announcer: during this week's question time, british prime minister theresa may talked

about her recent meeting with president trump and his comments during the helsinki summit with russian president vladimir putin. this portion of the session is about 30 minutes. >> questions to the prime minister. the prime minister. prime minister may: today marks 100 years since the birth of nelson mandela. i am sure that the whole house will want to join me in paying tribute to his extraordinary life and will agree with me that his message of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation is as relevant today as it ever has been. mr. speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. in addition to my duties in this house, i shall have further such meetings later today. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i am proud to have nelson mandela place in my constituency, and we celebrate that today as well.

there were 934 drug-related deaths in scotland last year. each one of those deaths is a tragedy, and a preventable one at that. drug laws are reserved to westminster. how many more families is the prime minister willing to devastate before she will allow glasgow to get on with the work of building a drug consumption room to save lives? >> i agree with the honorable lady that each death due to drugs is a tragedy, and i am sure that every member of this house will have known people in their own constituency who have gone through that terrible suffering when they have lost members of their family. there is no legal framework for the provision of drug consumption rooms in the uk and we have no plans to introduce them. we have no plans to introduce that. we must prevent drug use in our communities.

thank you mister speaker. did they inform the house. prime minister. a range of offences is likely to be committed in the operation of drug consumption rooms. it is for local police forces to enforce the law in such circumstances and we would expect them to do so, but our approach on drugs remains very clear. we must prevent drug use in our communities and support people dependent on drugs through treatment and recovery. >> could the prime minister inform the house at what point it was decided that brexit means remain? prime minister may: at absolutely no point, because brexit continues to mean brexit. i know that my honorable friend wants us to talk about the positives of brexit and i agree with her. we should be talking about the positive future for this country. i understand that she has also criticised me for looking for a solution that is "workable". i have to say, i disagree with her on that. i think what we need is a solution that is going to work for the united kingdom, ensure

we leave the european union and embrace that bright future that we both agree on. >> i, too, pay tribute to nelson mandela on the centenary of his birth. the people of south africa stood up against the most vile injustice of apartheid. their solidarity and the solidarity of people around the world freed him and ended the scourge of apartheid. we should pay tribute to all of them on this day. mr. speaker, people are losing trust in this government. the transport secretary, the international trade secretary and now the brexit secretary were all members of the vote leave campaign committee. the environment secretary was the co-chair. they have been referred to the police by the electoral commission, having refused to co-operate with the electoral commission. will the prime minister guarantee that her cabinet ministers will fully co-operate

with the police investigation? prime minister may: i say to the right honorable gentleman that i actually question the way in which he put his question. mr. speaker, he has made an accusation in this house against members of this house -- [indiscernible] >> order. the question was heard and the prime minister's answer must be heard. the prime minister. prime minister may: the right honorable gentleman has made an accusation in this house against individual members of this house and of the government, and i suggest that when he stands up, he reflects on whether or not it was correct to do so. the electoral commission is an independent regulator, accountable to parliament, not to the government. they have taken steps.

the have, as we know, taken steps in relation to the vote leave campaign. i would expect that all those involved and required to do so will give the evidence that is required, and respond appropriately to any questions that are raised with them. but i say again to the right honorable gentleman that i think he should stand up, think very carefully about making accusations about individual members, and withdraw. >> jeremy corbyn. >> order. order. people can rant from a sedentary position for as long as they like. it won't change the way proceedings are conducted in this session. the prime minister's answers will be heard and the questions from the right honorable gentleman will be heard, and no amount of orchestrated barracking will change that fact this day or any other.

jeremy corbyn. >> thank you, mr speaker. i stated the fact that the electoral commission has made that reference. that is what i said. i asked the prime minister for a guarantee that her ministers will cooperate with the police on any investigations that they may make. that is not judgmental. that is a guarantee they will cooperate. these are serious issues. the current cabinet ministers were indeed central to the vote leave campaign. after two years of dither and delay, the government have sunk into a mire of chaos and division. the agreement that was supposed to unite the cabinet led to the cabinet falling apart within 48 hours, and on monday the government u-turned to make their own white paper proposals unlawful. given that the proposals in the white paper are now obsolete, when will the new white paper be published?

prime minister may: i heard the right honorable gentleman say in his first question that members of the government had failed to cooperate with the electoral commission investigation. again that heim should withdraw that. it is very important in this country that politicians do not interfere with police investigations, and the police are allowed to do their investigation. but everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. i still contend that he made accusations against individual members of the government that were unjustified and he should withdraw them. in the customs bill on monday night. significant.

the right honorable gentleman then came to the amendments that the government accepted to the customs bill on monday night. i will explain the position to the house. >> mr speaker. >> order. we are less than a third of the way through -- possibly significantly less -- and people are becoming over-excited. they must calm themselves and we must hear the prime minister. prime minister may: the honorable member for brent central said, "this will be interesting." i will go through each of the amendments in turn for the purposes of the house. amendment 72 related to parliamentary scrutiny on plans under clause 31 to form a customs union with the eu. we are going to leave the customs union with the eu so we accepted that enhanced parliamentary scrutiny. amendment 73 related to regulations on the application of vat in certain circumstances. such an arrangement is not part of the white paper and the chequers agreement, and we were able to accept that too. new clause 37 was to prevent a customs border down the irish sea. that is government policy. new clause 36 related to reciprocity and accounting for tariffs collected, and that

concept is in the white paper. the chequers agreement and white paper are the basis of our negotiations with the european union, and we have already started those negotiations. >> that is all very interesting, but could she explained why the defence minister had to rebel against the government in order to support the cabinet's position of a few days before? the government are in complete chaos. the centrepiece of the white paper was something called the "facilitated customs arrangement". having spent a week trying to convince their own mp's that this cobbled-together mishmash was worth defending, they abandoned it. so what is their plan now for customs? prime minister may: the right honorable gentleman is wrong. we have not abandoned the facilitated customs agreement. we are discussing it with the european union. >> is she seriously expecting that 27 member states of the eu to establish their own bureaucratic tariff-collection

infrastructure just to satisfy the war within the conservative party in britain? on monday evening, the new brexit secretary was starting the next round of brexit negotiations. no wonder he didn't turn up. he doesn't know what he is supposed to be negotiating. two years on from the referendum and 16 months on from triggering article 50, is it not the case that the government have no serious negotiating strategy? prime minister may: the right honorable gentleman is just plain wrong in his interpretation of what is happening. i have a copy of the white paper here and i am very happy to ensure he gets a copy after these pmq's so that he can perhaps read it and understand what the government are doing. i fade to the later of the opposition, there are -- i say

to the leader of the opposition, there are indeed differences between the leader of the opposition and me on this issue. i will end free movement. he wants to keep it. i want us out of the customs union. he wants us in. i want us out of the single market. he wants us in. i want us to sign our own trade deals. he wants to hand them over to brussels. i have ruled out a second referendum. he won't. there is no doubt which of us is respecting the will of the british people and delivering on the vote, and it is not him. >> we are 11 days on from the so-called chequers agreement, and the agreement, and the -- and the white paper did not even survive contact with the cabinet or the tory back benches, and has not yet even been discussed with the eu. the brexit white paper does state, "the uk is committed to membership of the european convention on human rights". is the new brexit secretary signed up to that? prime minister may: let me say to the right honorable gentleman that we are signed up to that. it was in our manifesto.

can i also say to the right honorable gentleman that he has stood up and asked virtually the same question, and obviously has not listened to any of the answers that i have given him. the whole point of this is not that you just read out the question you thought of on tuesday morning, but you actually listen to the answers that the prime minister gives. he said the chequers agreement stands. the white paper stands. the right honorable gentleman said that we had not even discussed the white paper with the european union. i think i have told him in at least two if not three answers that we are already discussing it with the european union. >> the prime minister obviously forgot the question that i just asked her, which was about the brexit secretary's support or otherwise for the european convention on human rights. because he is on record as saying, "i don't support the human rights act and i don't believe in economic and social rights."

he is obviously backsliding to keep his job, or that is the new policy of the government. with only three months to go until the final withdrawal agreement is due to be signed, the brexit secretary has resigned, the white paper is in tatters, and the new brexit secretary is skipping negotiations. two years of negotiating with themselves, and they wanted to shut down parliament five days early. they have even given up on negotiating with each other. is it not the case that the government are failing to negotiate brexit and failing to meet the needs of the -- >> order. i know what the attempt is, and it is not going to work. the right honorable gentleman will complete his question. he will not be shouted down, not today and not any day. learn it, it is quite simple. jeremy corbyn. >> thank you, mr speaker. after two years of negotiating with themselves, they wanted to

shut down parliament five days early. they have even given up on negotiating with each other. is it not the case that the government are failing to negotiate brexit and failing to meet the needs of the country because they are too busy -- far too busy -- fighting each other? prime minister may: let me tell the right honorable gentleman what i have been doing over the last week, and let me also look -- and let me also look at what the right honorable gentleman has been doing over the last week. while i was agreeing the future of nato with president trump -- >> order. order. mr. lewis, you are a very overexcitable denizen of the

house. you are not as well behaved as your little baby daughter. prime minister. prime minister may: while i was agreeing the future of nato with president trump, the right honorable gentleman was joining a protest march against him. while i was delivering a plan for our future trade with the eu, he was delivering a plan to teach children how to go on strike. while i was negotiating our future security relationship with europe, he was renegotiating the definition of anti-semitism. he protests, i deliver. >> there will indeed be more. thank you, mr. speaker. 31 member countries of the

international holocaust remembrance alliance have an agreed definition of anti-semitism. does my right honorable friend agree that all political parties should adopt that definition, and its examples, without amendments or omissions? prime minister may: i agree with my honorable friend that all political parties should do just that. the conservative party has done that, but sadly the labour party does not agree. the labour party is trying to redefine anti-semitism to allow people to say that israel is a racist endeavour. the chief rabbi says that what the labour party is doing is sending "an unprecedented message of contempt" for british jews. even some of the right honorable gentleman's own mp's are saying that this is anti-semitic. anti-semitism is racism.

the labour party should accept that. the right honorable gentleman should accept that. we should all sign up, as the conservative party has, to the definition of the international holocaust remembrance alliance and all its annexes. >> we should all welcome the 100th anniversary of the birth of nelson mandela. those of us in scotland are very proud that the city of glasgow was the first in the world to give the freedom of a city to nelson mandela, something of which he in turn was also proud. this week the prime minister caved in to her right-wing brexiteers, undermining her negotiating position with the eu. in her attempt to hold together her fractured party, she has managed to unite the country against this government. playing fast and loose with her own position makes the uk a laughing stock with our negotiating partners.

the prime minister has put her narrow party interest before that of the country. is it not the case that the events of this week make a no deal much more likely? prime minister may: as i explained in answer to the questions from the leader of the opposition, we are negotiating with the european union on the basis of the chequers agreement and the white paper. that has been conducted, those discussions started this week and have been continuing this week. but can i say to him also, he talks about putting a political party's interests before that of the country. i think the s np should really think about what it is doing when it promotes the independence of scotland, which is clearly against the interests of its country. >> the reality is that this is a prime minister who has lost control of her own party, a prime minister who is in office but not in power, and a

parliament that is so divided that it simply cannot function. mr speaker, to use a good gaelic word, it is a burach. we cannot crash out of the eu without a deal. we need to think of the next generation, who will pay a price for this folly. they will see lost opportunities and lost jobs. did the prime minister come into parliament to have this as her legacy? will she now face up to the reality and extend article 50? >> the prime minister's proposals offer a practical and reasoned way to deliver brexit. does she agree with me that it is high time that labour mp's, and yes, some conservatives, stop the fear-mongering, get behind their country and support the prime minister as she leads us out of the european union?

prime minister may: there are strong feelings around the whole house on this issue, but what we need is a deal that is credible and workable, protects jobs and protects our precious union, and delivers on the result of the referendum. that is exactly what we are doing with the chequers agreement. it allows the uk to leave the european union, and to take back control of our money, laws and borders. that is what our plan delivers. and as he says, let us work together and deliver for the british people. >> thank you, mr. speaker. if i may, in relation to ongoing matters -- >> order. this is extremely serious and it will be heard. >> thank you, mr speaker. in relation to ongoing matters, may i, on a personal note, thank the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and every single member of this house for the kindness they have shown me?

i am delighted to be in my place to be able to ask the prime minister a question. so, to the question -- to business. would the prime minister agree that, as part of the government's attempt to expand capacity in the nhs, existing sites such as ormskirk hospital in my constituency, where there is capacity to build an extra floor, should be prioritised for expansion ahead of simply building a new hospital at much greater cost, depriving the nhs of much needed investment which should go into patients and staffing? prime minister may: first, may i say to the honorable lady how very good it is to see her in her place in this house? and i know from the response that that view is shared across the whole of this house. she has raised an issue to do with the nhs and ormskirk

hospital. as she will know, we are putting that extra funding into the national health service, £20 billion a year in real terms by 2023-2024. we will have funding available not just to build sites but, as she says, to improve current and existing facilities across the country. as regards ormskirk hospital, i understand there has been a report by the northern england clinical center that has made proposals around the provision of emergency services there. no decisions have been made -- that is a matter, of course, for the nhs -- but as we look to the long-term plan, i want nhs clinicians to come forward with the best proposals for patients and to take account of local interests such as those the honorable lady has raised. >> around the world christians are facing a rising tide of persecution and violence. does the prime minister share my concern at this trend and at particular cases such as those of sunil saleem, a christian man

who was beaten to death at a hospital in lahore in pakistan, or 33 women in eritrea who were imprisoned simply for praying? in this country we rightly protect religious freedoms. well her government step up efforts to get other countries to similarly respect religious freedoms? prime minister may: as a government we stand with persecuted christians all over the world and will continue to support them. i think it is hard to comprehend almost today that we still see people being attacked and murdered because of their christianity, but we must reaffirm our determination to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions and beliefs and for them to be able to practise their beliefs in peace and security. i am very pleased that i have been able to appoint the noble lord ahmad as the government's special envoy on freedom of religion or belief, and he will certainly be doing what my honorable friend has said,

working with other countries to encourage them to recognise the importance of allowing people to have the freedom to practise their religion and beliefs in peace and security. >> in view of the fact that schools in the stroud constituency are telling me they are forced to use core funding to make up for the additional requirements of special educational needs and that special schools in the constituency are having to meet considerable rising costs, will the prime minister look at the national funding formula with the aim of helping those schools, to make sure they are fully inclusive and that we help those who are most vulnerable because of their special needs? prime minister may: i have long championed the need for children with special needs to be able to be provided for in the setting that is most appropriate for them. for some that will be a mainstream school, for some it will be a special needs school.

we have of course changed the national funding formula to make it a fairer distribution across the country. i recognise the need to ensure that children with special needs are being provided for in the most appropriate setting. >> thank you very much. mr. speaker, the establishment of a spaceport in scotland will give the uk the capability to launch satellites from british soil for the first time ever. considering the opportunities presented by space and aerospace, will the prime minister meet with me to discuss more investment for scotland, in particular the kinross aerospace centre in my constituency that is being proposed as part of the tay cities deal? prime minister may: i thank my honorable friend for raising this issue. it is absolutely right of him to highlight the opportunities that our announcement on spaceports give us. we have awarded grants worth £31.5 million to enable satellites to be launched from uk soil for the first time, and that is worth a potential £3.8

billion over the next decade to the uk economy. this is the start of a new space age in the uk. it is a huge boost to our world-leading space sector, making the uk a one-stop shop for new satellite services. can i say to the right honorable friends, he has put a bid in for his own constituency in this regard, and i am sure my right honorable friend the business secretary will be happy to meet him and discuss that. >> bunny hill and washington urgent care centre in my constituency, and the houghton urgent care centre in my neighbouring constituency, are under threat of closure by the sunderland clinical commissioning group. it is not good enough for the prime minister just to say that these are simply local decisions, as local people certainly do not want those closures. what will she say to my constituents who rely on those vital urgent care centres, and to the staff at sunderland royal a&e who are going to have to deal with the aftermath of the closures?

prime minister may: the honorable lady complains to me that we want decisions to be taken at local level by the nhs, but i believe it is absolutely right that decisions are taken at local level. when the nhs takes those decisions, the important thing is that it puts the interests of patients, the safety of patients and the treatment of patients first. she has raised this particular issue, but i continue to believe that it is right not for politicians here to make a decision like that but for actual clinicians and others working in the national health service. the british house of commons is now in recess until september 5. for more on the british parliament, go to c-span.org and find video of past prime minister's questions and other british affairs program. tomorrow, a discussion on violent extremism and what steps are being taken to combat and protect from extremism.

from the center for strategic and international studies starts at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2. monday night on "the communicators," the general counsel for alaskan cable provider gci talks about how the company makes broadband possible for small villages across tender, glaciers, and mountains. then incoming president of the alaska collaborative for telemedicine, christopher dietric onh providing health care to promote communities in alaska. watch "the communicators" on c-span2. as part of our year-long 50 capitals ypit the c-span - tour, the c-span bus made its way to juneau, alaska. tv andekend on book

american history tv, we feature our stops across alaska, showing the states natural beauty. fairbanks, alaska is located 196 miles south of the arctic circle. while in fairbanks, we visited a river lookout and a state recordation area -- a state recreation area.

announcer: now, as part of c-span's alaska weekend, an interview with senator lisa murkowski. she talks about her home state, her role as chair of the natural -- of the senate natural resources committee and her thoughts on supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. this is just under 30 minutes. >> senator lisa murkowski of alaska, there are not too many third-generation alaskans around, is there? sen. murkowski: it's getting to be more and more. my husband and i are contributing with a fourth-generation. hopefully both boys will want to plant roots in the state. it is something i am proud of. i love my state, and i love my family's history there. >> what brought your grandparents to alaska?