Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Wheatcroft

Wednesday 27th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, again I hear what my noble friend has said but I cannot say any more than I have already on the case and legal proceedings.

[Baroness Wheatcroft (CB)]

My Lords, when he was Foreign Secretary, the man who is now our Prime Minister misspoke about the reason for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being in Iran. Should he not now take personal responsibility for getting her out, as those words undoubtedly worsened her position?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister takes the issue of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and indeed all detainees in Iran, very seriously and is personally engaging on this issue.

NATO: Russia and Ukraine

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Wheatcroft

Thursday 15th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend’s second point in the sense that we continue to work with our NATO partners to ensure exactly that free operation in the Black Sea. On his earlier point, consultation is very much at the centre of the approach of the United States with its NATO allies, including the United Kingdom. As I alluded to earlier, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary was in Brussels yesterday, together with the United States and Secretary of State Blinken, to discuss Ukraine among other key priorities for NATO.

[Baroness Wheatcroft (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published last month, makes much of the UK’s new freedom to pursue different economic and political approaches to those of the EU, but does the Minister agree that, when the threat is such as that posed by Russia to Ukraine, so close to Europe, we should not stand alone—where we will be weak—but work jointly with our EU neighbours?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. We are doing exactly that through the NATO alliance. As I said in my original Answer, the Foreign Secretary has engaged directly with key European partners, including France and Germany, and Italy joined various discussions in that respect.

United States: Diplomatic Relations

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Wheatcroft

Monday 1st March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. That is why the United Kingdom has engaged on an Indo-Pacific tilt in terms of our foreign policy strategy and development objectives, and it is why we are seeking dialogue status within ASEAN. On the JCPOA, we welcome recent announcements from President Biden’s Administration. It is important that Iran also reach out and adhere to the structure of the JCPOA so that we can progress discussions further.

[Baroness Wheatcroft (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, referred to the unequal nature of the UK extradition treaty with the US. On February 12 last year, the Prime Minister referred to the treaty and said:

“I do think that elements of that relationship are unbalanced, and it is certainly worth looking at.”—[Official Report, Commons, 12/2/2020; col. 1.]


Will the Minister assure the House that the Government will begin to work towards a fairer, more equal extradition arrangement with the US Government?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has stated the Government’s intent. We regard our relationship with the United States as a partnership. The relative size and mobility of the populations of the UK and the US naturally results in a greater number of extraditions from the UK to the US than from the US to the UK. Nevertheless, I note what the noble Baroness said and I think my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made our views very clear.