Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
2 contributions
International Marine Protected Area: Sargasso Sea
My Lords—
Does the Minister recognise that there is a real risk that the global ocean treaty remains just words on paper if something is not done to create operational effect, and that the ideas put forward by the right reverend Prelate for some collective action—for example, in the Sargasso Sea—make a lot of…
Lords
Committee Stage
30 June 2026
2 contributions
Ukraine: International Claims Commission Convention
My Lords, the report from your Lordships’ International Agreements Committee, on which I have the honour to serve, might seem something of a no-brainer in recommending support for the Government’s intention to join the Council of Europe’s Convention establishing an International Claims Commission fo…
Before the noble Lord sits down, I want to raise one point to which he referred: the large number of people who were compensated by the Iraq-Kuwait compensation commission set up by the UN Security Council. There were many hundreds of thousands of them, because workers from Sri Lanka, India, Pakista…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Immigration: Eurodac and SIS II
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the benefits to this country of rejoining SIS II and Eurodac go much wider than simply immigration issues and that they cover the whole range of law enforcement co-operation, which is so vital to us and our EU partners? Will he also confirm that the benefits …
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Russian Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure
My Lords, will the Minister comment on the attack yesterday on the Chernobyl civil nuclear power facilities by Russian drones? Is it the Government’s intention, with other like-minded countries—such as France, Germany and, I hope, even the United States—to raise this matter to the governing board of…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Lebanon: Israel Defense Forces Operations
Can the Minister tell us what, if any, explanation the Government have had of the killing of a general officer of the Lebanese armed forces, another officer and a soldier by the Israel Defense Forces? Presumably, that does not come in the category of strengthening the Lebanese armed forces.
Lords
Proceedings
4 June 2026
Military in the Gulf
My Lords, does the Minister agree that military means are not necessarily the best means to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and that one better way of achieving that might be to revert to the situation we have been in for the last 30 years, where the Iranians did not ratify the…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda: Ebola Outbreak
My Lords, what progress has been made towards the negotiation of a pandemic convention by the World Health Organization? Does the Minister not agree that some of the characteristics of the draft pandemic convention, on early warning and working together to develop vaccines, are extremely relevant to…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
EU-UK SPS Agreement: Food-related Standards
My Lords, can the Minister confirm that what the Government are negotiating on SPS could bring quite substantial benefits to the bureaucratic problems met by trade between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom?
Lords
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Strait of Hormuz: Mine Clearance
The noble Lord’s fundamental point is a good one. That is why the Government have consistently said that they will act in accordance with international law—and we call on all states to act in accordance with international law. I know that sometimes people find this frustrating, but what moral status…
Lords
Proceedings
26 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
My Lords, will the Minister tell us whether the Treasury has made any estimates of how much oil, in value, Iran needs to export before it drops below a way of maintaining any form of international economic viability? Has the Treasury estimated how Iran will cover its shortfall in foodstuffs and such…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
Ukraine: Reparation
The Prime Minister does not need me to remind him to raise the importance of standing shoulder to shoulder with President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine at every opportunity. I know that he does this and will continue to do so.
Lords
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
2 contributions
Refugee Movements: Lebanon
My Lords—
I thank the noble Lord for that question. He is right to say that we are working with our allies and partners. As he knows, we are long-standing supporters of the sovereignty of Lebanon, and we welcome the commitments made by the Lebanese Government, including banning Hezbollah’s military activities…
Lords
Committee Stage
16 March 2026
Treaty Scrutiny in Westminster (International Agreements Committee Report)
My Lords, I congratulate the committee and its chairman on the report. I hesitate to participate in this debate since I have limited expertise in foreign affairs, and still less on the scrutiny of foreign treaties, but I was puzzled by the report’s focus on the scrutiny of treaties after they have b…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 March 2026
Children in Care: Illegal Accommodation
I will get back to the noble Lord; I do not have the exact timescales in front of me. The nine areas have been chosen and are up and running. The evidence they gather will be critical in enabling us to move forward and to make sure—hopefully in a very positive way—that all the lessons learned are av…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Iran and the Middle East
Experience tells us that, at some point, this becomes an issue of dialogue and negotiation. Who is involved, the nature of it, how it is staged and where it takes place are, as of today, not known.
Lords
Committee Stage
4 March 2026
UK-India: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
My Lords, it is with great pleasure that I take part in this debate. I welcome this landmark comprehensive trade agreement between the United Kingdom and India, and I thank the International Agreements Committee for its work under the leadership of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, on this…
Lords
Oral Questions
2 March 2026
Forest-Risk Commodities
As I mentioned, we remain steadfast in working with partners to deliver our shared commitment to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation. Clearly, examples such as that which the noble Lord has just given are part of that. We need to ensure that any regulatory frameworks we bring in ar…
Lords
Proceedings
26 February 2026
Resetting the UK-EU Relationship (European Affairs Committee Report)
My Lords, before commencing, I, too, protest the four-minute limit—hardly enough time to clear one’s throat, although quite a few noble Lords seem to have happily breezed through it. Given that time limit, I shall discuss only one matter: the so-far aborted—as described by the noble and gallant Lord…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 February 2026
US Tariffs
As a Minister only six months into the job, I have uncertainty in my own mind sometimes; I am certainly not going to comment on the US President. What I can say is that we remain the only country that has secured a 10% tariff on auto, securing hundreds of thousands of jobs; we are the only country i…
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
UK-EU Customs Union
My Lords, I begin by thanking Black Rod, Garter, the clerk, the doorkeepers and all the staff of this House for the kindness that they have shown me since joining. I thank noble Lords from every side who have, without exception, made me feel so welcome. I thank my supporters—my noble friends Lady Ar…
Lords
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Iran
My Lords, will the Minister give us some idea of the FCDO’s analysis and whether it demonstrates that this latest outburst of entirely legitimate demonstrations, met with extreme violence, is more serious, far reaching and widespread in the country than any that we have previously seen, and that it …
Lords
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
United States: Withdrawal from International Organisations
As I have explained, we are not participants in all the organisations concerned, but we are of course strong supporters of the United Nations and of the Secretary-General and we take every opportunity to participate positively and constructively. We take our leadership role globally very seriously a…
Lords
Proceedings
12 January 2026
Ukraine and Wider Operational Update
My Lords, will the Minister tell the House whether the Government have had any indication from any Russian source that Russia would accept either British and French peacekeeping troops or troops deployed to uphold an agreement in Ukraine, or a ceasefire, which has been proposed on a number of occasi…
Lords
Proceedings
12 January 2026
Iran: Protests
We stand proudly for freedom and human rights for the people of Iran, as the noble Lord suggests we should. The snap-back measures that he refers to took place as a last resort, and it would be very good for the people of Iran, and for regional and global stability, if we were able to have a more pr…
Lords
Proceedings
8 January 2026
2 contributions
Schools and Universities: Language Learning
Order. Can the noble Lord wind up, please? He is already a minute over. If everyone takes an extra minute, the Minister will not have any time to sum up at the end.
My Lords, I am very impressed by these attempts to maintain order in the classroom, and I will try to stay under five minutes.
I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, on bringing this debate to the House, and like the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, am delighted that the Government are rejoining…