the northeast we see unemployment falling faster than many other parts of the country. and that is something i think to be welcomed. we do need to ensure that we are seeing the intended outcome of the apprenticeship levee, ie more opportunities for young people actually being put into practice. and i'm sure that my right honorable friend who is responsible for the apprenticeship issue will take up the particular reference that he has made to the apprenticeships in the northeast. >> jillian keegan. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last sunday we celebrated the

achievements of astronaut tim peek by honoring him with freedom of the city. will the prime minister join me in congratulating tim and give assurances that our significant investment in the european space agency, eu space programs and research will continue as we leave the european union? >> can i say to my honorable friend that this is an important issue. i was very pleased. one of the first i hosted in number 10 was tim peek and to see the enormous enthusiasm he generated among young people for space and science. made clear through the multifinancial framework, we'll continue to participate in programs that are funded by that, and that includes space, but will also be discussing with the eu how we can build on our successful cooperation on space as the negotiations proceed. and she will have seen that there have been some important developments, including legislation in this house that will enable to us to take a real

forward position in relation to space in the future. >> the prime minister will be aware that the huge new midland metropolitan hospital is currently halted by the collapse. however, it's already 2/3 finished, and the longer the restart of work is delayed, the more the ultimate cost will rise. yet only this week, more project management staff were laid off. so will the prime minister commit to getting this site back to work, instruct her minute center, especially in the department of health and the treasury to get in gear for this project, get the work rolling again next month, and complete this much needed hospital? >> i understand that over 8,000 workers have had their jobs safeguarded. but of course that is no comfort to those who have found themselves made redundant and their families. he raise as good point. the department of health and social care are working with the trust and the company so that

work can recommence as soon as possible. >> will my right friend agree that behind the smiling beard of the leader of the opposition lies the real threat to this country's economy, the shadow chancellor and his reheated hard left marxism? can she reassure me and the businesses of this country that this party will put jobs, prosperity and growth before ideology? >> we're not going to talk about beards. we're going talk about policy. we're not going to talk with the gentleman's beard either. the prime minister? >> can i say to my honorable friend that he is absolutely right, that if we want to build a strong economy with high skilled, high paid jobs for the future, the way to do that not to go out bore rogue hundreds of billions of pounds and bankrupting our economy. the labor party will be a real threat to the economy of this country. but more than that, they would be a threat to the jobs of hardworking people up and down this country.

>> mr. speaker, this week is the seventh anniversary of the 2011 referendum where the people of my country supported full legislative sovereignty of a devolved policy areas. despite perceived con sbigs that de facto prime minister, the withdrawal bill will drive a sledgehammer through the welsh constitution. isn't it the reality that under her plans for brexit britannia, a vassal country? >> can i say to the honorable gentleman that he is wrong what we are proposing in relation to the devolved administrations. we will be devolving far more powers to the devolved administrations. indeed, that is manage this government has done only recently. in the wales act we have seen new powers being devolved to the welsh government. we are absolutely clear that we want to see the vast majority of

powers returning from brussels starting off in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast and not in whitehall. but we're also clear where po r powers are related to the uk as a whole, it makes sense that rules continue to apply across the whole of the united kingdom in the same way. >> julia lopez. >> thank you, mr. speaker. to celebrate welcome day tomorrow will the prime minister join me in backing the child literacy campaign to make ten minutes of daily reading with a child as much a national habit as eating five pieces of fruit and veg? >> as i say to my honorable friend, i'm very happy to welcoming share a story campaign and in marking world book day, which i think is a day to enjoy and celebrate reading. as a child, i very much enjoyed readling. and i think this idea of trying to ensure that we see ten minutes of reading every day with a child becoming a natural habit for everybody is extremely important. and i will certainly support that.

circumstances liz kendall. >> sunday's explosion in leicester has been a terrible shock to the local community. i know all of our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives and those that have been injured. i thank the prime minister and the leader of the opposition for praising our incredible intelligence services who are continuing to work in extremely difficult circumstances. will the prime minister also pay tribute to our local residents who have pulled together to support one another, showing great strength and courage? and will she make sure we get all the support we need to get to the bottom of what's happened and to help my constituents put their lives back together again? >> hear, hear. >> can i -- can i say to the honorable lady that as we both -- she said the leader of the opposition said earlier, we express our condolences to the family and friends of those who were sadly killed in this

tragedy. but also we recognize the impact that it has on the local community. and as she said, i'm very happy to pay tribute to local residents who have shown i think the real value of community in the way that they have come together on this. and i can assure her that everything will be done to get to the bottom of why this happened and to ensure as far as possible depending on the cause, obviously, that it would not happen to anybody again. >> mr. philip davis? >> mr. speaker, last year i attended a meeting in the house of lords organized by the human rights campaign baroness cox, which three very brave women told us their harrowing tales of how they had been treated and discriminated against by sharia councils. it's amazing, mr. speaker how noisy feminists in this place are so quiet about this issue when women have been discriminated against so blatantly in this country. isn't it time -- isn't it time this alternative discriminatory form of justice is no longer

tolerated in this country? >> can i -- can i say to my honorable friend that we're very clear that there is one rule of law in the united kingdom. that is british law. but he's right and i mice have also heard stories from individual women who have had been discriminated or felt that they've been discriminated and treated badly as a result of cisions for sharia courts. that's why when hi was home secretary, i set up the review into sharia courts. and that is a review that i believe is recently published its report. am i right our friend the home secretary will be responding to that shortly? >> frank field. >> organizations work with the victims of modern slavery report that tomorrow the government's cutting their miserable daily living allowance. will the prime minister stop that cut? >> can i say to the right honorable gentlemen -- first i commend him for the interest and work he has done in the issue of

modern slavery and human trafficking, and all our efforts to stop this terrible and horrendous crime that takes place. our benefit system is there to provide a safety net for people. we have been putting changes in place to make sure that we give more help to the people who need it most. in relation to the specific issue that he has raised, i'm not aware of the details. but i know my right honorable friend, the secretary of state for work and compensations will want to look at the work he has raised. >> does she share my concerns about the impress and the moseley house with some of our leading politicians? >> can i -- can i say to my honorable friend i think some people will be -- will have been surprised to learn of those links with some leading politicians. but can i also say to her that i absolutely, absolutely agree with her that a free press is

very important. it underpins our democracy. and whatever they say about, whatever they write about us, actually, it's important that they are able to hold politicians, the powerful to account. and they are able to shine a light in some of the darkest corners of our society. and as far as i'm concerned as prime minister, while i'm prime minister, that will never change. >> jardine. >> thank you. has recently launched its noise abatement consultation process. but given that an aviation is a reserve matter, will the prime minister undertake that -- agree that her government will undertake an investigation of whether the level of night flights at edinburgh airport has now reached the same level as was reached at standstead when it was regulated? thank you. >> well, can i say to the honorable lady that i wasn't aware of the work that was being done at edinburgh airport, but i'm very happy to ask the

department of transport to look at the particular issue she has raised. >> finally, simon. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure that the whole house would agree that the value of piece is priceless. can i ask my right honorable friend to confirm her support for and indeed that the good friday agreement is safe in her hands? >> well, my honorable friend has raised an important point. and i should recognize that of course this april will mark the 20th anniversary of the historic belfast agreement. and that agreement has been fundamental together with its successes in helping northern to move forward from its violent past to a brighter and more secure future. i can assure my honorable friend that this government remains absolutely committed to the belfast agreement. our commitment to that agreement is steadfast. >> thank you. order. here is a look at some of our coverage thursday on the

c-span networks. on c-span at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the reverend billy graham's casket departs from the capitol. coverage of testimony by federal reserve chair jerome powell before the senate banking committee. and at 1:00 eastern, a white house summit opioid addiction with the first lady and attorney general jeff sessions. on c-span2 continuing debate on a u.s. district court judge nomination. and on c-span3, a hearing on the trump administration's infrastructure plan. this weekend on book tv, saturday at 2:30 p.m. eastern, programs featuring guns and the second amendment starting with michael waldman, the president of the brennan center for justice at nyu law school examines the history and debate surrounding the second amendment. then sue klebold, the mother of one of the columbine shooters discusses her book, "a