European Union (Amendment) Bill

I said very clearly that it is not a question of taking precedence over anything that is done by our authorities. The reality is that we are one of the member states that has pursued matters of fraud against the EU budget over the years, as we did, for example, in relation to some of the cross-border scams between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is a question of whether there should be a capability to pursue fraud against the EU budget. The hon. Lady is attempting to have it both ways. It is of course possible to say, ““Yes, this is outrageous—here is money that is being inadequately spent and inadequately monitored by the European Union”” and then on the other hand to say, ““No, we cannot have a means that will allow us to deal with it.””