Contributions
1,541 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI am familiar with the draft legislation in the Knesset, and we are engaging on the questions it raises.14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentOn the very first day I became a Minister, we restored funding to UNRWA, and within weeks we had taken the far-reaching actions that I have described in relation to arms sales. I…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentIt is a top priority for me, and for my officials, to ensure that British nationals or their dependants who are in danger in Gaza are able to leave safely. I do not wish to…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentWe have covered sanctions and determinations, but I can reassure my hon. Friend that we consider our position on the Security Council to be an important responsibility, which is…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI recognise the concern that my hon. Friend’s constituents will be feeling, but I can reassure him that we are considering all measures to try to ensure that aid gets into Gaza. I…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentThe hon. Gentleman is unfailing in his courtesy, and I am grateful for it again this afternoon. He asks the vital, central question: how can we return to a diplomatic process that…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI do not wish to seem evasive, but when these questions are being determined in the court this week, I do not want to get ahead of those submissions and those discussions.14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentMy hon. Friend is committed to these questions. I responded to an earlier question by emphasising the central importance of road routes in ensuring aid of the scale required.…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentAs I have said, I am not going to try to litigate the submissions of the court case on the questions that we have described. I have addressed the issues repeatedly in this House.…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentThe death of any child is a tragedy. I have set out already the steps that we have taken in relation to arms suspensions. I reassure those watching not from the UK, as I reassured…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentI have set out some of what the Government have done, and I could continue doing so for some time. Let me be clear. The hon. Gentleman rightly points out the absolutely appalling…14 May 2025HANSARDGaza: UK AssessmentMy hon. Friend asks important questions about aid access and the nature of aid delivery. Let me be clear: the UK will not support any aid mechanism that seeks to deliver political…14 May 2025HANSARDConsular Assistance: Statutory RightWe continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and release Jimmy Lai immediately. As my hon. Friend would expect, I will not…13 May 2025HANSARDConsular Assistance: Statutory RightWe are committed to strengthening support for British nationals abroad, including introducing a right to consular assistance in cases of human rights violations. The Department is…13 May 2025HANSARDGaza: Humanitarian SituationThe Foreign Secretary has been clear repeatedly, as have all Ministers from the Dispatch Box, that it is the long-standing policy of British Governments that we do not make legal…13 May 2025HANSARDGaza: Humanitarian SituationI think I was clear about the Government’s expectations in my previous answer. Those expectations are grounded in Israel’s international legal obligations. Ultimately, this is a…13 May 2025HANSARDGaza: Humanitarian SituationAs I think the House knows, I am familiar with the impediments to getting aid into Gaza—I went to the Gaza-Egypt border to see the restrictions for myself. We have made these…13 May 2025HANSARDGaza: Humanitarian SituationAs I said to the right hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard), we are taking action—not just rhetoric, but action—to try to address the situation in Gaza. That includes…13 May 2025HANSARDGaza: Humanitarian SituationLet us not forget what this Government have done. We restored funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency after the Conservatives froze it. We suspended arms export…13 May 2025HANSARDGaza: Humanitarian SituationThis Government have a clear position on the vital importance of aid returning to Gaza. That is why we are calling an urgent session of the UN Security Council this afternoon. It…13 May 2025