Contributions
331 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsThe hon. Lady mentions Yemen. I have spent many decades taking an interest in Yemen. I hope we will now see some progress towards a political settlement. We have to give our full…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsMy hon. Friend is right. It is no good just having a day’s anger after an event such as this. It has to be persistent and consistent, and the condemnation of executions of this…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsWe unreservedly condemn torture in all circumstances. I understand what the right hon. Gentleman is asking for. We have to look at the broader picture of the entire Gulf and the…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI am always happy to be repentant to my right hon. Friend. I am not familiar with the exact details of what he refers to, but I maintain the position that we will make our views…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI do not quite agree with my right hon. Friend. The international reaction was pretty robust, and a collective voice condemned it, led by Turkey, where it happened. I would like…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsNo one can question the right hon. Lady’s track record on defending human rights. We hear loudly what she says. One of the questions we need to ask the Saudi Government is what on…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsThis is an important agenda. When I was a Minister at the Department for International Development, I always wanted prison visiting and access to be a condition of any aid that we…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI will be discussing this with the Foreign Secretary, and he will be calling his counterpart, the relatively new Foreign Minister in Saudi Arabia. The hon. Gentleman makes a…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI will happily confirm that you always win, but I will not say in which direction I am pointing, Mr Speaker. I do not think anyone in this House would disagree with what the hon.…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI take that as you instructing me to be suitably short, Mr Speaker.24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for what he has said. He speaks with the utmost authority in this House and was an excellent Minister for the Middle East; I have to say…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsMy hon. Friend makes a serious point: any country needs to realise that using such methods will eventually backfire. Although I think there are greater arguments for pointing out…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsThese 37 executions will spur us to take a deep interest in not only the general concept and principle of the death penalty but individual cases. Given the robustness of the…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsI very much agree with the right hon. Gentleman that this situation does raise the gravest imaginable concerns. Executing 37 people is a deeply backwards step, which we deplore.…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Saudi Arabia: Mass ExecutionsWe are very concerned by the executions of 37 men in Saudi Arabia, and the Foreign Office is working to establish the full facts. The Foreign Secretary will be raising this matter…24 Apr 2019HANSARD Exiting the European Union (Sanctions)I can confirm that there is no such intention. Indeed, the intention and the expectation is that the existing regimes in the EU sanctions regime will be lifted and shifted, and…09 Apr 2019HANSARD Exiting the European Union (Sanctions)In which case, having covered so much already, I commend these regulations to the House.09 Apr 2019HANSARD Exiting the European Union (Sanctions)Very good. We will do that at the eleventh hour, as it were, to avoid asset flight by not giving prior notice to those who might be affected. As I said, the Sanctions and…09 Apr 2019HANSARD Exiting the European Union (Sanctions)I say to my hon. Friend that I will come on to that in just a second. I will answer the question raised in his intervention, but let me complete the introductory logic of what…09 Apr 2019HANSARD Exiting the European Union (Sanctions)At the risk of turning this into a general debate on Venezuela, I will give way to both hon. Gentlemen.09 Apr 2019