Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with (1) the European Union, or (2) the government of Egypt, about receiving Palestinian refugees from Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government firmly rejects any suggestion of the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
The UK's position is clear: Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and will and must be part of a future Palestinian state. We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. This is the only viable option to ensure peace.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about the forcible expulsion of the Palestinian population from Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government firmly rejects any suggestion of the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
The UK's position is clear: Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and will and must be part of a future Palestinian state. We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. This is the only viable option to ensure peace.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any plans of the government of Israel to rehome Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the Sinai.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government firmly rejects any suggestion of the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
The UK's position is clear: Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and will and must be part of a future Palestinian state. We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. This is the only viable option to ensure peace.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs intends to raise the case of Mr Keith Darby with his opposite number, Wang Yi of China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Darby. Ministers have previously raised Mr Darby's case with the Chinese authorities. The FCDO's Permanent Under Secretary raised his case during his visit to China last year and HMA Beijing raised the case in January this year. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers will raise his case in engagements with China, and have asked that FCDO officials raise Mr Darby's case again with the Chinese Embassy in London and the Chinese MFA in Beijing.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ongoing case involving Mr Keith Darby and the Hainan Provincial Government in China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Darby. Ministers have previously raised Mr Darby's case with the Chinese authorities. The FCDO's Permanent Under Secretary raised his case during his visit to China last year and HMA Beijing raised the case in January this year. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers will raise his case in engagements with China, and have asked that FCDO officials raise Mr Darby's case again with the Chinese Embassy in London and the Chinese MFA in Beijing.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further assistance and support they intend to provide to Mr Keith Darby and his family in China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Darby. Ministers have previously raised Mr Darby's case with the Chinese authorities. The FCDO's Permanent Under Secretary raised his case during his visit to China last year and HMA Beijing raised the case in January this year. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers will raise his case in engagements with China, and have asked that FCDO officials raise Mr Darby's case again with the Chinese Embassy in London and the Chinese MFA in Beijing.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the involvement of President Bashar al-Assad, family and friends in the manufacture and export of Captagon.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.
This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners about stopping the illegal export of Captagon from Syrian criminals.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.
This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on UK representation to the EU after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Alan Duncan
As the Foreign Secretary set out during Foreign and Commonwealth Office Orals on 22 January, the number of staff in our UK Representation to the European Union has grown from over 120 in 2016 to over 180 in early 2019, and includes representatives from a wide range of Whitehall Departments and many smaller agencies. We will keep staffing under regular review to ensure it is appropriate to deliver government objectives.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) steps his Department has taken, (b) guidance his Department has issued and (c) discussions his Department has had in the last 12 months on the rules and regulations surrounding the award of honours by British overseas territories.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Nominations for citizens of the British Overseas Territories (BOTs) are submitted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Royal, Ceremonial and Honours Unit for consideration on the Diplomatic Service and Overseas Honours List. The rules and regulations are the same for nominations from the Overseas Territories as they are for all other honours nominations and there has been no new guidance or discussions about honours for the Overseas Territories in the last year.