Contributions
834 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD KashmirIt is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) for securing the debate, and to all hon. Members…13 Jan 2021HANSARDIndia: Persecution of Minority GroupsI am conscious that I have to give the hon. Member for Strangford a couple of minutes at the end of the debate, so if the hon. Lady does not mind, I need to conclude. I end by…12 Jan 2021HANSARDIndia: Persecution of Minority GroupsAbsolutely. The hon. Member is right to raise this. There is a real opportunity, when that trip goes ahead, not just to talk about what is incredibly important in our trading…12 Jan 2021HANSARDIndia: Persecution of Minority GroupsIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing the debate and the role he plays on…12 Jan 2021HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangMy right hon. Friend is right. As I said, we are working cross-Government and we are working intensively with our international partners. It is absolutely the case that we should…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangThe hon. Lady is right to raise this issue. We constantly raise serious concerns about the gross violations of human rights to which she refers. As I have said, we raised the…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangWe do make this absolutely clear; in fact, the Foreign Secretary has made it clear that the UN Commissioner for Human Rights or another independent fact-finding body must be given…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangThe hon. Lady asks a very good question. We regularly have conversations with our international partners, as exemplified by the 39 countries that joined us at the UN, and the…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangThe hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. Obviously trade with China is important to us. As I said earlier, it is the fourth largest trading partner. It is important to…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangLike many right hon. and hon. Members, my hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. We constantly urge businesses involved in investing in this part of the world to ensure that…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangOn the final point, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that, as I have said numerous times at this Dispatch Box, we are carefully considering a range of designations under our…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangI thank the hon. Lady for her questions. I share the Chief Rabbi’s serious concerns about the gross violations of human rights that are being perpetrated against Uyghur…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangI thank my right hon. Friend both for securing this urgent question and for the work he does with colleagues cross-party on this important issue. He raised the question of members…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangOf course, it is absolutely key that we keep up the international pressure, working with our international partners, not least the United States and its incoming Administration.…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangWe are not making excuses. I have a lot of time for the hon. Lady and we have spoken at great length on these issues, both inside and outside the Chamber. We are taking a lead; if…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangMy hon. Friend is right to raise this. I agree that there is a role for Government, but businesses have a vital role to play in ensuring that their supply chains are free of…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangI thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. We will be able to update the House on that cross-Government work in due course—likely in the new year. The hon. Gentleman says that…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangEvidence of forced Uyghur labour within Xinjiang and in other parts of China is credible; it is growing and it is deeply troubling to the UK Government. Yesterday’s media…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Of course, trade with China is important to the UK. China is the UK’s fourth largest trading partner, and total bilateral trade was…16 Dec 2020HANSARD Uyghur Slave Labour: XinjiangI thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. A whole range of options is available to us that involve working with the UN. As I mentioned in a previous answer, whatever steps we…16 Dec 2020