Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on reports that Airbnb
paid less than £200,000 in UK corporation tax last year, said:

“Once again we
have an example of the Conservatives flat-footed approach to creating a tax
system fit for the 21^st century. Under the Conservatives
multi-national tech companies are running rings around HMRC, and avoiding
paying their fair share of tax, despite seeing soaring revenues.

“The next Labour
government will introduce our Tax Transparency and Enforcement Programme to
clamp down on tax avoidance and build an economy which works for the many, not
the few.”

Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour’s
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,
commenting on reports that the government has not released funds to make tower
blocks safe following the Grenfell Tower fire, said:

 "Once again, Sajid Javid
is dragging his feet to provide support to local authorities.

 "The government know
their failure to review building regulations, and seven years of Tory cuts
to local authorities and fire services have created this crisis.

 "Rather than learning
from their mistakes they are starving Labour councils of funds as they
work to clear up this mess and keep their residents safe”.

Owen
Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, commenting on the announcement
that the US Department of Commerce will introduce additional sanctions on
Bombardier, said:

“While
Theresa May worries about press coverage of the phony P45 she was handed this
week, more than 4,000 Bombardier workers in Belfast are worried that they’ll
receive a real one unless her Government brings Boeing and its allies at the US
Commerce Department to the negotiating table.

"Given
that the UK Government is Boeing’s second biggest client – we spend over £1.5
billion with them every year – it is inconceivable that ministers have not been
able to negotiate a better deal.  

"The
Government must tell the public what pressure it has really placed on Boeing
and on the US Administration. Without any evidence of concrete action, concerns
will grow that UK ministers have naively accepted Boeing’s assurances about the
safety of jobs in Belfast or worse, have negligently accepted Bombardier job losses
as ‘collateral damage’ in their post-Brexit strategy.”

Paul Blomfield MP, Labour’s Shadow
Brexit Minister, responding
to the announcement by the EU Commission that it cannot guarantee Horizon 2020
funding for British applicants post-March 2019, said:

“Horizon 2020 has been a vital
source of research funding for UK universities. The Government’s failure to
agree arrangements with the EU for research funding after March 2019 is
undermining our world-class universities. This is a direct consequence of the disarray
in the Cabinet and the Tories’ chaotic approach to negotiations. This should
have been dealt with months ago and must be resolved immediately.”

Tom
Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and
Sport, commenting
on News Group’s admission of computer hacking, said:

 “This is
a dramatic new revelation in the saga of criminality in Murdoch’s media empire.
Despite being asked about the use of private detectives by the News of the
World at a parliamentary committee in 2011 it’s taken a five year civil case
for the company to admit to further illegal behaviour. 

 “We can
now add computer hacking to the long list of criminal activities undertaken by Murdoch’s
operatives. We know from experience of phone hacking that there won’t just be a
single victim. So my question to Rupert Murdoch and his subordinates is this:
Who else was hacked? 

 “The Met
police are in possession of seized hard drives. What steps have they taken to
establish whether there are other people who don’t yet know their personal
information has been hacked? I will be writing to Metropolitan Police
Commissioner Cressida Dick to ask that she ensures all leads are followed up
and any victims fully informed. 

 “This is
yet more evidence that Part Two of the Leveson Inquiry must go ahead to
discover the full truth of illegality and cover-ups like this. And it’s vital
that the CMA is able to take this new evidence of criminality and corporate
failure into account as it assesses the Murdochs’ bid to take over Sky.”