Contributions
1,541 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Middle EastI am grateful to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for her question, which, as she says, she has put to me before. First, it is important to emphasise that we continue to…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastBut not finished, indeed. I am sure the Minister for Trade would be keen to emphasise how much heavy lifting has been required over recent months and years to get it over the…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastIt is a great pleasure to answer a question from my hon. Friend, not least because he himself was a distinguished member of the diplomatic service. He is absolutely right.21 May 2026HANSARD Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in IranI am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan), both for securing the debate and for his support for Craig, Lindsay and their…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI am grateful to the shadow Foreign Secretary for the constructive tone of her questions. Let me turn to the important question of consular access, which she raised at the outset.…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastYesterday, I heard from Palestinian children about the struggles that they face. I have taken steps at every stage to try to ensure that they get help and assistance, and that…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastIt is important to be clear that we are providing no bombs and no bullets to the Israeli Government that could be used against Palestinians. That is the decision that this…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastThere must be accountability. I met members of the Lebanese Red Cross during my recent visit, and was appalled to see further killings of those in their brave number subsequently.21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI thank my hon. Friend. I am aware of the letter.21 May 2026HANSARD Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in IranI have said before that they are innocent tourists, and we stand by that position. To respond to the point made by the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns), I see…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI would take the point with more force if we were not today seeing our European partners looking to imitate things that we did some considerable time ago. I recognise the depth of…21 May 2026HANSARD Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in IranI raised the case with the Iranian ambassador very recently—whenever I last saw him—and I have raised it in every single interaction I have had with him, but I reassure the hon.…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has long been committed to these issues, both during her time in this House and before, and is, I think, the only Member of this House who has…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI thank my hon. Friend for the question, and for welcoming me to her constituency recently to discuss this. We will continue to take every step we can in recognition of the…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving me an opportunity to touch briefly on Yemen. Events there remain dire, and we continue to see famine right across the country.…21 May 2026HANSARD Middle EastI have sought to set out the action we are taking in relation to Israel and Palestine, both our publicly announced steps and the diplomatic work going on behind the scenes, and I…21 May 2026HANSARDSyriaI wanted to update the House on the situation in north-east Syria and the visit of the Syrian President to the UK on 31 March, given the interest expressed by Members of both…29 Apr 2026HANSARD International Parental Child AbductionI would be happy to. Hon. Members are welcome to contact me directly to discuss specific cases further. For those watching in the Public Gallery or at home, I am the Minister for…28 Apr 2026HANSARD International Parental Child AbductionIt is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) for securing this debate. I am also…28 Apr 2026HANSARDInterpol: Red NoticesMy hon. Friend is a committed advocate for his constituents. I would be very happy to meet him. As he will know, it is a matter of long-standing policy and practice that the UK…21 Apr 2026