Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-19-Speech-2-052"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070619.5.2-052"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, firstly I would like to correct my colleague, Sir Robert Atkins. He said that the committee of inquiry was set up at his behest. Those who worked in the Committee on Petitions will remember that it was at my behest, but I will share that equally with him.
He said, and I have to correct him, that the British Government was conspicuous by its absence and so was the Regulator. Where was he when we met with the Chief Secretary of the Treasury and the Regulator? Sadly, he was conspicuous by his absence. We need no lectures from previous Conservative governments, which actually twiddled their thumbs whilst people’s pension policies burned.
I welcome this report, but sadly I cannot fully support it. I believe it strays into areas where it should not go. It fails to properly recognise the measures and provisions which the Labour Government has put in place since 1997. The report strays into areas such as the role of the rapporteur post-Parliament, the role of the rapporteur at EU Member State level, and I do not consider this appropriate. It is intervening in the sovereign Member State parliaments and their legal obligations under the Treaty. Yes, it makes helpful suggestions regarding the single market and responsibility of the host state with regard to financial services, but does it alter the plight of the victims, two of whom are sitting in the gallery today? Sadly, it does not. They are victims of mis-selling, and it was because of their plight that we set up this temporary committee of inquiry. I also commend the work of the chairman of this committee of inquiry. Sadly, it will not help the victims. It is full of promise and no guarantee.
That is why I have urged all along that we ask that the parties involved, including the UK Government, adhere to any recommendations that may come from the British Parliamentary Ombudsman. If there is compensation, let us be clear: it is the British taxpayer who will pick up the tab.
The Labour Group will not vote against this report but it will abstain because of the reasons I have already outlined. Sadly, I must agree with an earlier contribution that party politics has crept into this and it will not serve the victims of the Equitable Life crisis."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples