MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
PM May will miss Questions in Commons to welcome Spanish King and Queen
King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia are making the first state visit by a Spanish monarch to the UK since 1986, from July 12-14 Theresa May is to miss her regular weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, in order to welcome the King and Queen of Spain to London, Downing Street has announced.
King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia are making the first state visit by a Spanish monarch to the UK since 1986, from July 12-14, and Mrs. May will join the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at an official ceremony to greet them at Horse Guards Parade.
First Secretary of State Damian Green – effectively the PM’s deputy – will take Mrs. May’s place at the Despatch Box in the Commons to answer questions from MPs for half an hour.
Mrs. May’s Labour predecessor Gordon Brown was the last premier to miss PMQs because of a state visit, sending Harriet Harman in to deputize for him while he was busy greeting South African President Jacob Zuma in 2010.
The Spanish state visit was initially scheduled for June, but was put back a month to avoid clashing with the General Election.
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Read all commentsThe Spanish King needs to be careful what he suggests when he addresses Parliament. Gibraltar is not up for negotiation despite what his politicians might say or want. He is simply pandering to public sentiment in Spain as his monarchy is not exactly popular at the moment. He is beginning to follow the Argentine model of smoke screens to divert attention away from the real issues in Spain.
Jul 11th, 2017 - 06:48 am +3Is he addressing parliament ?
Jul 11th, 2017 - 08:29 am 0Apparently so.
Jul 11th, 2017 - 08:43 am 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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