Oral Answers to Questions
James Cleverly Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
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James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
The Minister for Africa (Harriett Baldwin)
The UK was one of the funders of what is known as a parallel voter tabulation exercise, which is like an extensive BBC exit poll. It gave a result that was consistent with the officially declared results, and our Prime Minister called President Buhari to congratulate him on his re-election. However, we are aware of various reports from both our observers and others, and a strong stance against election-related violence was taken yesterday in my meetings with Nigerian opposition leaders, where I emphasised that concerns must be taken through the judicial process and that the independence of the judiciary in Nigeria is incredibly important.
Draft Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
James Cleverly Excerpts(5 years, 11 months ago)
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The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Evans.
During the 1990s, the trade in conflict diamonds was a significant cause of instability, particularly in Africa. The Kimberley process certification scheme is an important tool for reducing conflict in Africa and elsewhere. Great strides have been made since its inception in 2002. Today, more than 99% of the global supply chain of rough diamonds is certified as conflict-free.
From the beginning of the Kimberley process, the UK has been represented by the European Union. Together with our European partners and other participants, the UK has been active in support of the Kimberley process and its principles: increasing transparency, ensuring that trade is limited to Kimberley process participants, and applying effective controls.
The Kimberley process is not a treaty and has no basis in international law. It is simply a grouping of interested states known as the “participants”, which have decided to enact domestically the same process for verifying the trade in rough diamonds at their borders. They then made the political decision to permit the trade in rough diamonds only with similarly minded states within the Kimberley process. Its legal effect, therefore, comes from domestic legislation. Hence, if we are to continue to participate in the process after we leave the EU, as we intend, the draft regulations are essential.
As Members will be aware, until 29 March 2019 the UK remains a full member state and is subject to all the rights and obligations of EU membership. Those include trade arrangements that fall within the EU’s common commercial policy, such as the Kimberley process. Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, we have agreed with the EU that it will notify international partners that the UK is to be treated as a member state during the implementation period. That would mean that the UK continues to participate, represented by the EU, and that the UK trade in Kimberley process-compliant rough diamonds would continue.
In the event that we are unable to enter an implementation period, our participation through the EU would end. UK trade would be frozen until our application for participation was approved by the other participants in the Kimberley process. In either case, this draft legislation will ensure that we continue to comply with the requirements of the Kimberley process. It will secure our borders, prevent any non-compliant rough diamonds entering the UK supply chain and send a strong message to would-be smugglers that the UK is not a recipient of conflict diamonds.
Sir Alan Duncan
May I first explain the logic fully? Perhaps my hon. Friend will save his comments for later in the Committee sitting, when I shall be happy to answer.
The draft regulations will also reassure the Kimberley process bodies of the UK’s commitment to the scheme ahead of our application for independent participation. The instrument does not undermine the wider EU withdrawal negotiations, nor does it assume no deal. Instead, it lays the groundwork for our future relationship with, and independent participation in, the Kimberley process. That matters because maintaining our relationship with the process is an intrinsic element of our international commitment to conflict prevention. It is also pivotal to how we support UK business to operate responsibly in post-conflict and difficult environments.
In 2017, the UK’s exports in rough diamonds outside the EU were valued at £67 million. We expect that to continue. The Government Diamond Office implements the Kimberley process in the UK and works closely with Border Force to ensure that we meet the minimum standards set by the process.
As an EU member state, we are a well-respected participant in the Kimberley process, and we expect to remain so as an independent participant. We have already informed the EU of our intention to initiate our application. Demonstrating that we have appropriate legislation in place is a fundamental part of that application process. That is the purpose of the instrument, which, once passed, will apply even if we are not a participant immediately at the point that the UK leaves the European Union or after any implementation period.
I welcome the opportunity to hear any comments. The regulations are essential to the process I have described and I commend them to the Committee.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
I have family from Sierra Leone; it was the place of my mother’s birth. The country was racked with conflict, in large part driven by the illegal diamond trade. Does the Minister agree that this statutory instrument not only helps to ensure that the trade in illegal rough diamonds is curtailed, but sends a powerful signal to our international friends and partners that, irrespective of our membership of the EU, the UK stands by its moral commitments to some of the poorest countries in the world? By passing this statutory instrument, the UK Government will be sending a very powerful signal to Sierra Leone, in particular, which has a longstanding relationship with this country, that we take its plight seriously and that we are doing everything we can to ensure that conflict does not arise again in the future.
Oral Answers to Questions
James Cleverly Excerpts(6 years ago)
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James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
I am pleased that the United Kingdom has regained its No. 1 spot in the Portland soft power top 30, particularly because we overtook France in order to do so. Although not every element of our soft power is under my right hon. Friend’s Department’s control, will he ensure that organisations such as the British Council and the BBC World Service are well funded and able to project our soft power globally as we leave the European Union?
Interpol Presidency Election
James Cleverly Excerpts(6 years, 2 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Harriett Baldwin
On what the UK Government have tried to do, I have outlined the UK Government’s position as far as this election is concerned. The hon. Gentleman opens up this question to wider issues. I highlight the importance that the UK Government place, in their discussions with countries around the world, on LGBT rights and human rights. That will form part of our diplomatic engagement.
The hon. Gentleman should pass on his appreciation to the teams and the supporters who travelled to Russia during the World cup over the summer. Work was done by a range of volunteers, but also, importantly, by the police to ensure that they all had the opportunity to enjoy a safe World cup.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
In her question, the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), drew a comparison between diplomatic work by British diplomats in Yemen and the involvement of Russia in Interpol. Will my hon. Friend make it absolutely clear that there is no moral equivalence between the UK Government and Putin’s Russia? Furthermore, will she make it clear that the election of Alexander Prokopchuk could permanently undermine the credibility of Interpol? If he is elected, will we immediately take steps to build alternative international policing responses?
Harriett Baldwin
I find myself in the slightly unusual position of perhaps slightly defending the right hon. Lady because I did not see quite the angle that my hon. Friend saw in the question she posed. However, it is important that the UK, where appropriate, seeks to have the right representation in these international organisations. It is also very important—I assure my hon. Friend of this—that the UK will always seek and campaign to have the right representatives in these international organisations. He is absolutely right that the role the UK plays will often have the support of the rules-based international order through our membership of the United Nations, Interpol or other organisations. It is important that the UK Government reiterate at this Dispatch Box that we will always seek to work with the international rules-based order and uphold the values that have kept the country safe since the second world war.
Global Britain and the International Rules-based Order
James Cleverly Excerpts(6 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con)
It is a genuine privilege to follow the hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones), who spoke very eloquently; it was a pleasure to listen to him. I thank the Minister for being here to listen to us. Not every Minister is impressive, but this one undoubtedly is.
It is a privilege to be here with representatives of the two Canadian units and the Australian unit in the Gallery. My great-great-uncle was the last member of my family to represent my seat, the Isle of Wight, which I have the huge privilege to represent. He served in world war one with the Canadian Cavalry. In fact, he led the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in world war one, and at Vimy Ridge, which was remembered in France earlier this year, it was the Canadian Cavalry charge that halted the German advance and saved the splitting of the allied forces and possibly the war in March 1918. He was very proud of his service with the Canadian Cavalry. He was a Brit from the Isle of Wight, but he was associated with the brigade. It is a pleasure for me to be here with them.
I would like to talk briefly about two things. First, I shall ask, what is global Britain? Secondly, I shall make some points about the international order that relate to China, Iran and Russia. I do not wish to be too critical of the Minister, for whom I have high regard. Global Britain is a great phrase, but we really need to fill it out. I have some questions about it. What are we prioritising? Every time our Foreign Affairs Committee says, “What are you prioritising?” the answer is, “Everything.” Correct me if I am wrong, but the FCO does not have unlimited resources. Global Britain is about more than just opening half a dozen extra posts in Papua New Guinea. It has to amount to something. Is the priority trade? Is it aid? Is it security?
For the past 15 years, we have had a foreign policy that has been somewhat gesture politics, and much more in the world besides. In the past five years, foreign affairs, threats to Britain and our role in the world have become much more serious, urgent and pressing questions. There is a strong argument that our priority has to be trade and then security and aid. That is not to underestimate the importance of aid, but it is to say that we have vital national interests that we have to try to meet.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
I co-chair the all-party parliamentary group on trade out of poverty. Does my hon. Friend agree that trade, aid and global security are three legs of the same stool and that success in those three can be mutually reinforcing?
Mr Seely
My hon. Friend makes a good point. My answer is that they can be, but not necessarily; it is dependent on how the money is spent. I will come to that a bit later. They are not separate—that is certainly true—but it is how we deal with them as a whole that is the issue.
The next question is, what role is there for the Anglosphere? We talk about deepening relationships with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. What does that mean in practice? Is there a role for a global NATO and a NATO that looks at not only physical force but threats to democracy from cyber-attacks and other organisations and criminal and state actors?
What should the structure of the FCO be after Brexit? I am quite a fan of the argument that the FCO should be a super-Ministry, with oversight and a stronger role in leading—[Interruption.] I am glad that the Minister has just signed up to that. With the Department for International Trade, the Department for International Development, the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister’s office, there are so many bits of government that are now involved in foreign affairs. We want coherence.
Above all, the critical thing we need to learn is how we integrate government better, not only here but at home, to deliver efficiently. I do not like Russia’s hybrid war, but it is an incredibly efficient use of power. I am not saying that that is our model, but efficiency and integration are important.
We need to rebalance our overseas spending. I do not believe that how the 0.7% is spent should be dictated by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. We should dictate how we spend that money. There is an argument to suggest that the BBC, which is part of the broader aid budget, should be entirely funded through DFID, as should all peacekeeping operations, which are fundamental elements of aid.
Iran Nuclear Deal
James Cleverly Excerpts(6 years, 8 months ago)
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Boris Johnson
I think that the President of the United States understands the logic of nuclear deterrence as well as anyone, and that logic is to avoid the use of nuclear weapons.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
The JCPOA was rushed and flawed, and it was never ratified by Congress, which is one of the reasons why it was vulnerable to being changed by President Trump. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that whatever structure replaces the JCPOA is built on firmer foundations and goes through Congress, and is therefore sustainable, to ensure that Iran does not continue to flout international laws and norms and does not abuse its own people and others, and to minimise the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran?
Boris Johnson
The JCPOA took 13 years to negotiate, so to say it was rushed is perhaps a slight exaggeration. I want the House to remember the crucial point that the JCPOA has not gone. The JCPOA is there, and the UK is a party to it, as are France, Germany, Russia, China, the EU and Iran, and that will continue. We will do our level best, around that core, to build a superstructure or entablature—whatever we want to call it—to allay my hon. Friend’s understandable concerns.
Oral Answers to Questions
James Cleverly Excerpts(6 years, 9 months ago)
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Alistair Burt
It might help if I say that I keep speaking to the World Health Organisation in relation to the availability of vaccines, and we are pretty confident that the vaccines are there. I also spoke yesterday to UNICEF about the ability to get them through. We are pressing for the consolidated plan that it needs to do that. There is a conference on Yemen coming up shortly, but we press every day to make sure that the cyclical issue of cholera is indeed dealt with.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
The trade out of poverty all-party parliamentary group, which I co-chair, is soon to release a report on trade and investment intra-Commonwealth. Will my right hon. Friend read that report and champion that agenda at the forthcoming CHOGM summit?
Boris Johnson
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, because the job of the Commonwealth summit is not just to promote trade between the UK and our 53 Commonwealth friends, but to promote intra-Commonwealth trade, and that is where some of the biggest opportunities lie.