Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Monday 27th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

15. What steps he is taking to help reduce levels of organised crime.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Cleverly)]

We will continue to break the business model of organised crime gangs to keep the people of this country safe. We are disrupting their activities both domestically in the UK and internationally, including disrupting the work of the gangs behind the illegal small-boat crossings, and it is why the Criminal Justice Bill creates new powers to target organised criminal gangs. We will also publish a new serious and organised crime strategy soon.

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[James Cleverly]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work he has done in this area, including with his private Members’ Bill. He is absolutely right that the rural communities of this country need to be supported, and they will be. Driving down rural crime is an important area of work and we have provided £200,000 of funding to help set up the NRCU. My hon. Friend and I, and others in this House, understand the terrible impact this has, and we will continue to work with the rural police forces to drive down rural crime.

[Antony Higginbotham]

In Burnley and right across Lancashire county lines continues to be a problem, with organised groups peddling drugs and exploiting young people with no regard for the harm they are doing, not just to the communities but to the young people they are exploiting. Lancashire police are making very good inroads with an enhanced rural policing unit and neighbourhood taskforces, but what more can Lancashire Constabulary do to tackle the county lines issue and bring order back to our streets?

[James Cleverly]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting this vile type of criminality, which targets the young and the most vulnerable. As part of our fight against county lines we are investing up to £145 million in our county lines programme, and since it was launched in 2019 police activity has resulted in over 4,700 county lines being closed, over 14,800 arrests and over 7,200 safeguard referrals. We will keep our focus on this evil criminality.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Tuesday 14th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

The Ukrainian economy is suffering immeasurably because of the war imposed by Russia. One of the things that would help the Ukrainian economy now and post conflict is more joint ventures with western multinationals, which help with not just economic growth but governance reforms. What steps are we taking to help Ukrainian companies to partner with western multinationals?

[James Cleverly]

My hon. Friend makes the right point. As well as ensuring that the Russians who have violated Ukraine repair the damage they have caused, there will be a need for a long-term relationship to rebuild the Ukrainian economy. UK Export Finance will help British-based companies to help Ukrainians rebuild their homeland once we have helped them to successfully defend themselves against this invasion.

Israel and Gaza: Ceasefire

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Wednesday 19th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

Israel seeks to defend itself against attacks from the military wing of Hamas, which is an internationally recognised terrorist organisation. Our military export licensing regime is very robust, as I have said, and we are proud that we have such a robust arms exports regime in place—all export licences are measured against that. We will work with the Israelis and with the Palestinian people to bring about peace, and once a ceasefire has been achieved we will continue our work to bring about a peaceful, sustainable two-state solution.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

May I thank the Minister for his balanced opening statement in response to this urgent question? Securing a ceasefire will be very difficult, but maintaining it will be more difficult still, so can he confirm that once that ceasefire has been secured, we will offer whatever support we can to the Palestinian Authority, so that they can hold free and fair elections, which are the only way that moderate voices can get into power and then take the country forward?

[James Cleverly]

My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. A ceasefire to this conflict is the beginning of an incredibly important process, which will include ensuring that the Palestinian people have credible voices to speak on their behalf on the international stage, and that we work together—with the Israelis, the Palestinians and the international community—for the thing that we should all aim for, and which I believe the vast majority of people, both in this House and more broadly, seek to see, which is a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous two-state solution.

Violence in Israel and Palestine

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Wednesday 12th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

I do not think it is at all helpful to try to imply there is a commonality between the examples he gave and the situation we see in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The hon. Gentleman will know that where we have criticism of the Israeli Government, we have a strong enough relationship that we are able to air those criticisms, whether from the Dispatch Box here or in our bilateral conversations. We will continue to work towards a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution. That remains the UK Government’s goal and that will be our focus once we have helped to bring this current conflict to a conclusion.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

In the last few days, I have been contacted by hundreds of constituents who are concerned by the proposed evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, the activities outside the al-Aqsa mosque and the events that we have seen in the last 36 hours. Will the Minister reassure them, me and the whole House that the Government will use the full power of their diplomatic network to de-escalate the immediate issue and then bring both sides back to peace talks, because that is the only way that we can prevent events like this happening again?

[James Cleverly]

The al-Aqsa mosque is one of the most holy sites in Islam, and Jerusalem has the privilege of being the home of a number of the holiest sites in the Abrahamic religions. Therefore, the policing of Jerusalem needs at all times to be sensitive, as I say, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan. I assure my hon. Friend and others that the UK Government will work tirelessly to bring about a conclusion to this, so that we no longer have to see the distressing images that we have seen in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel, and that we no longer have to hear about fatalities.

Yemen

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Monday 8th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

The hon. Gentleman’s comments equate the activities of regional players as equal—I am sorry, but it is almost beyond credible. His deployment of the word “evil” betrays his prejudices, rather than any flaw in UK Government policy. We will continue to pursue peace in the region and to support humanitarian efforts until that peace is brought about.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

It is clear that the reason the Houthis will not meaningfully engage in the quest for peace is that they continue to get militarily, financial and political support from an Iranian regime, so may I ask the Minister what steps the UK is taking to pressure the Iranian regime to end this reckless and destabilising intervention?

[James Cleverly]

My hon. Friend is right; Iranian involvement is without a doubt prolonging the conflict, and therefore, by extension, prolonging the suffering of the people of Yemen. We support the work of Martin Griffiths and the United Nations in attempting to bring about a resolution to this issue by speaking to all the parties involved, and we will work with our E3 partners and the new Administration in the White House to put pressure on Iran to stop supporting the violent activities of the Houthis and to help us bring about peace in Yemen.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Tuesday 24th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

I am very proud of the fact that the United Kingdom is and will remain one of the most generous aid donors in the world. We have focused relentlessly on ensuring that the work of the United Kingdom Government across all Departments focuses on addressing the poorest in the world, as well as the implications of climate change.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

What diplomatic steps he is taking to strengthen UK relations with ASEAN countries.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

I have already explained that the International Military Services debt is a separate issue and one we are working on. Ultimately, our efforts are to secure the release of all British dual nationals in incarceration, and that will continue to be a priority of this Government.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

Iran has long walked the knife-edge of what is and is not acceptable under the joint comprehensive plan of action, exposing the agreement’s significant flaws in the process; it is clear that it is not deterring Iran’s actions, either in the region or with respect to dual nationals. I recognise the Government’s reluctance to walk away from the agreement without something else being in place, but we cannot reward bad behaviour or this hostage diplomacy. I therefore urge the Minister to give full consideration to what might be the point at which we have to walk away, and to reconsider the arms embargo.

[James Cleverly]

As the Foreign Secretary made clear, the JCPOA is not perfect. However, while it continues to offer some benefits in constraining and verifying Iran’s nuclear programme, and in the absence of something better, we will continue to support it. It would be inappropriate for me to speculate on what future actions the Government might take in relation to Iran.

Bahrain: Prisoners Under Sentence of Death

Debate between Antony Higginbotham and James Cleverly

Thursday 9th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

One by-product of the strength of our relationship is the ability of Her Majesty’s ambassador to attend trials of this nature in Bahrain. I have spoken to Her Majesty’s ambassador to Bahrain on a number of occasions about this very issue, most recently this morning. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we remain fully engaged and that the ambassador and his team are fully engaged in the country. If the Court of Cassation hands down a death sentence again, we will not stop at that point but will continue to dissuade the Bahrainis from utilising the death penalty.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments so far. It is clear that our relationship with Bahrain is not just strong and deep diplomatically, but exists across a range of areas, from business to the armed forces. Will he reassure the House that we will use that range of channels to encourage diplomatic, human rights and political reform in Bahrain?

[James Cleverly]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the strength of our relationship with Bahrain stretches across a number of areas, including commercial, military, security and social. I have said it a number of times, but it is worth repeating that it is because of the strength of our long-standing relationship that we are able to have difficult conversations with the Bahrainis on issues such as press freedom and human rights.