Contributions
834 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Human Rights in Hong KongI am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Tom Randall) for securing this debate and to right hon. and hon. Members for their passionate and well-informed…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Human Rights in Hong KongThe hon. Gentleman rightly raised that in his remarks, as did many other right hon. and hon. Members. British judges have played an important role in supporting the independence…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Human Rights in Hong KongYes, for the last time.09 Jun 2021HANSARD Human Rights in Hong KongThe hon. Gentleman always makes decisive points. I will come on to the other two points later, but with regard to the Olympics, that is a matter for the British Olympic…09 Jun 2021HANSARD Human Rights in Hong KongI need to crack on. If it is on the Olympics—09 Jun 2021HANSARD Human Rights in Hong KongNo decision has yet been made about diplomatic attendance at the Olympics, but I can tell my right hon. Friend, as the Minister responsible, that that is very much at the…09 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilThank you, Mr Speaker. I have a great deal of time for my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron), who does a great job chairing the all-party group. I am…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilThe British Council is a crucial part of the UK’s presence overseas and a key soft power asset. It works in more than 100 countries to promote UK education, arts and culture, and…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilMay I praise the hon. Gentleman for the work he has done with the British Council— 12 years is a very long stint working for a fantastic organisation—but also prod him gently for…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilI thank the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for his remarks. We will be supporting the British Council going forward. It has undoubtedly gone through a torrid time: the…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilMy hon. Friend is spot on, and that is exactly where we are on this. As the integrated review made clear, we value the influence of the British Council globally, and we will…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilIt is good to hear the hon. Gentleman’s experience of benefiting from the work that the British Council does overseas. I am absolutely confident in the British Council’s ability…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilMy hon. Friend makes a fair point. These are extraordinary times and the impact that the pandemic has had on world economies—not just on the UK economy—has sent out a shock wave.…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilI have a lot of time for the hon. Gentleman, but references to little Britain are frankly nonsensical. I am not entirely sure whether he listened to my statement, but we are…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilMay I just correct the record? I may have said Stewart McDonald was the incoming CEO. I was confusing him with one of our colleagues; it is Scott McDonald who will be the new…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilI think my hon. Friend is referring to the Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning schools programme, which builds long-term relationships between schools, communities in…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Other countries have various programmes, and the Goethe-Institut and the Institut Français have different models. The British Council…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilI thank my right hon. Friend for her question. May I correct the record—with apologies, because she is a very good friend of mine—as I am an hon. Member rather than a right hon.…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilAbsolutely; we hugely value the influence of the British Council. We will continue to support it in the leading role that it plays, enhancing the United Kingdom through its work…08 Jun 2021HANSARD British CouncilI assure the hon. Lady that it is absolutely our intent to support the British Council—that is why we have increased its funding. As I have said, since the pandemic hit, this…08 Jun 2021