In last month’s column, I wrote about Newport East constituent Mike Hermanis, who came to a resident advice surgery in St Julians in early 2023 to ask for help for himself and his fellow Falklands veterans.

A survivor of the Sir Galahad bombing, Mike and other survivors and bereaved family members were seeking the release of documents from the inquiry into the bombing, to fully understand the events and what went wrong on that fateful June day in 1982.

After many questions in Parliament, meetings, and correspondence, I’m pleased to report that in the last two weeks, after much campaigning, two of the documents that they wished to see that weren’t in the public domain have been released, shedding more light on the decisions taken before and after the bombing.

In addition to the first two released documents, in his letter to me, the government minister adds that he “would like to reassure the Welsh Guards and their families that the Ministry of Defence in no way blames them for the tragic loss. On the contrary, the service and sacrifice of those onboard Sir Galahad will not be forgotten”.

This is a huge step forward – well done to Mike and everyone involved in the campaign.

On behalf of constituents in Newport East, I’ve continued to press the government on the situation in Gaza, asking questions about aid and the desperate humanitarian situation that’s unfolded there, and in recent weeks I was pleased to welcome members of the Newport Palestine Solidarity Group to Parliament for a meeting.

Building on the discussions we’ve had at our regular meetings in Newport over recent months, we discussed the scrutiny of arms sales, the restoration of aid funding to UNWRA, the need for an immediate ceasefire and a path to a two-state solution.

You can see all of my contributions in Parliament on my website at jessicamorden.com

Late last week, I joined the Labour Shadow Cabinet and Keir Starmer for the launch of the party’s first steps for change. These steps form the top priorities of an incoming Labour government, should the party win the General Election later this year.

These steps include pledges to crack down on antisocial behaviour and to launch a new Border Security Command to put a stop to the activities of the criminal people-smuggling gangs. Also included in the steps is a commitment to establishing Great British Energy, which will create jobs across the country – including here in south Wales – as well helping to reduce home energy bills for good.

I’ll be sharing more about the steps in the coming months – you can keep up with recent announcements on my social media accounts and on my website.

This week, I’m looking forward to welcoming constituents, Colin and Janet Smith from Always, and Lin Ashcroft, from Undy, along with many others impacted by the contaminated blood scandal to Parliament for the release of Sir Brian Langstaff’s report into what is the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.

Justice for families who have lost loved ones, like those from Newport East, and for those who are living with illnesses contaminated blood products infected with them is long overdue.

It’s been a year since Sir Brian published his recommendations and the fact that this government continues to kick the can down the road is shameful and I’ll continue calling on the government to do more to fulfil the recommendations of the report as quickly as possible.

Huge congratulations to Jane Mudd on her election as the PCC for Gwent and to Councillor Dimitri Batrouni on his election as the leader of the Newport Labour Group. I look forward to working with them on issues and projects across the city in the coming months and years.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to many residents across Newport East regarding a range of issues, from problems with benefits and taxes to policing and anti-social behaviour.

If there’s anything you’d like my help with, please get in touch either by calling the office at 01633 841725 or via email at jessica.morden.mp@parliament.uk