Contributions
1,528 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeThe reason that we do not comment on individual cases is well-established. I expect that it would be exactly the same under any other Government. To be clear, the UK sanctions…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeThe war in Ukraine, as we all agree, is a barbaric, illegal incursion into a sovereign nation by another. It has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, mass displacement and an…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeThis is not a loophole in relation to the Wagner Group. We are clear on all the issues about the Wagner Group. We have acted against it in so much as it is part of the military…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeI have previously answered an urgent question, tabled by the right hon. Lady, on a matter relating to dividends in Russia, and—again—I respect her consistency in respect of a…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeMy hon. Friend speaks with huge passion about these matters. Only yesterday, as he said, he presented a ten-minute rule Bill relating to this issue. He will appreciate that there…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeAs my right hon. Friend knows, I responded to his Backbench Business debate. He has been incredibly consistent in calling for actions on these points, and I respect that very…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeI think that the hon. Gentleman submitted a similarly worded urgent question this morning, and obviously I respect that point, but there are no gymnastics here; I am merely…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman: he takes us back to when I stood opposite him in our Ministry of Justice days. I am not being evasive: I am standing in front of the…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeThe hon. Gentleman is wrong to say that I am endorsing any particular action. I have made it very clear that I am not commenting on a specific case. What I have said relates to…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeMy hon. Friend the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee speaks with great expertise on these matters. She makes some points that are for other Departments to consider, but I…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeI absolutely hear what my right hon. Friend is saying. He is another colleague who has spoken consistently on these points. He knows that when I was at the Ministry of Justice we…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeI say to the hon. Lady that she has many ways at her disposal to scrutinise the Government: as she knows, we have Treasury questions coming up; there are Foreign, Commonwealth and…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeI totally agree with my hon. Friend, as we all do, about the nature of the Wagner Group. That is not the point. We do have to have due process, because of the right to legal…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeThe right hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well that I did not, in any way, confess that Ministers have no control over the sanctions regime. What I stated very clearly is that in…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeMy hon. Friend speaks with the expertise of her position as Chair of the Treasury Committee, and I hear what she is saying. I have said that the internal review will take place.…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeWell, I am talking about Ukraine, because I think that that is the key issue here. It shows we were preparing for what happened, although, obviously, the situation was…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeAlthough I cannot comment on individual cases, I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady that we should be looking at lawfare. We will be bringing forward that legislation. I do think…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeMy hon. Friend has considerable experience as a Foreign Office Minister. He will be aware of how these things work. I am happy to give that reply. I believe that the decision…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeOf course we are not saying that. We are saying that, whether we like it or not, there is a principle under democracy and the rule of law of the right to a defence. Therefore, we…25 Jan 2023HANSARDWagner Group: Sanctions RegimeThe message to Ukraine is that this is a country that believes in the rule of law and democracy. That is why we support Ukraine. That is why the Prime Minister was in Ukraine…25 Jan 2023