The Prime Minister has made it clear that Gaza remains the focus and priority of our activity. We are working with a range of groups, and, to repeat what the noble Lord opposite said, we have to recognise that a lot of them are financing themselves. We remain committed to the sort of organisations t…
That update from the Minister is most helpful.
We know from public warnings from the director-general of MI5 that China has been operating on an “epic scale” in its attempts to obtain political influence in the United Kingdom through educational arrangements and the use of state funds. That is why …
The noble Lord knows that winter fuel payments are a devolved policy in Scotland. The Scottish Government will receive a mechanical uplift in their funding as a result of the change in England and Wales. The Minister for Pensions spoke to his counterpart in Scotland on the day that this policy was a…
I am grateful for the notice the noble Lord gave to my colleagues in the Government Whips’ Office that he was going to raise these matters.
For the benefit of the House, of the five instruments before the House, four relate to Iran and Russia and one relates to the ban on ninja swords. They were mo…
My Lords, we are witnessing both the systematic collective punishment and brutalisation of a civilian population combined with the weaponisation of food and medicine. A Government have made a decision to annex land that is not theirs and to put women and children, whose only sin is seeking aid, in t…
I did not say the noble Lord was incorrect—I think Hansard would prove that; I said that he may have more information than I have. We are in the middle of a very detailed spending review. While the outlying figures are out, the department has to go through a programme-by-programme process to determi…
Maybe the noble Lord has more information than me, but I reassure him that we are absolutely focused on using all the tools in our toolkit to promote peacebuilding, and that is certainly not limited to ODA. To reassure him, we are using this year’s peacebuilding architecture review to champion the w…
First of all, I thank the noble Lord for the commitment that he and his party have shown to Ukraine. It is pleasing that he is taking part in the meetings that he has described. One of the things that encourages us all is the united way in which we in this House and across politics in this country a…
My Lords, these four draft regulations represent the next step in operationalising the foreign influence registration scheme established under Part 4 of the National Security Act 2023, a piece of legislation introduced by the previous Conservative Government. I am sure that the Minister will be plea…
Indeed—I think I will cover that point as I go along.
Although we support the intent and scope of these measures, scrutiny must not end there. These regulations are not purely technical instruments; they go to the heart of how the UK responds to evolving and increasingly sophisticated state threats…
All these matters are a judgment call, and it is certainly the Government’s judgment at this stage that the best approach to secure the urgent release of Mr el-Fattah is that bilateral contact at the highest possible levels. We have been consistent in our support for Mr el-Fattah and his family. Of …
My Lords, there are trucks of aid and professionals with the ability to get that aid where it needs to go, without the use of violence and at speed. Whether or not that is done through corridors, as the noble Lord suggested, I would leave to the judgment of those people on the ground, whom I have me…
I do not believe that is what I said. What we are seeing is a combination of understanding that human rights are complex and broad. It is a much broader range of things: modern slavery and thinking about our labour standards, cultural things, same-sex marriages and how we think about women in the wo…
My Lords, it would be utterly inconceivable for us to even imagine walking out of this Parliament building and witnessing every child in London being forcibly walked with their mother to Slough and back again three times, on foot, and offered no shelter or medicine, or sanitary products, if they are…
The noble Lord raises a very important subject. We will not tolerate any attempts by foreign Governments, whoever they are, to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas. The safety of Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance. Hong Kong Police issuing arrest warr…
The noble Lord knows that has been my clear ambition from the contributions I have made in this House, and certainly from the contact we have made with all civilian groups in trying to bring them together to plan for a Sudanese country free from military rule and led by civilians. He also knows that…
My Lords, I am impressed by the Minister’s efficiency. She replied positively to me on Monday when I asked for an opportunity to have a wider discussion on sanctions enforcement; I did not quite appreciate that she would deliver that three days later. It is very impressive indeed.
I have had the op…
My Lords, I look forward to the Minister answering my question from yesterday, as referenced by the noble Lord.
I wish to refer exclusively to the India agreement. We have debated in this House on a number of occasions UK-India trade, and on those occasions I have rehearsed the long-standing positi…
At the moment, it is an idea. We have seen no evidence that it will go forward. However, the noble Lord is right that humanitarian principles of delivering aid must be consistent across every area in which that aid is being delivered. Today, we are convening the UN Security Council in New York—it is…
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for introducing this important statutory instrument. I share some of the concerns expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis. The legislation before us amends the Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 to reflect the developments following the fall of Preside…
My Lords, it will come as no surprise to the Minister to know that we on these Benches continue to support strong, targeted sanctions in response to Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine. Since 2022, the UK, alongside our allies, has imposed an unprecedented range of sanctions to weaken Ru…
To clarify, a lot of key sectors are covered in this framework, and this framework is a final decision on how those key sectors will be treated when it comes to trading between the UK and the US. Those sectors are things such as automotive, steel and pharmaceuticals, but also beef and ethanol, which…
My Lords, we on these Benches associate ourselves with the words of the Minister with regards to the condolences for those who were murdered. We believe there should be no impunity for those who carried out these crimes and there should be a transparent process of investigation to ensure there is ju…