In a House of Commons debate yesterday (Wednesday), Speaker of the House, John Bercow MP, took Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Robert Seely to task.
The telling off occurred during the ‘Leaving the EU: Economic Impact of Proposed Deal’ debate in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon.
During an exchange between Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General, and Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (International Trade) and the party’s Spokesperson on Exiting the European Union, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons interrupted saying,
Order. Mr Seely, sit down young man. It is very discourteous. The Father of the House comes in—[Interruption.] Order. Do not sit there looking at your phone, man. I am speaking to you. Show some respect and manners in the Chamber.
Hansard then records that Bob Seely rose (stood up). John Bercow continued, but with more irritation,
No, I do not need the hon. Gentleman to get up. Remain seated and behave with courtesy. What on earth has got into you?
You can watch the session below. Jump to 13.20 to see the Isle of Wight MP being brought to order (or follow this link)
Seely calls for “an updated and renewed treason Bill”
There weren’t many MPs in the chamber, and it looks as though Bob was finding a seat ready for the following debate – in which he spoke – Deprivation of Citizenship Status.
Early on in the debate Bob said,
As somebody who served in the ISIS campaign, I am very aware of the difficulty of extraditing and prosecuting returning UK ISIS fighters.
“Does the Home Secretary agree that the priority is monitoring those 400-plus fighters who are back in the UK?
“Is he aware of how many of them were actually fighters? How many of those people are likely to be prosecuted, and if he cannot supply the information now, would he be able to give it to me or the House in some form at a later date?
“Does he agree now that there is also a case for an updated and renewed treason Bill or Act to cope with these sorts of incidents in future?
Watch here or jump to 14.07 below:
Image: © ParliamentLive.TV
