Lords
Proceedings
9 July 2026
Venezuela Earthquakes
My Lords, we welcome the Government’s response—helping is a good thing—and we also welcome support from the Disasters Emergency Committee. As has been said, the British public have been extremely generous. What assessment has the Minister made of the failures of the Venezuelan state in this matter? …
Lords
Proceedings
9 July 2026
Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
My Lords, one of the greatest issues facing nuclear weapons non-proliferation is that of Iran. Both sides of this House are agreed that Iran must never develop or acquire nuclear weapons. Will the Minister update the House on the Government’s latest assessment of what progress Iran is making towards…
Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
West Bank: Purchase of Settlement Land and Property
My Lords, we do not criminalise British citizens for buying property in disputed territories anywhere else in the world. Why should the West Bank be singled out, particularly when such a measure could even extend to Area C, which is under full Israeli control under the Oslo accords, and would crimin…
Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
International Marine Protected Area: Sargasso Sea
My Lords, we are supportive of the Government doing the right thing and protecting our most biodiverse areas, seas and oceans. On Report of the Diego Garcia military base Bill, the Minister admitted that Mauritius does not have the capabilities to protect the current marine protected area, one of th…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
Women’s Representation in Peace Processes
My Lords, earlier the noble Baroness referred to the importance of strong, women-led organisations. We on our Benches are very proud of our record of having strong women leaders in charge of our organisation. We are now on our fourth, so we well know the impact that women can make at the very top of…
Lords
Committee Stage
30 June 2026
Ukraine: International Claims Commission Convention
My Lords, I also thank my noble friend Lord Johnson for securing this important debate. The whole committee is to be congratulated for its hard work on the scrutiny of this convention. I am grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed, particularly my noble and learned friend Lady Prentis, whose…
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
Official Development Assistance: Bilateral Allocations
My Lords, more than 100 UNRWA staff are now suspected of having links with Hamas, with many being suspected of being actively involved in the appalling 7 October attacks; 70 employees have been dismissed following these accusations. The UK pays tens of millions of pounds to UNRWA through ODA. Can th…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Middle East: Iran Conflict
My Lords, I agree with the Minister that this is a positive step, although we still need to see a lot of the detail. Can the Minister say whether, if the strait is fully reopened, that will enable the Government to bring forward the ban on imports of Russian diesel and jet fuel via third countries?
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
Middle East
My Lords, I first thank the Minister for the opportunity to ask questions on this important Statement.
The situation in the Middle East continues to cause global instability, and families here in the UK are feeling the impact at the petrol pump and in the shops. We all have an interest in securing …
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
British Council
My Lords, the British Council has an important role to play in helping the UK to project its influence as a force for good on the world stage. It is, consequently, a member of the UK Government’s Soft Power Council. That council met four times last year, but it has not met once this year. Could the …
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Cuba: Humanitarian Situation
My Lords, the original Question in the other place from Jeremy Corbyn MP was fundamentally misguided. The people of Cuba have long suffered from economic stagnation and political repression, and the Cuban state has a long history of abusing its own people’s political, civil and human rights. While t…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Russian Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure
My Lords, Britain has stood resolutely against Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and we continue to support the Government in their opposition to Putin’s war. Britain has a role to play in weakening the Russian war machine through effective sanctions, working in close concert with our US and Eur…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Lebanon: Israel Defense Forces Operations
Over the weekend since the original Statement, Iran has launched ballistic missiles at Israel. Israel has since responded with retaliatory strikes against Iran. Of course, we all want to see peace in the Middle East, and the Prime Minister is right to call for a return to a ceasefire, but can the Mi…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, I start by expressing total agreement with the Minister on the fantastic success of His Majesty’s visit to the United States. We saw an increasingly rare moment of bipartisan support for his remarks in Congress; it was a tremendous visit that did the country great credit.
We have had four…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda: Ebola Outbreak
My Lords, the outbreak of Ebola in this region is extremely concerning, and we welcome the funding that the Minister has referenced. Can she perhaps say what support is available to any UK citizens who are in the region, notwithstanding the difficulties of access to the eastern region of the DRC, wh…
Lords
Committee Stage
18 May 2026
Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, as the Minister said, this SI amends the sanctions on Syria to allow access to UK luxury goods exports. It follows previous steps to lift sanctions on Syria following the fall of the hated Assad regime, which was responsible for appalling atrocities. Its decision to crush the peaceful pro-…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 April 2026
Sudan
We are deeply concerned that there are arms flows through many, many routes. Nobody should be selling arms to Sudan. There is an embargo in Darfur that should be extended and should be properly enforced.
Lords
Oral Questions
15 April 2026
Zimbabwe: Constitution
I have not used the words “consultation” or “listening carefully”. I have said that we will engage with the Zimbabwe Government on these issues, and the ambassador raised our concerns as recently as yesterday. I am sorry, that is a complete travesty of what I have said.
Lords
Debate
14 April 2026
2 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord opposite for the opportunity to ask questions on this Statement. It is indeed a shame that nobody from the Foreign Office was available to turn up and accept responsibility for the utter shambles of the policy that it has created. This latest U-turn has been a long t…
What about the delegation?
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
2 contributions
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan
My Lords, my apologies. That will teach me not to believe the Whips when they say there will be another vote straightaway. The debate continues.
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Alexander of Cleveden for securing this debate, and I thank all noble Lords for their contributions. The welfare and rights of detainees in Pakistan are concerns for many in the United Kingdom, particularly the British Pakistani community, and I recogn…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Antisemitism in International Human Rights Bodies
I am not aware of any international organisation that we fund where we have direct capability to hire and fire. That is not how multilateral organisations tend to work. As I have said, we raise concerns directly and openly about the conduct of individuals, as and when that is the right thing to do. …
Lords
Oral Questions
25 March 2026
Media Freedom Coalition
I am sure that that will be the case. As we have said many times—I know that we all agree with this, but it is worth repeating—Jimmy Lai should not be imprisoned and should be released immediately.
Lords
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
Ukraine: Reparation
We continue in our position that those assets should be used to support the people of Ukraine. We will continue to use whatever mechanisms we can to bring this about. It needs to be done in lockstep with our partners and that is the approach we have taken. We will act within the law, because we thin…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz
I have heard a lot from people who think that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is a straightforward, simple act and that uniquely they know the necessary things we should be deploying. I say gently that this a hell of a lot more complicated than that. I have been listening to the last few Quest…