Hong Kong: Bounties for Exiled Pro-democracy Activists

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Meyer

Thursday 6th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords, what specific steps will the Government take to work with our international partners to protect those eight individuals?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, we do work with our international partners, but we also ensure that particularly those under UK jurisdiction are fully protected. Individuals who may be at heightened risk are provided full support, including protective security guidance and other measures where necessary. I will not go into the specific details, but I assure my noble friend that we work with key partners to ensure that these protections are afforded not just in the United Kingdom but, as has been indicated by two noble Lords with their own concerns and those of their families, when they travel internationally.

Ukraine: Ceasefire

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Meyer

Monday 15th May 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords, is it not up to the Ukrainians to decide whether there should be a ceasefire and whether negotiations should start? Given the current situation, where Germany, the UK, France and Italy are helping with additional military aid, maybe this time is not now because maybe now we could finally defeat Russia.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

Of course, I agree with my noble friend. It has been the long-standing position of His Majesty’s Government that ultimately it is for Ukraine to determine and to be at the negotiation table, and as a friend and partner of Ukraine, we will stand with the decision that the Ukrainian Government take.

Ukraine

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Meyer

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I have listened very carefully. I do not believe that at any time I have said, “We’re leaving it to Ukraine”; I said that we are 100% squarely behind Ukraine, both defensively and militarily as well as in support we are giving diplomatically. I can share no better example of engagement than that our Prime Minister and President Zelensky talk regularly once, if not twice, a day. We are providing multilateral support. I shall be at the UN; it is our presidency next month. A lot of our debates will be focused not just on support for Ukraine in the current conflict but on accountability. We will convene a debate on sexual violence in conflict—there have been reports of that in Ukraine. I can give the absolute assurance that, whether it is the FCDO, the Ministry of Defence or the Government as a whole, we are squarely with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder.

As for the future and what happens with Russia and Mr Putin, I agree with the noble Baroness. That is why I exercised caution when it was suggested that perhaps Russia was defeated or is retreating. We are very cynical about that, because Russia has weaponry which it can use and deploy at any time.

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords, as someone of Russian origin, my grandparents having fled the Bolsheviks, can I ask the Minister to ensure that people do not mix up the Putin regime with the Russian people? I have had a few nasty tweets asking whether I am a Russian spy. One must be quite careful. The Russian people are appalled by what is happening.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, earlier in the Statement I said exactly that: our fight or argument or dispute—and the Ukrainians’ argument also—is not with the Russian people. We stand by the Russian people. In Russia, over 60 cities held protests and were targeted. I assure my noble friend that what she says is very much part and parcel of our thinking.

Sanctions

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Meyer

Tuesday 1st March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, on the immediate issue of the sanctions, we have been working through the legislation, and I am grateful to the usual channels. Normally, there is a 28-day period for a debate to prevail after legislation has been laid; we are currently conducting the debates within 24 or 48 hours, so that partly reflects the situation. On the wider legislation we are bringing forward, I know the respective Front Benches and the usual channels are working very hard to accommodate the legislation required.

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords, I too congratulate the Government on all that they are doing for the Ukrainian people. Given that the oligarchs who are close to Putin use lawyers, tax advisers and other such people, what can the Government do to force them to release any information that would follow the money? To be honest, a lot of the money is Putin’s, and he uses oligarchs to move it around.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend again raises an important point. In our debate on Friday, the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, also raised the point that the oligarchs are extremely wealthy and can employ lawyers to good effect. That is why our sanctions regime is both robust and tested in terms of legal thresholds before it is applied, to minimise any litigation that may take place.

Official Development Assistance

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Meyer

Thursday 26th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, in the current year we will meet the 0.7% target. On our obligation to your Lordships’ House to uphold the laws on the statute book, I have already alluded to the fact that my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary will lay out further detail shortly in the other place.

[Baroness Meyer (Con)]

My Lords, the gang of five Prime Ministers, in objecting to a temporary reduction in our aid budget, surely protest too much. Is it not the case that, despite our enduring the worst economic crisis in 300 years, the UK provision of international aid, at 0.5% of GNI, will still be one of the highest in the world, and the second highest in the G7 group of industrialised countries?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend is right: we will remain one of the most generous G7 donors, spending more of our national income, in percentage terms, than the United States, Japan, Canada or Italy. I further assure my noble friend that we stand very firmly in ensuring that, when we look at poverty alleviation, fighting famine, our commitment through the various vaccine summits we have held and the importance of our COP 26 presidency —with the commitment we have made on climate finance —we stand ready to continue to meet our obligations both domestically and internationally.