Contributions
1,178 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Sri LankaI can absolutely give my hon. Friend that assurance. I am pleased that he mentioned GCHQ, because it has done a spectacularly important job in recent years in helping us to…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI entirely understand why the hon. Gentleman raises that issue. I reassure him that we support freedom of all religious belief; it is just that we think that Christianity has been…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaMy hon. Friend makes a profoundly important point, and I totally agree with him. The perpetrators of this evil attack were trying to stop freedom of religious belief, and we must…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development will consider any need for that kind of support with the greatest of sympathy, but I thank the hon.…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaIt has always been a brave thing to be a missionary, and I urge them to ensure that they are fully abreast of Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice in order to maintain…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaThe hon. Gentleman makes an important point. When we have the Bishop of Truro’s report, I want to look at how we can build a coalition with other countries worldwide that have…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI thank my right hon. Friend for saying those brave words. It is very difficult for many people to think about forgiveness after what happened, but that is indeed an appropriate…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI thank the shadow Foreign Secretary not just for the tone of her comments but for the very moving way in which she delivered them. I thank her for her support of the work of the…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI agree. That is the fundamental challenge. When we are trying to answer the important question of how we prevent this kind of thing from happening, the most important first step…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaThere are two specific things. When it comes to countering terrorism, we in this country have huge expertise and we share it with as many countries as we can in order to try to…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising that issue. I think he would agree with me that the extraordinary advances that humanity has made since the time of the Enlightenment…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaWhat we call countering disinformation online is an area in which this country has been taking a lead internationally. We spent £20 million on it last year and we have huge…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaThe hon. Lady makes an important point. The Home Secretary was with me this morning when I briefed the Cabinet on the situation in Sri Lanka, but I will take up the specific…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaThose are the kind of wise words that I would expect from my right hon. Friend, with whom I was privileged to work; he spent many years in the FCO. He is right to say that if we…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaIt is early days, but I spoke to Foreign Minister Marapana yesterday, and our Prime Minister is due to speak to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister this afternoon. Our offer is there to…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaAs I would expect, my right hon. Friend, being a former Minister for Asia, makes an important point. He is right that there are early indications of Islamist extremism that we…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, with which I wholeheartedly agree. The number of child victims, of many, many nationalities, is one of the most heartbreaking things…23 Apr 2019HANSARD Sri LankaI would of course be happy to do that. Sadly, what happened in Sri Lanka will colour the review and make us consider the issues around terrorism more fully. When we originally set…23 Apr 2019HANSARDLeaving the EU: Contingent LiabilityIn the event of the UK leaving the European Union without a deal, I have agreed to extend a financial assurance to cover the work of any UK organisations delivering funding agreed…09 Apr 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are doing lots, but the most important thing that we have to do is make sure that when there has been genocide or alleged genocide, there is accountability. Burma is a case in…02 Apr 2019