This week Tony Lloyd signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who died during the Holocaust.

Friday January 27th marked the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history – and in the weeks running up to the day, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, giving MPs the chance to honour those who were persecuted and killed during their Holocaust and encouraging constituents to actively speak out against prejudice and bigotry today.

In the weeks around Holocaust Memorial Day, thousands of commemorative events will be arranged by schools, faith groups and community organisations across the country, remembering all the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. This year, people will also be encouraged to take a stand against racism and prejudice today – and to speak out against hatred wherever they encounter it.

Tony said, ‘I am still meeting many small businesses in Manchester who can’t get loans at reasonable rates from RBS. David Cameron’s failure to deal with this is in stark contrast to his words and does once again bring forward calls for legal controls on top pay. People in Manchester will be dismayed that at a time when the economy is struggling bankers still have their snouts in the trough.’

Link to full debate.

At last the Ukrainian Christmas celebration – very lively.

The reception, held on 13 Decemeber 2011, raised awareness of meningitis and septicaemia. Dr Hilary Jones and Dr Nelly Ninnis from St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, were available to speak to guests.

You can read about this here.

I saw a ballot box which had been left unsealed allowing votes to be added and removed without altering the total. Local observers had tried to get this fixed without success until International Observers – my Danish colleague and I insisted. The local official was very anxious we saw this as “just an oversight”.

Elsewhere a police officer tried to stop us entering a polling station and asked us to go to the police station to confirm our status. I refused and in this case the local polling official was helpful and we were able to observe. Another colleague was physically prevented from entering the place where local results were totalled to give the regional totals and where fraud is very possible. In the end by complaining loudly and to the higher authorities, he was allowed in.

All these give credibility to the widespread complaints of opposition politicians that fraud was widespread.

Tony is currently in Russia as an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly official observer.

Exhibition today on Turkey which we should work with on the EU and Middle East.