Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Malaysian Government on the protection of the wreck of HMS Prince of Wales, sunk in December 1941.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Illegally salvaged artefacts from HMS Prince of Wales seized by Malaysian authorities are part of an ongoing Malaysian criminal investigation. The UK Ministry of Defence and the British High Commission continue to work closely with the relevant authorities in the region to afford these sites suitable protection. As investigations into the illegal salvage are still ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further until these investigations have concluded.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether the Malaysian authorities have requested assistance from his Department in their investigations into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Malaysian authorities are in the process of conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. The Ministry of Defence and British High Commission are in close contact with Malaysian authorities and continue to push for a quick investigation as well as the release of the artefacts back into British hands.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions he has had with his Malaysian counterpart on the wrecks of HMS (a) Prince of Wales and (b) Repulse.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Malaysian authorities are in the process of conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. The Ministry of Defence and British High Commission are in close contact with Malaysian authorities and continue to push for a quick investigation as well as the release of the artefacts back into British hands.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2024 to Question 18074 on Falkland Islands: Ports, whether the Falkland Islands Government sought advice from his Department prior to the awarding of a contract to Harland & Wolff to support delivery of a port facility.
Answered by David Rutley
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office played no role in Harland & Wolff being named as the preferred bidder for the delivery of a new port facility in Stanley. Further to my answer of 15 March 2024 to written PQ 18074, any potential redevelopment of the port facility in Stanley is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government and the awarding of contracts for the redevelopment of the port is a commercial matter between the Falkland Islands Government and the companies involved.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had discussions with the Falkland Islands Government on the awarding of a contract to Harland & Wolff to support delivery of a port facility.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK Government is proud of the expertise offered by British companies such as Harland and Wolff.
As a self-governing UK Overseas Territory, any potential redevelopment of the port facility in Stanley is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government. The awarding of contracts for the redevelopment of the port is a commercial matter between the Falkland Islands Government and the companies involved.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Cyprus on the National Security Bill.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK government has engaged extensively - including at senior official and Ministerial level - with the Republic of Cyprus on the National Security Bill. This included a meeting with the FCDO Permanent Under-Secretary on 14 March and the Security Minister on 29 March. We continue to engage the government of Cyprus at all levels, in both the UK and in Cyprus, on our wide-ranging bilateral interests.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the National Security Bill on diplomatic relations with the Government of Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The bilateral relationship between the UK and Cyprus has never been stronger. Our shared commitment to working together on a wide range of priority areas is underlined in the 2019 Defence and Security Co-operation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the comprehensive bilateral MoU signed last year. The National Security Bill (NSB) will ensure that the UK can continue to protect its sensitive sites under UK law, as is currently the case under the Official Secrets Act 1911. As Lord Sharpe said when he made a statement in the House of Lords on 18 January, the NSB will in no way contravene the 1960 Treaty of Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Answered by Vicky Ford
It is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office with the UK Government to implement, uphold and strengthen the United Nations Convention on the Law of The Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS provides a framework for developing more detailed treaties and instruments that tackle areas of interest to the UK such as the Protocol against smuggling migrants, fisheries instruments, instruments concerning pollution and conservation.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are championing the development of a new Implementing Agreement on marine biodiversity of the High Seas negotiations on which were recently suspended in New York but are expected to resume early in 2023. The UK continues to work through the International Maritime Organisation, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and other bodies to develop regulations, guidance and best practices that support safety, security and conservation of the ocean. We are also deploying our military assets to uphold freedoms where they are challenged, and delivering capacity building to countries to support effective and sustainable management of their marine zones.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer to Question 45069 on 13 September 2021 on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, for what reason her Department does not publish Partnership Principles Assessments.
Answered by Amanda Milling
In line with our transparency commitment policy, the FCDO publishes Memorandums of Understanding and Annual Programme Reviews for programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on DevTracker. We do not publish Partnership Principles Assessments. We have an active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on issues relating to the 'partnership principles' and assess that the PA continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to our agreements.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and the Palestinian Authority, whether her Department has raised concerns with representatives of the Authority about an article in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on 5 April 2021 referring to the Park Hotel suicide bombers as self-sacrificing and heroic.
Answered by Amanda Milling
Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle any language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.