Andrew
Gwynne MP, Labour’s Co-National Campaign Coordinator, commenting on remarks
made by Anne Marie Morris, said:

“Anne
Marie Morris’ comments are outrageous and totally unacceptable. While the
Conservative Party has tabled a debate on Wednesday to apparently discuss and
condemn abuse of candidates in the General Election, these comments prove their
hypocrisy. 

"Theresa
May once spoke about changing the Tories’ ‘Nasty Party’ tag. If she’s serious
about that, she will admit it’s not enough for the Tories to ‘investigate’ and
will apologise and act immediately. If that means withdrawing the whip, that’s
what they should do.”

Ends

Tom
Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and
Sport,
commenting on UK Music’s Wish You Were Here 2017 report, said:

“We
should all celebrate the huge contribution music makes to our economy. But we
mustn’t take it for granted. Without the right Brexit deal it could be harder
for overseas visitors to come and experience live music here in the UK, and
harder for artists to tour.

“Our
music industry wouldn’t be what it is today without the contribution of smaller
music venues – the ones that are struggling the most, but are crucial for
nurturing up-and-coming talent. We need to make sure they’re protected.
Labour’s cultural capital fund would invest in upgrading existing music venues
and creating new ones, to make sure that our live music industry remains a
success story.”

Emily
Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, responding to the High Court’s
ruling that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are legal, said:

“This
is a frustrating setback, but that is all it is. It will not for one
second stop us fighting for justice on behalf of the thousands of
civilians killed by Saudi air-strikes, and working for peace on behalf of the
millions of ordinary Yemenis currently living in fear of violence, famine and
cholera.

“In
particular, we must first redouble our efforts to force the UK Government
to support an independent, UN-led investigation into alleged violations
of international humanitarian law by the Saudi coalition, one the
Government will not be able to circumvent through the presentation of secret
evidence in closed sessions of court.

“And
second, we must continue to demand that the Government brings forward the
peace plan that the UN has been waiting for Britain to present for the
last nine months, and does not treat today’s judgement as a green light to
continue pushing for a military solution which can only bring more death,
misery and hardship to the people of Yemen.”

Rebecca
Long Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy, commenting
on today’s findings that the Government’s industrial strategy targets only 10
percent of manufacturing and 1 per cent of the whole economy and widens
regional divides, said,

‘’The
Government’s industrial strategy is simply not ambitious enough, focussing on
an extremely narrow section of the UK, both economically and geographically,
and contains no commitment to the levels of investment necessary to transform
the economy.

“Labour’s
industrial strategy has real teeth, backed up by our £250 billion National
Transformation Fund, the National Investment Bank and a network of Regional
Development Banks. It will be wide-reaching, centred around three pillars:
national missions to address the societal issues of our time, cross-cutting
policies to create a fertile ground for business activity and collaboration at
a sector level for both established and potential industries.

“Only
Labour has a modern, ambitious and achievable industrial strategy to rebuild
and transform the economy in every region of the UK for the many not the few.’’

Commenting on new figures released by the Ministry of Justice showing 225 kg of drugs were recovered across the prison estate in England and Wales in 2016, Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon said:

“It’s clear that we have a crisis in our prisons system, with drugs use and violence continuing to be all too common.

“The Chief Inspector of Prisons recently said that our prisons are dangerous for prisoners and staff alike and are failing in their duty to rehabilitate and reform prisoners.

“These new drugs figures are yet another example of how drastic Tory cuts to prison budgets and staff numbers are driving this prisons crisis.

“Labour would begin to solve this by recruiting 3,000 new prisons officers and improving staff retention by improving terms and conditions for prison officers”

Ends