Commons
Debate
9 July 2026
5 contributions
Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban
In the interests of time, I will focus my speech on four key areas, having waited nearly 10 months for a response to a letter that I sent to the Minister in which he neglected to answer the questions posed.
First is the issue of complexity. The Government argue that it is just too complex to differ…
I completely agree with the hon. Member. That point could be made the other way round: if Israel cannot differentiate its goods—or it is hiding goods among others—why do we not just ban all goods until Israel proves otherwise? That would be a way to deal with it.
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
Ticket Reselling
As artists and songwriters gather today for the Ivor Novello awards, fans across the country are still being ripped off by ticket touts, despite the Prime Minister’s promise to act “as soon as possible”. It is incredibly disappointing that the Government have proposed only a draft ticket tout ban Bi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
The arson attacks targeting synagogues in recent days are sadly part of a pattern of escalating antisemitism designed to intimidate Jewish people, leaving them fearful for their safety. This vile form of racism can never be tolerated, and we must act collectively to defend our Jewish communities. Gi…
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
Given that it is widely known that Peter Mandelson maintained a friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, had close business links in both China and Russia, and was sacked from two Government posts, what I really want to ask the Prime Minister is this: what are the unique and definin…
Commons
Debate
19 March 2026
UK Steel Strategy
The Secretary of State has made great efforts to make the point that investing in steel production is crucial to the strength of the economy and to our national security, which is true. It is also true that Brexit has been disastrous for our steel industries, as he is aware. It is stark that the UK …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 March 2026
International Development
The UK was once regarded as a world leader in international development, yet today UK aid cuts are the steepest, deepest and most brutal of any G7 country—astonishingly, they are going further and faster in withdrawing support from the world’s most vulnerable people than even Donald Trump’s US Admin…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
In January, the UK Government announced that the listed places of worship grant scheme, which has allowed congregations to reclaim VAT on repairs to listed places of worship, would close at the end of March. While a replacement scheme was announced for England, I understand that the Scottish Governm…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Topical Questions
The fishing and coastal growth fund saw an utterly meagre £28 million devolved to Scotland and £304 million allocated to England, even though Scotland represents 60% of fishing capacity in the UK. Despite the Government’s inability to understand basic arithmetic, is the Minister considering mitigati…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
Scottish Industry: International Promotion
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Of course, I will always welcome the fact that Scotland punches above its weight, whether it be industries abroad or investment in Scotland. Indeed, under the SNP, foreign direct investment has been higher in Scotland over the last 10 years than anywhere else in the UK outside…
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
Like all statements, it is not just what is in but what is left out. We learned today that the due diligence, which has not been spoken about in any detail in the statement, provided to the Prime Minister before Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, warned that it would pose a “general rep…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
The Government will be well aware that, through the united front, the Chinese Communist party has created a global network of individuals and organisations that act as a political weapon to isolate, neutralise or counter Beijing’s critics. Indeed, a Jamestown Foundation report published this month s…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
The revelations in the press that Peter Mandelson was, while Business Secretary, leaking confidential Government secrets to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein should be more than enough evidence to warrant his expulsion from the House of Lords, yet we hear that this will not happen through legislation. Sadl…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
Over the past weeks, thousands of Chinese fishing boats have been trapped, creating a blockage up to 300 miles long in the east China sea off Japan. This is seen by many as a strategy for a future blockade. Given the huge reliance on that route for trade, such action would cause a global economic sh…
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Chinese Embassy
Will the Minister confirm that the UK Government are happy with rewarding and emboldening a nation that has one of the worst human rights records, that conducts espionage on these islands and in our Parliament, that has imprisoned a UK national—Jimmy Lai—on trumped-up charges, that has committed cri…
It is.
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Proposed Chinese Embassy
The UK Government do not seem aware of the message that disregarding safety and approving the Chinese mega-embassy would send to Tibetan, Uyghur and other exile communities in the UK who face intimidation, surveillance and abduction attempts almost daily. On transnational repression, we have heard w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
Science and Discovery Centres
I thank the hon. Member for giving so much time for interventions. He will not be surprised to hear that I represent one of four science centres in Scotland. Over the last 25 years, Dundee Science Centre has given STEM experiences to more than 2.5 million people, and we look forward to enhancing tha…
Commons
Proceedings
13 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
Every single day, people from the Tibetan, Hong Kong, Uyghur and Falun Gong communities here in the UK already face intimidation through transnational repression. Their activities are under constant surveillance, and their families living under Chinese rule face arrest and prosecution. There are $1 …
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Middle East and North Africa
Madam Deputy Speaker, it will not surprise you that I will more or less echo what many hon. Members across the House have said on Gaza, which is that 1.6 million people are facing starvation, winter floods, winter storms and freezing temperatures. Aid has been totally blockaded, with 37 non-governme…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Electoral Resilience
Of course, the appalling crime carried out by Nathan Gill, with a £40,000 bribe to speak about Russia, is not unique. Although that bribe is the one that we know about, eight other members of Reform UK also parroted pro-Russia narratives, sometimes line by line and word by word. I have two questions…
Commons
Proceedings
16 December 2025
Africa: New Approach
Warm words offer cold comfort to those facing brutal aid cuts this winter. While the Scottish Government remain fully committed to their global partners, the UK is in full retreat. While Scotland’s First Minister has personally visited Malawi in recent weeks to see at first hand the impact of the li…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Jimmy Lai Conviction
I associate myself and the SNP with the Foreign Secretary’s comments on the appalling attack on Bondi Beach.
I welcome the statement condemning what the CCP has done with the political sham of a trial, simply for Jimmy Lai expressing his belief in democracy and freedom. However, the statement does …
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Sudan: Humanitarian Situation
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) on securing the urgent question. Major aid cuts have happened, and a peacebuilding programme in Sudan was cancelled, which led to our failure to respond to the emerging civil war and the resulting genocide…
Commons
Debate
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Foreign Interference
I thank the hon. Member for Lewes (James MacCleary) for raising the existential threats from Russia and China, as well as more recently from the US with its national security strategy, which we heard of last week. I said earlier today on the Floor of the House that the special relationship is now we…
I have not had a chance to read that report, but I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has raised it, because it is now clearer than ever that we need a separate Minister and Department. That is a key point.
A cross-party Joint Committee on Human Rights report describes China as a “flagrant” perpetrato…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs
The right hon. Gentleman is making a clear case about recruitment in Scotland, which is a fair point, but a key issue that has caused recruitment difficulties, not just in Scotland but in the rest of the UK, is Brexit, which his party supported—and now we are in this state today. According to the Ro…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
US National Security Strategy
Whether Trump’s White House is parroting pro-Russian narratives around the peace plan or using abhorrent language such as describing Europe as facing “civilisational erasure”, what is clear is that a strong transatlantic relationship is no longer critical to US national security. Chatham House has d…