Contributions
352 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Charles. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on calling the debate. This is a very unfortunate…19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3I will reflect carefully on that point, but I am not even getting any assurances privately about the numbers. It is all very well to quote big numbers, but— I am chair of the…19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3Will my right hon. Friend give way?19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3Clarity is required here. Will the Minister answer some straightforward questions about the 200 British Council contractors who have initially been told that they are eligible…19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words. What appals me is the fact that we sought assurances in that debate, we received them, and we seemed to be finally making progress—I…19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3I applaud my right hon. Friend for trying to clarify the situation, but may I bring us back to basics? I asked the Government about how Hansard stands at the moment. Forty-seven…19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3Will my right hon. Friend give way?19 Jan 2023HANSARDAfghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 3No. If the hon. Lady does not mind, I will crack on, because I want to ensure that I stay within my 10 minutes—for everybody’s sake. I apologise, and I am sure that she will make…19 Jan 2023HANSARDForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeThe Minister is being generous in giving way again and I appreciate his generosity. When he talks about security, I understand what he is saying; all of us in this Chamber fully…16 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanI beg to move, That this House has considered British Council contractors in Afghanistan. Thank you, Ms McVey. I thank Mr Speaker for granting the debate and you, Ms McVey, for…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanI agree that, sadly, the Government are failing these people. I am trying to use the normal channels to add some urgency. I do not think it is just the Home Office; a few…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanI thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and kind words. He is absolutely right. The scheme has existed for a year now—it was introduced in January 2022—and not one single…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanFor absolute clarity, will the Minister correct me if I am wrong in any of this? Taking his first two answers, about half of the 200 contractors have been given the green light to…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanIn that case, I seek clarification on my second and fourth questions. On the second question, is the Minister saying that getting across the border will be as it was previously?…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanThat is question four. I do not wish to make life difficult for the Minister because I know him to be a decent man, but at the same time, we have waited for so long and this is an…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanI completely agree with my hon. Friend. We asked these people to step up to the plate and are looking away when it is our turn to do so. That cannot be right and does not create a…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanThe Minister is being generous in giving way again and I appreciate his generosity. When he talks about security, I understand what he is saying; all of us in this Chamber fully…11 Jan 2023HANSARD British Council Contractors in AfghanistanI thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. I completely agree: there are many similarities, and one would have thought that we would have learned the lessons by now.…11 Jan 2023HANSARDBritish Council Contractors: Afghanistan(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on British Council contractors in Afghanistan.12 Dec 2022HANSARDBritish Council Contractors: AfghanistanThank you for granting the urgent question, Mr Speaker. Let me start by both welcoming the Foreign Secretary’s speech on foreign policy this morning, which called for a long-term,…12 Dec 2022