Afternoon summary
MPs have voted to get the Commons privileges committee to investigate the SNP MP John Nicolson over a complaint that he broke Commons rules by revealing the contents of a letter he received from the speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. (See 3.37pm.) Nicolson wanted people to know why Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, was not going to face any penalty after a report concluded she had misled the culture secretary. Correspondence from the speaker is meant to be treated as confidential. The Tory MP David Davis tabled the motion saying Nicolson should be investigated and he told MPs that Nicolson broke the rules when he discussed, in a video he posted on Twitter, what Hoyle said. Davis said:
Nowhere in his filmed statement did he tell his followers that Mr Speaker was following normal precedent or normal procedure by accepting the will of the [culture] committee.
All of us in this house have a duty to uphold its rules and institutions, but by knowingly breaching the confidentiality of the speaker’s correspondence he has done the opposite of that. This is a clear breach of our rules.
Nicolson said people would find it “curious” that Dorries was not being punished for misleading a committee, but that he was being penalised for letting people know about this.
Neil Basu, the outgoing assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, has described Suella Braverman’s language about immigration as “horrific”. (See 5.04pm.)
Updated
Ukraine's first lady tells MPs that UK should take lead in helping to ensure Russia faces justice over war crimes
Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, has urged the UK to become a leader in helping Ukraine achieve “justice” against Russia, during an address to MPs and peers that included Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer, PA Media reports. PA says:
The speech, in the parliament committee room, came as part of a visit to London for Zelenska as she urged the UK and other allies to seek justice against alleged Russian war crimes.
Her visit has focused on the use of sexual violence and rape by Russian forces in the months-long war, which is now heading into a long winter.
And to politicians gathered in the houses of parliament, she had a stark message as she said that the Ukrainian experience today has echoes of the British suffering during the second world war.
In front of a union flag and Ukrainian flag, Zelenska, who is married to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said: “Justice, like victory, is not possible without allies.”
She argued that the international criminal court (ICC) does not have the legal force to punish Moscow for its invasion.
Through a translator, she said: “We need to start the special tribunal against the crime of aggression of Russia against Ukraine, which will enhance the work of the ICC and not weaken it.
“We need to unite the world community just as it happened in January 1942 to support the special tribunal against the aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
“I’m asking you a small favour: to become the world leader in the justice efforts.
“I believe that London can give this decisive impetus so that the world can become better, fairer, thanks to you.”
She said: “Ukrainians are going through the terror, which will resonate with you.
“Your islands survived the air raids, which were identical to those that Russia uses now to put us on our knees.
“We’re hearing sirens every day identical to those which were heard by earlier British generations. You did not surrender and we will not surrender.
“But victory is not the only thing we need. We need justice.”
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