.PM insists gimmick-heavy government programme laid out by
the monarch will give Britons the 'chance to rise'
.The 'one nation' package will also pave the way for
driverless cars, the UK's first spaceport and a 'universal' right to high-speed
broadband
.Controversial prisons reforms at the heart of the last big
parliamentary set piece before the EU referendum
.Protection for children from online porn, moves to tackle
hate preachers, a law to implement a 'sugar tax' on unhealthy products, and
moves towards a British Bill of Rights also featured
.But former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith accused the PM
of ditching key reforms to avoid derailing EU referendum campaign, including a
promised Sovereignty Bill guaranteeing parliament's supremacy over Brussels
By JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR BE INFORMED, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR BE INFORMD and MATT DATHAN, POLITICAL
CORRESPONDENT FOR BE INFORMED
PUBLISHED: 09:05 GMT, 18 May 2016 | UPDATED: 18:05 GMT, 18
May 2016
David Cameron has defended the 'one nation' Queen's Speech
amid claims he abandoned controversial reforms in a desperate bid to avoid
Brexit.
In the last big parliamentary set piece before the EU
referendum, the monarch unveiled a gimmick-heavy government programme including
plans for the UK's first spaceport and driverless cars.
There will also be a crackdown on online porn, a 'universal'
right to high-speed broadband, more NHS charges for foreigners, and a major
prisons overhaul.
But furious Eurosceptics said flagship measures had been
'jettisoned' as the Prime Minister focuses on maintaining the UK's ties to
Europe, and said he had broken a pledge to include a Sovereignty Bill that
would have guaranteed the British Parliament was supreme over Brussels.
Hailing the legislative programme laid out by the monarch
with traditional pomp and ceremony, Mr Cameron told the Commons: 'This is the
Queen's Speech of a progressive One Nation government.'
 |
The Queen delivers her speech opening the parliamentary
session flanked by Prince Philip. Tories have complained that key measures have
been ditched in a bid to win the EU referendum
|
Formally unveiling the package, the Queen heralded the
introduction of 'weekend' jails - with thousands of criminals freed during the
week to work and keep in touch with their families.
A review commissioned by Justice Secretary Michael Gove will
also recommend prisoners are given iPads in their cells so they can keep in
touch with children and spouses via FaceTime and Skype.
In a series of public-pleasing 'retail' offers, every
household will have a legal entitlement to fast internet connection, with
compensation if their broadband goes wrong.
There will also be enhanced protections from spam callers
and marketing, pension scheme exit fees will be capped, and age verification
will be required to access porn sites.
But former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said the
premier appeared to be 'jettisoning' key measures in 'helter skelter pursuit'
of keeping Britain's ties to the EU.
 |
The monarch and Prince Philip walked into the Royal Gallery
hand in hand, with pages carrying her train
|
 |
The Queen prepares to deliver her Speech to open the
parliamentary session. It features consumer-friendly plans for a 'universal'
right to fast broadband
|
He highlighted the watering down of reforms to the BBC and
trade union funding. Alongside the absence of the mooted Sovereignty Bill,
plans to force all schools to become academies have been heavily downgraded and
there is no mention of the impending decision on whether to authorise expansion
of Heathrow Airport.
And Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen told MailOnline: 'It's
pretty thin - they even re-announced the referendum and that requires no more
legislation. 'The issue that is paralysing and monopolising the Government is
the referendum.'
He added: 'I think we should have had the Queen's Speech
after the referendum.'
Among the measures featured in the Speech were:
Legislation that could see driverless cars on the streets
within four years. The vehicles have already been trialed in the UK and
ministers want them to be insurable under ordinary policies. Regulations for
drones and a proposed first commercial spaceport for the UK also featured in
the Queen's Speech.
A crackdown on hate preachers that will see them treated in
the same way as paedophiles and banned from working with children and other
vulnerable groups. The move is intended to stop radicals infiltrating schools,
colleges, charities and care homes.
Giving people across the country rights to high speed
broadband. A Universal Service Obligation will mean anyone can request a 10Mbps
internet connection, and will be in line for compensation if the service is
sub-par.
Exit fees charged by pension schemes will be capped and so
consumers can access their money without 'unreasonable barriers'.
Overseas visitors and migrants face a tough clampdown on
accessing NHS care, with more powers set to be handed to hospitals to recover
costs.
Powers to implement the controversial 'sugar tax' levy
placed on manufacturers whose products include large amounts of sugar.
Steps towards a British Bill of Rights to replace Labour's
Human Rights Act.
In a furious swipe
before the speech had even been delivered, Mr Duncan Smith complained that Mr
Cameron had 'jettisoned' key policies to help win the referendum.
'Many Conservatives have become increasingly concerned that
in the Governments helter skelter pursuit of the Referendum, they have been
jettisoning or watering down key elements of their legislative programme,' he
said.
'Whether it is the Trade Union Bill or the BBC Charter
proposals, it seems nothing must stand in the way of winning the referendum.
 |
Millionaire lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone chats to a fellow
peer in the House of Lords this morning as they await the Queen's Speech. It
was the first time she attended the annual set-piece in the upper chamber since
being appointed a peer by David Cameron last year
|
 |
The Queen sets of for the State Opening of parliament in her
official State Carriage, watched by soldiers in ceremonial uniform
|
 |
The Queen was led to her throne in the House of Lords as
part of a grand procession through the Royal Gallery. The Queen prepares in the
robing room, donning the Imperial State Crown and her train, at the back of the
palace after arriving under the Victoria Tower
|
'Yet to compound that, now it appears the much vaunted
Sovereignty Bill, key to the argument that the PM had secured a reform of the
EU, has been tossed aside as well.
'The fear in Govt must be that as no one in Britain buys the
idea that the EU has been reformed, the Sovereignty bill would draw the public's
attention back to that failure.
'After all if the EU Court of justice is supreme and can
strike down our laws, the British people would have just laughed at the idea
Britain can be sovereign unless we leave the EU.'
Mr Cameron has been eager to show that his administration
has not been paralysed by the campaign and can still bring forward radical
policies.
He is reaching out an olive branch to Mr Gove, a leading
Brexit supporter, Mr Gove by making his reforms the centrepiece.
But the PM may not get the chance to oversee the programme
of 21 Bills, as a Leave vote on June 23 would almost certainly spell the end of
his premiership.
He could face a leadership challenge even if the Remain side
emerges victorious.
Under the planned reforms low-risk prisoners will be free to
carrying on working during the week – if employers agree – to avoid them
becoming unemployed and wrecking families.
Their movements will be monitored by satellite tags, which
have been beset by technology problems, to be trialled initially in eight
police areas.
Thousands more inmates with tags will also be allowed out in
the day towards the end of their sentences in order to do work placements.
Courts will also be expected to make far greater use of community punishments
as an alternative to jail.
As the action moves to the Commons this afternoon, Mr
Cameron will argue that jails can no longer be 'warehouses for criminals' and
must become 'places where lives are changed'.
'This is a One Nation Queen's speech from a One Nation
Government. It sets out a clear programme of social reform, so we break down
the barriers to opportunity and extend life chances to all. And nowhere is that
reform needed more than in our prisons,' he will say.
'For too long, we have left our prisons to fester. Not only
does that re-inforce the cycle of crime, increasing the bills of social failure
that taxpayers must pick up. It writes off thousands of people.
'So today, we start the long-overdue, long-needed change
that our prisons need. No longer will they be warehouses for criminals; they
will now be places where lives are changed.'
Justice Secretary Michael Gove said: 'Prisons must do more
to rehabilitate offenders. We will put governors in charge, giving them the
autonomy they need to run prisons in the way they think best.
'By trusting governors to get on with the job, we can make
sure prisons are places of education, work and purposeful activity. These
reforms will reduce re-offending, cut crime and improve public safety.'
The shake-up will see governors given unprecedented powers,
with prisons established as independent legal entities that can generate and
retain income, and establish their own boards with external expertise.
Meanwhile, a review commissioned by Mr Gove is expected to
say convicts should be given iPads and allowed to speak to their families over
Skype.
The Imperial State Crown is carefully prepared in the grand
Royal Gallery, behind the main House of Lords chamber, ahead of the arrival of
The Queen in Westminster
 |
Prince Charles was also present for the Queen's Speech
today. It is the last big parliamentary set piece before the EU referendum
|
 |
The Queen's Speech was broadcast on screens across the
Palace of Westminster - including in the Royal Gallery where the pictures were
broadcast alongside an historic portrait of Elizabeth II
|
 |
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh processed hand in hand to
the House of Lords for her latest Queen's Speech. Elizabeth II has attended all
but two of the State Openings of Parliament since she ascended to the throne in
1952
|
 |
Mr Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn did not seem to find small talk
easy as they walked together to the House of Lords for the speech
|
 |
Actors Imelda Staunton (right) and Jim Carter (left) take
their places to hear the monarch's address in the House of Lords today
|
 |
David Cameron defended the Queen's Speech package as
'progressive' and summing up his 'one nation' approach in the Commons this
afternoon
|
 |
Peers in the House of Lords gathered behind the throne in a
small room between the main chamber and the Royal Gallery. Despite being
dressed in grand ermine robes many still wielder smart phones to take pictures
of the Yeoman Warders
|
 |
Lord Chancellor Michael Gove plays a key role in
proceedings, handing the Queen the speech once she has taken her seat on the
throne in the House of Lords
|
Jeremy Corbyn cold shoulders David Cameron as the PM
desperately tries to make small-talk
Jeremy Corbyn gave David Cameron the cold shoulder today as
the Prime Minister desperately tried to make small talk ahead of the Queen's
Speech.
As the pair made the traditional walk from the House of
Commons to the House of Lords to attend Her Majesty's address the Labour leader
was seen stony-faced as he rejected several efforts by Mr Cameron to engage in
the typical chit-chat between opposition politicians during the short journey
between the two chambers.
With the cameras trained on their every move, the Prime
Minister appeared to go red in the face as his advances were snubbed.
 |
Jeremy Corbyn (right) snubs David Cameron (left) as the PM
tried to make small talk with the Labour leader during the traditional short
walk between the House of Commons and House of Lords today
|
Observers suggested Mr Corbyn's refusal to take part in
small talk was due to his unfamiliarity of the proceedings - it was his first
Queen's Speech today in his role as Leader of the Opposition.
But the pair have been known to share gossip at similar
state events before. As they sat waiting to hear Chinese President Xi Jinping give
a speech in Parliament earlier this year Mr Corbyn and Mr Cameron appeared to
share gossip about an acquaintance's ex-wife being a former sex worker.
Lip-readers analysed their conversation and rather than
talking about the political issues of the day, the experts said the Labour
leader had told the PM: 'It was difficult because, erm, that's his ex-wife who
is, erm, apparently an ex-prostitute'.
Mr Cameron, who nodded and looked slightly embarrassed,
replied simply: 'Oh' - before steering the conversation on to self employment
levels being 'down gradually'.
During the exchange the Labour leader also cracked a joke to
the Prime Minister who burst out laughing.
 |
With the cameras trained on their every move, the Prime
Minister (left) appeared to go red in the face as his advances at small talk
were snubbed by Jeremy Corbyn (right)
|
He said: 'I remember I lost my glasses. (At a) school party,
I must've been about three at the time'.
Today was not the first time Mr Cameron has been snubbed by
the Opposition leader. Last summer his small talk with the then interim Labour
leader Harriet Harman appeared to dry up immediately, as they walked in silence
to the House of Lords.
It contrasted with the days when Mr Cameron and Ed Miliband
were seen sharing jokes with each other during the traditional walk between the
two chambers.
'B****cks!' Gum-chewing Labour defence spokeswoman's
foul-mouthed jibe at PM in Commons as he sets up showdown over Trident nuclear
weapons
Labour's gum-chewing defence spokeswoman launched a
foul-mouthed insult at David Cameron in the Commons today after he accused her
of undermining Britain's security.
Emily Thornberry mouthed 'b****cks' at the Prime Minister as
she sat opposite on the Opposition bench during his statement on the Queen's
Speech.
The extraordinary response - which was caught on camera as
she chewed gum - came after Mr Cameron accused her of being a 'shadow defence
secretary who doesn't believe in defence'.
 |
Ms Thornberry, seen top left, clearly mouthed 'boll***s at
the Prime Minister during his statement to MPs
|
The government has laid down the gauntlet to Jeremy Corbyn
and Ms Thornberry by announcing there will be a Commons vote on renewing the
Trident nuclear deterrent later this year.
Both the Labour leader and his defence spokeswoman support
unilateral disarmament - but the bulk of their party and a significant
proportion of the shadow cabinet are in favour of retaining the weapons.
During the debate following the Queen's Speech, Mr Cameron
spelled out the government's commitment to maintaining the Nato target for
spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence and renewing Trident on a like-for like
basis.
But it was when he pointed out Labour's awkward position on
the issue that she delivered the smirking riposte. Mr Cameron appeared to shrug
off the insult.
Swearing is regarded as unparliamentary language, but the
Speaker did not pick up on the jibe. Ms Thornberry was moved to the defence
brief as part of Mr Corbyn's botched New Year reshuffle, replacing Trident
supporter Maria Eagle.
The leader, who is vice president of CND, is fighting to
shift the party's policy, which formally remains in favour of retaining nuclear
weapons. Ms Thornberry is currently carrying out a policy review, but no change
can be made until there has been a vote party's annual conference in September.
The government is expected to wait until after the
conference to hold the vote, maximising the difficulties for Mr Corbyn. The
veteran left winger faces a huge rebellion if he tries to force Labour MPs to
oppose Trident.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister confirmed that the matter
would be brought to the House over the next year.Asked about Ms Thornberry's
foul-mouthed intervention, the spokesman replied: 'The position held by the
Labour Party proves conclusively that his description was accurate.'
A source close to Ms Thornberry said: 'It may not have been
parliamentary, but it was certainly accurate.
 |
| Mr Cameron addresses the House after the monarh set out the programme for the next year |
'But there is a serious point. If the Prime Minister is
going to insult MPs by saying they don't care about the defence of this
country, he should expect to take a little back.
'You'd think he would have learned from the tactics he tried
against Sadiq Khan.' A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said the incident was 'a matter
for Emily'.
Gaffe-prone Ms Thornberry was sacked by Ed Miliband in 2014
after sparking a storm by tweeting a picture of a terrace home in Rochester
with three England flags and a white van parked in the drive.
She commented that she had 'never seen anything like it',
and was widely condemned for having a snobbish attitude. But Mr Corbyn
rehabilitated her after becoming leader in September last year, appointing her
as shadow employment minister and then promoting her to defence.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that she shocked
aides during a meeting of Labour's defence policy review group by asking: ‘Can
someone explain Defcon One and Two to me? I’ve only ever seen it in films.’
A nuclear weapons expert present pointed out that Defcon
stands for ‘defence readiness condition’.
The term was coined by US defence chiefs to signal degrees
of military threat, ranging from Defcon Five to Defcon One, which means nuclear
attack is imminent. The highest alert the US has used was Defcon Two, which it
reached in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
The levels date back to 1959, the height of the Cold War,
and were little-known outside military circles until the 1983 movie WarGames,
about a computer hacker who almost sparked World War Three by accessing US
military computers.
A witness who heard Ms Thornberry’s comment said: ‘The room
went quiet. Everyone was silently asking themselves, “Has our candidate to be
the next Labour Defence Secretary just said she doesn’t know the code for a
nuclear war?”’
 |
All change: The Queen and Prince Philip smile as they exit a
lift used to avoid Westminster's many stairs ahead of today's annual speech -
the first time in 63 years
|
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