Topical Questions

As I set out in the House yesterday, securing a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine’s sovereignty for the long term is essential. To achieve this, Europe and the United States must provide the support Ukraine needs to stay strong, and Ukraine must be at the heart of any talks. The UK is playing a leading role on assistance to Ukraine, on pressure on Russia and on keeping our allies united.

Will the Government bring forward emergency legislation to seize frozen Russian assets and ensure they are repurposed to support Ukraine in the wake of Trump’s talks with Putin? If not, can the Foreign Secretary explain why?

The hon. Lady raises an important issue. It is not something on which any Government can act alone; we must act with European allies. It was a topic of conversation at the G7 and at the Weimar group. Of course, Europe has to act quickly, and I believe we should move from freezing assets to seizing assets.

I can confirm that we will continue to support the ceasefire deal through all three of its phases, which we hope to see concluded in full. I am working with international partners, as are other Ministers; I saw the Jordanian and Egyptian ambassadors on this question just last week.

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

This House stands united with the people of Ukraine. In the light of Putin’s brutality towards the people of Ukraine, what discussions will the Foreign Secretary be having with allies, including his American counterpart, on the international effort to prosecute Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and the sheer barbarism it has inflicted on the people of Ukraine?

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for raising the issue of justice and accountability. As she knows, this work was begun under the previous Government, when we led the world in ensuring there were sufficient funds in Ukraine. The Foreign Office supports lawyers working in Ukraine to gather evidence; I will never forget the scenes that I saw in Bucha and the victims I stood with. The UK will not let up on justice. When it comes to accountability, Putin should pay—not the British and European people.

Russia, Iran and China all pose threats to Britain, and they go out of their way to do us harm. Can the Foreign Secretary explain why the Government have yet to implement the foreign influence registration scheme, which the previous Government legislated for, and can he confirm when it will come in and whether China will be on the enhanced tier?

Again, the right hon. Lady raises an important issue. We inherited a process that was not quite working; she knows of the issues. We will come forward shortly with our plans for the foreign influence registration scheme.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question and for her long commitment to these issues. As I made clear in the Westminster Hall debate on 12 February, the UK respects the independence of the ICJ, and we are considering the court’s advisory opinion with the rigour and seriousness it deserves. We remain clear that Israel should bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as rapidly as possible, while making every effort to create the conditions for negotiations towards a two-state solution.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

The whole House will be shocked to learn the worrying news that the mother of British-Egyptian political prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Laila Soueif, was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital last night. She is 68 years old and has been on hunger strike now for 149 days. Will the Foreign Secretary update us on whether the Prime Minister has spoken to the Egyptian President to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah and allow Laila to break her strike?

The whole House is engaged in this case, and we are all hoping for Laila’s health. The Prime Minister recently met Laila and the rest of her family—a meeting I was pleased to join—and has undertaken to make every effort to ensure Alaa’s release. We will continue to do so.

I am delighted that my hon. Friend has visited those incredible commandos during their training. I, too, have visited our Royal Marines and Army commandos in the high north in Norway and witnessed the vital role that they play in our strategic defence efforts. The UK and Norway work closely together as NATO and joint expeditionary force allies. Our Prime Minister signed a strategic partnership agreement in December, and, last week, the Defence Secretary visited Norway to launch a new agreement on deeper defence co-operation. I and the Foreign Secretary have also visited our counterparts, and I can tell my hon. Friend that security and defence co-operation were absolutely at the heart of our efforts and discussions with our Norwegian friends.

I am proud of the work that the UK has done over many decades in relation to development: the work that I have seen in Ukraine, in Gaza and in Sudan. All of that work will, of course, continue.

I was very pleased yesterday to announce one of this country’s biggest ever sanctions packages, which will bear down further on Russia’s shadow fleet. I remind my hon. Friend that interest rates are running at 21% in Russia and inflation is running at 9%. We are doing a lot to take off the table money that Putin uses to fund his war machine.

In January, a Minister in the Foreign Office said that they would challenge the Northern Ireland Executive to be more robust in their reporting of international affairs and meetings. At the start of this month, the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister met again with the Chinese consul, but still no details of that meeting or previous meetings have been reported or shared. Has that challenge been made, and what was the response?

We regularly engage with Northern Ireland on all matters of foreign policy. However, this Chinese consular matter is not something that Ministers can discuss at the Dispatch Box.

I thank my hon. Friend for his praise and support for the action that the Foreign Secretary has just mentioned. This was our largest ever sanctions package since the start of Russia’s illegal and barbarous invasion. We and our G7 allies are absolutely clear on the principle that Russia must pay for the damage that it is causing to Ukraine, and we of course look at third country routes by which support is being given to Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine. As part of the package announced yesterday we are taking a number of steps in that regard, including with companies in China.

Last week, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), left open the possibility that the FCDO might revisit the issue of explicit carbon monoxide warnings on FCDO travel advisory pages—a change that we contend would have a cascading effect on the UK travel industry, drive up the use of carbon monoxide alarms and save lives of British travellers overseas. May I encourage the Front-Bench team to pick up this issue in the name of my constituent, Hudson Foley, to ensure that the lives of British travellers overseas are kept safe?

I can confirm that I will be adding information to our dedicated page for independent travellers to highlight the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning globally. I shall be writing to Cathy Foley, who I was moved to meet, and to the hon. Member.

Gaza’s healthcare system has been devastated, and many civilians are in desperate need of treatment and specialist care, which is not available in Gaza itself. Will the Minister ensure that the Government continue to raise with Israel the importance of allowing safe passage out of Gaza for those children in need of urgent medical treatment? Will they consider additional evacuation routes for critically unwell children?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that important question. We have been working closely with Egypt, which has sought to support many of those requiring medical assistance. Across Government we continue to look carefully at this issue, but Gazans need healthcare support in Gaza, and the UK Government have been supporting that.

As I am sure those on the Treasury Bench know, soft power and diplomacy are most effective when they are backed up by hard power. When will the Government commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence, to make sure that we have a real voice at the international table to encourage European countries to increase their defence spending?

Why did the right hon. Gentleman not decide to do that? The Conservatives left it to this Government to get back to 2.5%, which we last had under a Labour Government. The right hon. Gentleman should have done it, and we are going to do it.

I look forward to seeing relations between the UK and Iraq blossom in the years to come under this Labour Government. Will the Minister share the recent conversations that he has had with Iraqi counterparts on reducing barriers to trade, such as diverging trade regimes?

I was very pleased to meet the Iraqi Foreign Minister Dr Fuad Hussein during the official visit of Prime Minister Al Sudani to the UK from 14 to 16 January. During that visit our two Prime Ministers signed the landmark partnership and co-operation agreement, a wide-ranging treaty on trade and strategic co-operation, and announced a trade package worth up to £12.3 billion.