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HANSARDUK Strategy Towards the Arctic (International Relations and Defence Committee Report)My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Ashton of Hyde, for securing this long-overdue debate and I congratulate him on his opening remarks, which set the right tone for a…09 Jan 2025HANSARDPro-democracy Campaigners: ArrestsOngoing breaches of that agreement have been registered with the United Nations. As I have said, one of the biggest consequences of those was the United Kingdom Government’s…08 Jan 2025HANSARDPro-democracy Campaigners: ArrestsI totally refute the noble Baroness’s suggestion that we are not being robust in our response in defending human rights. The actions of the United Kingdom Government have been…08 Jan 2025HANSARDPro-democracy Campaigners: ArrestsI am certainly willing to do that. Let me reassure the noble Lord that our position is quite clear. China is our fourth-biggest trading partner and the second-biggest economy.…08 Jan 2025HANSARDPro-democracy Campaigners: ArrestsI think the noble Lord knows I am obliged to say that I am not going to respond by predicting future sanctions. To come back to his point about FIRS, we have not yet made any…08 Jan 2025HANSARDPro-democracy Campaigners: ArrestsOur approach to China is not to pivot between a golden era and a deep denial of any contact. We are taking a consistent approach that is rooted in the United Kingdom’s interests…08 Jan 2025HANSARDNorthern GazaI tried to answer that question earlier, because there was a specific point raised. We are looking at all possible ways to ensure that there is access to medical assistance. I am…08 Jan 2025HANSARDNorthern GazaBoth the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have raised the issue of access to humanitarian aid and medical supplies with the Israeli Government. We are also giving support…08 Jan 2025HANSARDNorthern GazaI thank the noble Baroness for her contribution and her question. The situation in northern Gaza is absolutely dire and reports from Kamal Adwan Hospital have continued to shock…08 Jan 2025HANSARDNorthern GazaI think the noble Lord knows that when this Government were elected, we took specific action. We have not been complacent here. On the mounting civilian deaths, we are absolutely…08 Jan 2025HANSARDNorthern GazaI think the noble Lord knows the answers to those questions because he has heard me speak repeatedly of the need for the immediate release of the hostages. Both sides need to show…08 Jan 2025HANSARDSyriaTo answer my noble friend’s latter point—again, we addressed this in the past week—we are of course aware of the presence of Israel across the Alpha line in the Golan Heights. The…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaOn that last point, of course Captagon is a real challenge, and the Assad regime used it to fund many of its activities. Certainly, it has regional implications, and it has spread…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaIt has been a very positive exchange. It is a very fluid situation, and one in which all parties in this House can work together to support the people of Syria and ensure they…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaI thank both noble Lords for their contributions and questions. I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, that we are working very closely with all allies, not only the UN, US and…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaI would not use the word “push”. What we are doing, with all international allies, is trying to push for an inclusive process that ensures that everyone forms part of the solution…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaI thank the noble Lord for his contributions. As I said in my opening responses, we are absolutely focused on protecting civilians, including religious and ethnic minorities. We…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaI thank my noble friend for that contribution. He is absolutely right that we need to judge the situation by deeds, rather than simply words, and we will continue to do so. I am…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat a Statement that was made fairly recently in the other place. The Statement is as follows: “My Lords, 10 days have passed…19 Dec 2024HANSARDSyriaI thank the right reverend Prelate for that question. I give him that reassurance: we are urging all sides to refrain from activity that will lead to further loss of civilian life…19 Dec 2024