Lords
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
BBC World Service: Sustainability
Multi-year allocations are incredibly important. That is why, in all the allocations that we are making as part of this process—not just for the World Service but for our teams in countries and for our partner organisations—we are seeking to do just that, because it means you get better value for ev…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 March 2026
Children in Care: Illegal Accommodation
It is not just about young people who have come out of care, but young people who are in care at the time. Most local authorities have very supportive groups through which young people come together and meet. We must not underestimate the power of peer groups sharing their concerns. The voice of the…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Iranian State-sponsored Cyber Attacks: Mitigation and Preparation
The noble Lord will be aware of my own voting record on the IRGC’s proscription—
Yes, in opposition. But let me be clear: proscription powers are designed for non-state terror organisations, not state organisations. We have committed to taking forward plans recommended by Jonathan Hall KC for a proscription-like power for states and state-linked bodies to tackle hostile state ac…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
Taiwan
The noble Lord has raised that question before. I reiterate what I have already said and what has been said before: the China audit was completed and its findings included in the national security strategy in the way I set out earlier.
Lords
Proceedings
3 March 2026
Gibraltar Treaty
My Lords, I welcome the Minister back to FCDO business, even though it may well be temporary. These Benches support this treaty. In the House of Commons, without any sense of irony, the Conservative Opposition said that Parliament had been kept in the dark about this treaty. However, it was the prev…
Lords
Proceedings
2 March 2026
Middle East
My Lords, this is an unlawful war and has an unclear justification, with contradictory messages already from the Trump White House, State Department and Defense Department. The statements from the President today have not added clarity. The Government are right not to have allowed the use of UK asse…
Lords
Proceedings
26 February 2026
Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory
My Lords, I am sure the House will note the fact that Conservative MPs, Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson, all of whom proclaim to love their country, actively undermine it when they are in the State Department and the White House. However, given President Trump’s statement, it is now necessary for us…
Lords
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Imran Khan: Imprisonment
We have very real concerns about the inappropriate use of military courts and the lack of transparency in the way they operate. We discuss this, as the noble Lord would want us to do, with Government of Pakistan. Having a flourishing trading relationship is helpful when it comes to being able to rai…
Lords
Proceedings
5 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
My honourable friend Lisa Smart said in the House of Commons yesterday:
“We are having this debate today solely because of the women and girls who found the courage to come forward and speak about the abuse they had endured over years at the hands of rich and powerful men. Without these women’s bra…
Lords
Proceedings
5 February 2026
Iran
My Lords, we must remark with great humility on the sacrifice that so many of those within Iran have made for the simple cause of seeking to have a Government that they wish to have. The Minister may recall that, on 15 January, I asked for clarification on the BBC World Service’s Persian radio servi…
Lords
Proceedings
4 February 2026
China and Japan
My Lords, these Benches believe the Government should engage internationally, and the Prime Minister likewise, to operate with allies and competitors alike. But when it comes to competitors who have been proven to also be adversaries and security risks, that engagement, if transactional, must active…
Lords
Proceedings
3 February 2026
Tributes: Lord Wallace of Tankerness
My Lords, many of us aspire to be a good politician, to do good and to be a good person. More times than not, we fall short. Jim Wallace was a good man who saw it as his role in life to do good things. He did, and they will last. With great sorrow, we have been denied the opportunity of hearing a va…
Lords
Oral Questions
2 February 2026
China: Human Rights and UK National Security
Obviously, national security is the principal concern in everything we do. The noble Lord mentioned trade, and I am pleased to be able to confirm that export deals of £2.2 billion were secured. AstraZeneca committed to £15 billion investment, which will underpin approximately 10,000 UK jobs. China a…
Lords
Oral Questions
2 February 2026
China: Jimmy Lai
It is for the Prime Minister to state, this afternoon, the detail of the conversations he had with President Xi. It is not for me to say that now, just an hour or so before the Prime Minister is going to make his own Statement on this. The visit took place because it is the Government’s belief that …
Lords
Proceedings
2 February 2026
Tributes: Lord McFall of Alcluith
My Lords, from our Benches, I add our thanks to the noble Lord, Lord McFall, for carrying out his duties with great courtesy and warmth. Being Speaker—who often cannot speak—of this self-regulating Chamber is a difficult job; therefore, carrying out the duties on the Woolsack, on the commission and …
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
3 contributions
UK Development Partnership Assistance
My Lords, I join all sides of the House in thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, for securing this important debate today. We have heard some excellent speeches, none more so than those from our two maiden entrants. First, the noble Baroness, Lady Hyde of Bemerton, told us where Bemerton i…
As I have said, we will set out the context and the decisions that surround ODA funding. However, I stress to the noble Lord that we still have, and we will continue to have, country-based programmes. That is still an important part of the mix. If he was asking me to characterise some other change, …
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
26 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, with regard to the 1966 treaty, it is worth acknowledging that Article 2 is the basis upon which, under the euphemism of what the treaty calls an administrative measure, the expulsion of a population from that archipelago, and its forced depopulation, took place. That treaty is the basis o…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 January 2026
Diego Garcia: Comments by the President of the United States
I know the noble Lord does not always want me to be nice to him on the Floor of the House, but I must say that the Liberal Democrats, much as they have had their issues with this agreement, have always been focused on the rights of the Chagossian communities and have put that case clearly and consis…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 January 2026
Greenland: Proposed US Tariffs
It is called diplomacy. Our aim is to de-escalate the situation and not take measures which would inevitably cause this to escalate and become more damaging for our manufacturers and for people’s jobs and livelihoods in the United Kingdom.
Lords
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Iran
My Lords, we must show solidarity and support the young Iranians seeking democratic rights, and we must protect those such as journalists and those in BBC World Service radio who are working to ensure that there is information, which can be life-saving in times of crisis. Can the Minister update the…
Lords
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that it is a material circumstance that this will be the largest Communist Party of China building in Europe? It will co-ordinate transnational repression in the United Kingdom and espionage on an industrial scale, including electronic and human surveillance…
Lords
Debate
12 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
I am sorry that the Minister has chosen to end this debate adopting a totally different tone from that which she pursued during Committee and Report. I asked a clear question: which goods, services and facilities will be withheld by which countries if we do not do this deal? She has not answered. Sh…
Lords
Proceedings
12 January 2026
Iran: Protests
First, it is not correct that our ambassador in Tehran was summoned. They had a conversation when they attended the MFA for another purpose, but that is a very different situation from the one reported, which I think the noble Lord will have read. We do not comment about proscriptions ahead of time …
Lords
Proceedings
12 January 2026
Election of Lord Speaker
My Lords, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Benches, I too give warm congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, on his election and an efficiently run election. I suspect that Ministers of all party persuasions will feel a slight relief that he will no longer be asking those types of questions…
Lords
Proceedings
7 January 2026
Middle East and North Africa
I am also grateful for the Statement, but I am also slightly disappointed that, given the linkages between the Middle East and North Africa and the crisis in Sudan, there was no mention of that emergency. I will return to that in a moment and I hope the Minister might be able to give an update and r…