Contributions
1,406 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD British Children: SyriaI thank my right hon. Friend for his question. This is, of course, a dreadful situation. Innocent minors trapped in north-east Syria are, without doubt, vulnerable. All these…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaI regret that the Turkish incursion has really not helped this position, in that it is likely that some of the places in which the foreign fighters have been held will become a…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaI am grateful for the hon. Lady’s comments. Her tone, as ever, is spot on. I agree with her; we need to apply compassion to all in this situation. We also, of course, need to…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaMy right hon. Friend is right to touch on the legality, which is complicated. We are clear that there are British nationals in camps in Syria who have the rights that he would…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaI think the hon. Gentleman raised a similar point before on the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, which I am very proud of—20,000 people by 2020 is a big commitment,…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaI think the hon. Gentleman alludes to Turkey’s behaviour as a member of NATO. All I can say is that I am very disappointed by Turkey’s behaviour, as a trusted NATO friend and…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaReferring to the point I made earlier, I think that the scale of this is containable. It is the responsibility of local social services to deal with it, notwithstanding the…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaWe look at each case individually; I can give the hon. Lady that assurance. I do not want to get wrapped up in a strict legalistic interpretation of “duty of care”. I want to…22 Oct 2019HANSARD British Children: SyriaThe difficulty is that if they are not unaccompanied or orphaned, they are in the care of their parents. I think the hon. Gentleman is confusing two things. It is important to…22 Oct 2019HANSARDSpecial Representative on UK Victims of Gaddafi-sponsored IRA Terrorism: IndemnityThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 4 October formally commenced the appointment of Mr William Shawcross as his Special Representative on UK victims…15 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaI have said in plain terms that we would resist any incursion into Syria, and the reason for that—well, there are many reasons for it—is that it will divert attention away from…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He tempts me to talk about wider issues relating to the Kurds, and he will know that we have in the past discussed these matters, and…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaWe are consulting the US on its response to the proposed Turkish military action in north-east Syria. The Foreign and Defence Secretaries both spoke to their US counterparts…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaNevertheless, Mr Speaker, I think the eloquence of my right hon. Friend probably justified the time he took. I will try to address some of the points my right hon. Friend made. I…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaI thank the right hon. Lady for her questions. As for the tweet, I have no idea where that came from. It certainly is not based on the conversation that my right hon. Friend the…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaI cannot give the hon. Gentleman that commitment at the Dispatch Box, but the point has been well made and will be considered. I am sure what he suggests has merit, but we will…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaThe US has to answer for itself. I cannot answer for the US or for President Trump—08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaThe right hon. Lady tempts me, but I am going to resist. The US, I believe, is talking about seeking to redeploy 50 servicemen at the moment. I have no information on forts, so I…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaMy right hon. Friend is obviously an expert in such matters. There are two categories of individual: those in detention camps and those in al-Hawl, who are, in the main, the…08 Oct 2019HANSARD US Troop Withdrawal from Northern SyriaI understand the right hon. Lady’s frustration. We must be clear that we cannot act alone and that we have to act with our partners. That is the reality. The Kurds are not being…08 Oct 2019