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May attends her first Prime Minister's Questions

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IANS London

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday attended the Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons -- her first since she assumed office last week.

During the PMQs, May received questions from lawmakers in the lower chamber as well as debated topics with opposition Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Xinhua news agency reported.

Questions regarding the British exit from the European Union (EU) featured heavily throughout the proceedings, ahead of May's scheduled first overseas visit to Germany later on Wednesday, where she is due to hold discussions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

When questioned about future British relations with Europe, May, who campaigned against leaving the EU in the run up to June's EU referendum, said Britain is not leaving Europe, just the EU.

 

Scottish National Party's (SNP) parliamentary spokesperson Angus Robertson asked if May would ensure that "remain means remain" for Scotland for which the PM replied "Brexit means Brexit".

In Scotland, only 38 per cent of the voting population opted to leave the EU, compared to 52 per cent across the Britain.

May was yet to confirm when Britain would invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, triggering a two-year negotiation period for the seceding country.

Corbyn, who faces a leadership contest within his own parliamentary group, pressed May on rising house prices.

"In 1998, more than half of working households of people aged between 16 to 34 were buying their own homes. Today, the figure is 25 per cent," Corbyn said.

May assumed power from David Cameron on last Wednesday, who announced his resignation in the wake of the "Brexit" victory in the Britain's referendum on its membership of the EU.

May is scheduled to hold talks in France with French President, Francois Hollande on Thursday.

The Prime Minister's office revealed that Britain had relinquished its 2017 European Council presidency in light of "Brexit."

--IANS

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First Published: Jul 20 2016 | 8:06 PM IST

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