Labour

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on the treatment of detainees at Brook House immigration detention centre, said:

“Sadly this is not an isolated incident. Under this Tory Government, Britain’s detentions centres have developed a reputation for inhumane treatment.

“It’s no wonder that the Home Office have repeatedly blocked my own attempts, as Shadow Home Secretary, to visit Yarl’s Wood and that that the UN’s rapporteur on violence against women was denied access to inspect conditions at this controversial facility.

“There have been numerous reports of improper conduct in G4S-run institutions, but the Tories seem content to continuing paying this company millions in taxpayers’ money without holding them to account for their failures.

“Theresa May’s “hostile environment” for immigrants has gone too far. The Government has a duty to ensure that detainees are treated with basic dignity and in accordance with their Human Rights.

“We cannot seek to promote human rights around the world, while holding detainees indefinitely and treating them in this despicable manner.”

Kate Osamor MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, commenting on Priti Patel’s announcement on the UK response to the South Asia floods, said:

“Priti Patel’s response to the floods in South Asia has been slow and insufficient.

“It has now been more than two weeks since the floods struck and Priti Patel’s announcement last Friday that the UK will contribute just £400,000 of new funding in Nepal, from an annual aid budget of over £13 billion is not good enough.

“Priti Patel must now urgently come before Parliament this week and make a statement that keeps the world’s eyes on South Asia and shows that this government is serious about tackling the unfolding catastrophe.

“Tropical Storm Harvey’s recovery effort in Houston may be grabbing mainstream media headlines, but we must not ignore the millions suffering across South Asia. British humanitarian responses must be driven by need – not the column inches a disaster receives in the mainstream media.”

Emily Thornberry MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, responding to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, said:

“In the last month, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been displaced from their homes as a result of the violence in Rakhine State, and thousands more are joining them with every passing day, all desperately in need of shelter, medical help, food and clean water.

“As well as a complete end to all further violence and burning of villages, we need to ensure that the thousands of people who have already lost their homes urgently receive the food, water and medicine they need to survive. If the authorities on the ground in Myanmar are deliberately preventing UN bodies and international aid agencies from reaching those displaced families, that decision must be immediately reversed.

“And once the cessation of violence and humanitarian access has been achieved, the work of building a lasting peace must begin, building on the recommendations of Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, including a recognition of the rights and freedoms of the Rohingya people, and an end to restrictions on their movement.

“Britain and the rest of the world community must stand ready to support that process, but it will firstly rely on the civilian and military authorities in Myanmar living up to their responsibilities within a modern democratic government. As a long-standing, critical friend, we should expect and demand nothing less.”

Ends

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to Chief superintendent Gavin Thomas’ comments on police funding and resources, said:

“Once again we see influential voices from within policing warning of the disastrous effects of the Tories’ continued funding cuts in the face of rising demands on policing services.

“Ministers should finally take heed of this latest warning and stop asking the police to do more with less.

“It is no surprise morale is low when frontline officers have seen so many colleagues lose their jobs, while their own pay has frozen under seven years of Tory austerity.

“You cannot protect the public on the cheap, which is why Labour has pledged to give officers the pay rise they deserve and put 10,000 extra bobbies on the beat.”

Ends

“Today’s warning from NHS Providers should come as a wake-up call to this Tory Government.

 “Reports of “dangerous” bed shortages this winter putting patient safety at risk are extremely worrying and will lead to yet more patients being left in the back of ambulances or stranded on hospital trolleys for hours on end.

 “At the General Election Labour promised a cash injection to cope with this year’s winter crisis. The Government urgently needs to follow our lead and to heed the advice from health bosses to provide an immediate funding boost this winter to avoid serious harm to patients.“