Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Michael Fallon

Monday 18th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Like my hon. Friend, I was surprised to hear the suggestion that somehow one could negotiate with Daesh, or even that Daesh has some “strong points”. The House will recall that those strong points include the beheading of opponents, burning prisoners alive, throwing gays off buildings, enslaving young women, murdering innocent British tourists in Tunisia, and slaughtering young people on a night out in Paris. I fail to see any particular attraction.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

For the benefit of the Secretary of State, I do not think that Daesh has any strong points, but I would argue with the Prime Minister’s central argument about there being 70,000 so-called freedom fighters ready to take on Daesh on the ground in Syria. On Tuesday at the Liaison Committee the Prime Minister still could not defend that figure. Can the Secretary of State do so today?

[Michael Fallon]

Yes I can because it is not my figure or that of the Prime Minister: it is an assessment produced by the Joint Intelligence Committee, independently of Ministers. I say gently that if the right hon. Gentleman does not think that there are that many freedom fighters in Syria, how does he think that the civil war has lasted for five years, given that the Syrian army is more than 200,000 strong? People have been fighting the Assad regime.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Michael Fallon

Monday 23rd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes. ISIL does not recognise the border between Iraq and Syria, and moves between both while the RAF can currently strike only in Iraq. It is illogical for us to be hitting ISIL targets in Iraq, while not targeting ISIL’s core leadership, its lines of communication and its oil revenue base, which are all to be found in Syria.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

20 . What steps is the Secretary of State taking to squeeze ISIL’s supply chain, particularly with regard to munitions and ammunition? ISIL is not just supplied by organisations in the region; countries and establishments outside the region must be supplying ISIL with arms.

[Michael Fallon]

Yes, we are intensifying our effort to cut off ISIL’s sources of finance, in particular its ability to sell oil on the international market. We are also directly targeting its supply routes between Syria and Iraq, particularly in the region around Sinjar.

Royal Mail

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Michael Fallon

Thursday 12th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. Today’s announcement builds on work done by the House in passing postal service legislation, and by my two Liberal Democrat predecessors in getting us to the position we are in today. Yes, there is every opportunity for Royal Mail to face its future with confidence, access to capital markets and new commercial freedoms, and every reason to expect the service to continue to improve.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Given that the minimum purchase of shares is £750, will the Minister explain how my low-paid constituents such as pensioners or the unemployed will retain a stake in what they already own? Is this a transfer from us all to the richest in society?

[Michael Fallon]

I thought the Labour party opposed this privatisation, but if there are ways we can help the right hon. Gentleman make it more accessible to his constituents, we will certainly let him have details of the website and so on. It is fairly standard to set a minimum threshold—for example, it was £1,000 in the recent Direct Line public offering—and the amount simply reflects standard practice. We hope there will be sufficient opportunity for retail participation, as I would not like members of the public who wish to subscribe to miss out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Michael Fallon

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

It was the previous Government who transposed the European directive but who failed to transcribe the flexibility that France and Germany have to lower the minimum sugar content in jam. We will consult on that shortly. Under this Government, not only is there more flexibility towards the European Union, but there will be more jam tomorrow.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

Given that Members in another place—not just Labour peers, but a former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer and former Cabinet Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries—have this week rejected the Government’s shabby proposals on cash for workers’ rights, is it not right that the Government now reconsider their shabby proposal?

[Michael Fallon]

This House agreed before Christmas to make available this additional right. Nobody has to take it up—they cannot be bullied or harassed into it. There is no need for them to take it up, but equally there is no need for the other place to deny them the opportunity if they wish to do so.