Lords
Oral Questions
18 September 2025
2 contributions
Gaza: UN Commission of Inquiry Report
My Lords, it is time for this side. The Front Benches do not come first.
If the Government of Israel do not wish the United Kingdom Government to do what they said they would do about six weeks ago—we can all read a calendar, and we know what is happening next week—it is clear what they need to do. It is up to the Government of Israel to make their decision.
Lords
Oral Questions
16 September 2025
Ethiopia and Eritrea
I thank the noble Lord for that question and for his kind words. The Government’s position is that countries must pursue commercial access to the sea through peaceful, negotiated means. The UK does not support aggressive action or rhetoric that threatens a country’s sovereignty and territorial integ…
Lords
Proceedings
11 September 2025
Qatar: Israeli Strike
My Lords, of course, it is important to remember that Israel has the right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN charter. Yesterday saw further strikes by Israel, this time on Houthi targets in Yemen. We know that the Prime Minister met Israel’s leader, President Herzog, yesterday. Could the Mi…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Nepal: Protests
I am grateful to the noble Lord for the question; it is important. Nepal is responsible for its own affairs; therefore, the Government have to support good affairs being developed but not take over those issues. The £46.5 million we are currently spending and the programmes we are looking at will be…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 September 2025
Ukraine: Negotiations
The noble Lord makes an extremely important point about the need for air defences and their crucial nature. The UK, with our friends and our allies, including the Americans, who have just provided Patriot missiles as well, is seeking to ensure that we do everything we can to maintain the ability of …
Lords
Committee Stage
9 September 2025
Daesh Crimes: Accountability (JCHR Report)
My Lords, I am grateful to all those who contributed to this short but informative and detailed debate.
As every other noble Lord has done, I begin by paying tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool, for his incredible work in chairing the committee and producing this report, as well as h…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 September 2025
Gaza City
This is the third time that the noble Lord has asked that question. The response remains the same. We will make our decision when the time comes in accordance with the principles that we have laid out. We will explain fully the rationale for that decision at the time. I think that people can see the…
Lords
Proceedings
1 September 2025
Middle East
My Lords, I thank the Minister very much indeed for repeating that extremely important Statement. I want to start by expressing my sympathy for the people of Afghanistan, much benighted over the years, who have now been affected by last night’s earthquake; I am sure we are all thinking of them.
I a…
Lords
Oral Questions
1 September 2025
Palestinian Territories: Development Support
I am afraid that there is nothing in my tone this afternoon that has been in any way lecturing or hectoring. I have been clear about our reasons for reaching a position where we feel that we have to consider recognising the state of Palestine. We will do that in the right way, in the situation that …
Lords
Oral Questions
17 July 2025
India and Pakistan: Peace Representations
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hussain, for securing and introducing this important discussion. We focused particularly on issues around water and Kashmir, and I will do my best to set out the representations that the Government have made to the Governments of India and Pakistan to bring about peace b…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 July 2025
Diplomatic Missions: Unpaid Charges
We keep these things under close consideration but, as the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, said when he addressed this issue during the very last Question of the last Parliament—his last appearance on this side of the House—our diplomats are the best in the world and we entrust them to raise these issues as…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
United Kingdom: Soft Power
We have had many debates in the House about this, certainly about malign influence and misinformation, particularly in the use of social media and other forms of communication that have not been mediated through journalists and fact-checking. The noble Lord is absolutely right. We obviously need to …
Lords
Proceedings
8 July 2025
Actions of Iranian Regime: UK Response
My Lords, we are in agreement with the Government that Iran must never have a nuclear bomb, so will the Minister finally get off the fence and accept that the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear development facilities were absolutely necessary and justified? Iran’s destabilising influence is already preval…
Lords
Proceedings
3 July 2025
2 contributions
British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
My Lords, watching this UQ in the other place yesterday was a slightly surreal experience. The Lib Dem spokesman said it was a shambolic process—he was obviously correct, although he clearly had not consulted his colleagues in this Chamber, who had voted for it 24 hours earlier. Government is about …
There is no binding ruling.
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2025
6 contributions
UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago
My Lords, let me start by saying how much I am looking forward to hearing the maiden speech of my noble and learned friend Lady Prentis of Banbury and, more with sadness, the valedictory speech of my noble friend Lord Boswell of Aynho.
Before I speak to the Motion, it is worth reflecting for a mome…
My Lords, I have a Motion in my name in the debate. I thank the Minister for the open way in which we have had discussions since the agreement was laid before Parliament and put on record my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, for her willingness to host briefings in the department. I commen…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
24 June 2025
Middle East
My Lords, events in the Middle East over the past week have brought into sharp focus a truth that we ignore at our peril: that the Islamic Republic of Iran remains one of the most dangerous and destabilising forces in the world today. The United States’ targeted strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastruc…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 June 2025
Official Development Assistance: Vulnerable Children
We are here to talk about the impact on children. The noble Lord has every right to ask whatever he wants, but that is a slightly strange choice when we have had no end of opportunities to talk about that and we have a debate on it a week today. However, it is his choice. The deal with the Chagos Is…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 June 2025
Abducted Ukrainian Children
We are supporting the ICC with funding and other measures and will continue to do so. It does matter that accurate records are kept and that, when the time comes, we are able to hold to account those responsible for this dreadful crime. In working with the Ukrainians, we are also looking at how chil…
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2025
2 contributions
Gibraltar
My Lords, the Rock of Gibraltar has now been British for over 300 years. In 2002, 99% of Gibraltarians rejected the notion of shared sovereignty with Spain and reaffirmed their allegiance, in no uncertain terms, to Britain.
It is against this background that we must consider the Government’s agreem…
My Lords, as we still have some time, perhaps I could ask for some further clarification from the Minister. First, she said on a couple of occasions that the checks the Spanish officials will do at the border will be Schengen checks. Is she therefore saying that Gibraltar will be joining Schengen, t…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 June 2025
International Vaccine Programmes: Funding
The noble Lord is right; I am not going to give a number this afternoon, because the replenishment is taking place next week. I will be attending, alongside the Foreign Secretary, and we will be making the announcement he talks about. I pay tribute to the previous Government for investing in and sup…
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2025
Conflict in the Middle East
My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. We have seen Israel and Iran launch fresh attacks against one another yesterday and, sadly, again today, although it is worth noting that Israel is targeting predominantly nuclear and military sites, whereas Iran seems to be just launching …
Lords
Oral Questions
16 June 2025
Israel: Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli Communities
I cannot give the noble Lord a direct answer because I am not sure in which direction his question is going, but I assure him that the FCDO regularly audits its contributions, not least to ensure that the UK taxpayer has value for money. If there are any reports that raise concerns about how money m…
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
My Lords, the events that we are seeing in Gaza, and that we have witnessed in recent weeks, are truly harrowing. It is evident that dramatic change is needed from the current situation; the level of suffering ongoing in the region on all sides is intolerable. We are clear that the deaths and casual…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 June 2025
Cluster Munitions Convention: Article 21
Absolutely; we are committed to it. During my time as a Minister, I have seen first-hand the positive impact of the United Kingdom’s involvement in this. I pay tribute to the fantastic work of the Halo Trust. When I was in Angola, I visited areas that were severely contaminated by such weapons, whic…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 June 2025
United Nations International Day of Peace
The important thing is not to take our eye off the ball and to focus on how we can achieve peace. A classic example of that is in the eastern DRC, where conflict is raging but we do not see too much attention being placed on it. I have been in constant touch with the President of Angola, who initiat…