Prime Minister’s Meeting with Alexander Lebedev

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the truth about this meeting must come out. This person has been sanctioned by our allies for enabling the invasion of Ukraine and been described by the Russian intelligence agency FSB as a “useful asset”. In the other place, Vicky Ford was unable to offer any clarity; I hope the Minister will do so now. When she was asked whether Boris Johnson informed officials, she could not really answer. She corrected the Statement, which the Minister has just read out, saying that Boris Johnson could not remember whether he told officials. We need to know the truth.

First, did the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Security Service know about this meeting in advance and did they try to stop it? Secondly, the record of Ministers’ interests says that the then Foreign Secretary accepted hospitality in Italy for himself and a guest, but he travelled home alone. Who was the guest? Finally, it was reported that Alexander Lebedev was trying to arrange a phone call from Italy between the then Foreign Secretary and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Did that call take place? I note what the Minister said about Boris Johnson writing to the committee, but we need more than that letter—we need a thorough investigation to be held by the Cabinet Secretary. We need to know the truth.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord has asked a number of questions. As he will have seen, in the Liaison Committee session my right honourable friend the Prime Minister promised to write to the committee on those very questions and similar specific ones asked of him. I think it is best that we wait for that letter. I note the noble Lord’s last point; one thing I absolutely believe in is the importance—I hope noble Lords will regard and respect this—of any Prime Minister or Minister acting with integrity. Of course there are occasions where someone seeks to meet one on one; as a Minister, you would immediately and diligently report that back and record those issues, because it is important that all parts of a conversation are recorded fully. However, as I said, it is best that we wait for that letter. I am sure there will be other occasions on which the noble Lord may return to this subject.

Nigeria

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I certainly associate myself with my noble friend’s remarks on the courage of the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, and her endeavours to keep this issue on the front burner. The Commonwealth is now a group of 56 states; it provides the ability to tackle the very issues that my noble friend has raised and to determine how we can work constructively to improve human rights.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the conference starting today and the noble Lord’s speech, for which I was present. Nigeria’s constitution contains very positive words about prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, yet in the sharia states, particularly in the north and centre of the country, these are frequently disregarded. I have raised with him the case of Mubarak Bala, a humanist who has been sentenced to 24 years despite these guarantees of freedom. Can the Minister tell us just how he engaged with the Nigerian Government at this conference— I did not notice their presence—and what he will do to raise this issue in a more public way, particularly for the rest of this conference?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I think the noble Lord was eavesdropping on my conversation with my private secretary as I dashed over from the conference—I was asking who was here from Nigeria. I await that answer, but I assure the noble Lord that I am seeking to engage quite directly with the Nigerians. I have been in various back-to-back bilaterals this morning. He raises the important case of Mubarak Bala, which we have talked about previously. It is condemned; he is quite right to talk about constitutional protections, but in every country, no matter where it is in the world —Nigeria is no exception—constitutions are there for a reason: to provide all citizens with protection and security. Governments need to ensure that they are practically applied.

Tigray

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2022 Lords Chamber

Tabled by

[Lord Collins of Highbury]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia.

[Baroness Wheeler (Lab)]

On behalf of my noble friend, and with his permission, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in his name on the Order Paper.

Commonwealth

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Howell, for his excellent introduction to this debate. The noble Lord is a constant factor in debates on the Commonwealth—joined, of course, by the Minister, whose record of being able to stay in office for so long is incredible. Do not get me wrong: I wish for that to continue.

As the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, reminded us, this CHOGM had been postponed since June 2020. I am pleased that the 26th meeting finally took place, with the fitting theme:

“Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming.”


The fact that it was hosted in Kigali by Rwanda, the latest addition to the Commonwealth, which joined in 2009 without historic links to the UK, was a reminder that the summit is about diversity. That is what makes the Commonwealth what it is. It is the difference that unites us; that is very important.

CHOGMs present an opportunity for members to work together on shared ambitions and to consider what has been delivered since the last summit. At the London CHOGM in 2018, the UK Government announced a series of projects in support of the outcomes, later itemised in a Ministerial Statement by the Minister in January 2019. I will return to a number of those specific projects later. I suppose I am old-fashioned in this regard, but I think it is important to understand what we set out to achieve at the last meeting, and then consider what was achieved. We seem to constantly reinvent the wheel when it comes to CHOGMs. So, I hope the Minister can tell us how many of the projects announced in 2018 were implemented. Is there a reason why we did not get an update on the 2019 Ministerial Statement at the end of our period as chair-in-office?

As we have heard, the 56 nations which constitute the Commonwealth cover a population of 2.5 billion but, both within and between the constituent parts, we see massive inequality, as highlighted by the noble Lord, Lord Hussain. I am therefore pleased that the communiqué noted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development—sadly, a theme that could have been better reflected in this debate—as well as the opportunity to accelerate progress, but it was disappointing that the agreement did not state explicitly any concrete steps to realise those opportunities. Nevertheless, the discussions showed that leaders are engaging on the subject, but I hope the Minister can elaborate on what exactly was discussed on the sustainable development goals, and whether there was any serious analysis of the progress in meeting them.

Unfortunately, the Commonwealth is still off track in meeting the goals, with progress still stalling as a result of the pandemic. The 2022 Commonwealth SDG tracker shows that the countries which make up the group are lagging most with SDG 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and SDG 10, reduced inequalities. On the latter goal, I hope the Minister can update the house on the SheTrades Commonwealth programme, announced following CHOGM in London.

However, there is room for optimism. More progress has been made on SDG 12, responsible consumption and production. I hope the noble Lord can tell us whether the Government have made any assessment of the reason for this. Can the Minister update the House on progress on climate change and implementing the ocean protection agreements, again made at the London summit?

Overall, the tracker shows that collective progress on the SDGs slowed significantly for Commonwealth countries over the past year. Can the noble Lord give us a better indication of what steps the FCDO is taking to ensure greater progress, especially considering that the Prime Minister did not mention the SDGs or sustainability in his opening remarks at CHOGM?

I would like to move on to the question of equality and human rights, raised by many noble Lords today. The communiqué’s focus on human rights was largely intertwined with the concept of the rule of law, with the main action encouraging

“the establishment and strengthening of … Human Rights Institutions”.

It is slightly disappointing that, as part of this, there was only a brief mention of civil society, although we have heard a lot about it in today’s debate. We have heard about the events prior to the meeting—the Commonwealth Youth Forum; the Commonwealth Business Forum, mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Marland; the Commonwealth Women’s Forum; and of course the Commonwealth People’s Forum. As is the case with all summits and international institutions, we should be cautious that the involvement of civil society is not merely a tick-box exercise. The fact that these forums were held is good, but let us see what was heard from those forums and how they were engaged.

In response to my Oral Question on Tuesday, the Minister said that

“one of the areas … pursued during”

the UK’s

“time in chair-in-office was to strengthen the voice of civil society within … the Commonwealth.”

He said that “over 10 Foreign Ministers” engaged “quite directly” with civil society at the CHOGM meeting. Perhaps he can tell us a bit more in his response what form this took. The noble Lord also asserted that the UK continued

“to fund human rights priorities, including those of LGBT rights. They were featured very prominently in the civil society discussions”.—[Official Report, 28/6/22; col.539.]

Can the noble Lord therefore tell us exactly how much of that funding has reduced between the London CHOGM and this CHOGM? I am concerned that the very groups that we have been trying to support have had their support substantially cut. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, mentioned LGBT rights in particular, and his visit.

I was really concerned to read that, in support of the New Plan for Immigration that will fix our broken immigration system, someone who sought refuge in this country because he was gay was last night put on a plane and sent back to Nigeria, where the penalty for being homosexual is up to 14 years in jail. This individual, outed in Nigerian newspapers, has also had several death threats. It is not uncommon for lesbian and gay people to be subject to those horrific sorts of abuses.

I hope that the Minister will take my comments on board because we cannot say one thing to people then do the complete opposite. We have to be consistent, as the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, said, in support of our obligations to protect people. I hope that the Minister will take that back to his ministerial colleagues.

One thing we have heard earlier this week was the concern of the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, which she raised in her Oral Question on the Commonwealth. Her particular concern was that since Rwanda hosted this CHOGM, it was in a host country that has failed to take further the opportunities for women and girls. Again, I hope that that will be a priority.

I welcome what the noble Lord, Lord Howell, said in relation to the reappointment of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Scotland. It is absolutely right to provide that continuity and that there should be a successful, sensible handover of power and responsibility. However, I cannot fail to express our disappointment that the UK Government sought to undermine her position and seek her removal. I hope that we can overcome that and work together. I heard the Minister’s assurances earlier this week about how we will continue to work with the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Scotland, to ensure that the Commonwealth can focus properly on the 2030 agenda.

South Africa: Just Energy Transition Partnership

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, as I said to the noble Lord, Lord Oates, I agree, and we are very much at one. Perhaps I did a slight injustice in the brevity of my Answer to the noble Lord, Lord Oates: I pay tribute to his excellent work in re-establishing the APPG.

On my noble friend’s question, the United Kingdom has given a specific commitment to the partnership: of the overall initial $8.5 billion of public capital, the United Kingdom is providing $1.8 billion. We will be looking to see how we can leverage further financing in providing the terms needed to make that crucial energy shift from coal to more sustainable sources.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, of course it is an excellent model and one to be followed, but lessons need to be learned so that it can be applied to other developing countries. Moving from 90% reliance on coal is a huge task, but other countries need to make the same sort of transition. One of the organisations the UK Government commit to is British International Investment—the old CDC. How will the lessons learned from this programme be adopted by British International Investment in terms of the transition programmes it operates?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord. I will be open with noble Lords: when you sit down directly with many countries across the developing world, as I did at CHOGM last week, there can be quite challenging discussions at times over the issue of transition, particularly in light of the current global crisis and what we are seeing on energy prices from Ukraine and, indeed, on food prices. That said, I can assure the noble Lord, Lord Collins, that British International Investment, the UK development financial institution, is very much a part of this £1.8 billion commitment. In terms of lessons learned, I think the speed with which these structures can be set up is a direct learning but, equally, we need to ensure local buy-in. This is not about a country such as the United Kingdom prescribing a solution; it must come from within.

Women’s Rights to Reproductive Healthcare: United States

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for repeating that response. In the other place, Amanda Milling highlighted the priority given to women and girls in the international development strategy, including the right to sexual and reproductive health. The judgment, as the Minister rightly says, is a matter for the US jurisdiction, but it will no doubt give oxygen to the evangelical right across all continents. So positive words will not be enough to protect a woman’s right to choose. Can the Minister highlight what we will do to support women, particularly civil society groups and other women’s groups, to ensure that their human right to choose abortion if they need it is protected? What will we do to support them?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I am sure the noble Lord acknowledges that, over many years, the United Kingdom has taken a strong and principled position on this. Indeed, the noble Lord and I have had exchanges on this matter, and I am sure he recalls when challenges were posed in the United Nations Security Council, when a resolution was passed on conflict-related sexual violence with an omission on sexual and reproductive health. At that time—I was there—we used the explanation of vote as an opportunity to, once again, restate the very rights articulated by the noble Lord.

I do not think there is a difference of perspective here between the Government and Her Majesty’s Opposition, and it is important that we stand up for the right for women to have access in this way. As I have said before, what is happening in the United States is a matter for the United States, but the United Kingdom will retain its strong and principled stand in this respect.

Commonwealth

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, as my noble friend will be aware, the issue of girls’ education remains—and rightly so—a priority for Her Majesty’s Government and our Prime Minister. I can assure my noble friend that we have had a strong exchange of concerns and views with all members of our Commonwealth family over the importance of education, not least for girls across the now 56 countries of the Commonwealth. We will continue to pursue this objective, not just in our conversations with countries within the Commonwealth but beyond. Rwanda remains very much committed to the values of the Commonwealth family.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, one of the priorities set by the London CHOGM was LGBT rights. I congratulate the Minister on his work to ensure that this continued throughout the chair-in-office period. What can he tell us about how this work will continue over the next two years? We must bear in mind —as he acknowledged to me yesterday—that LGBT rights are now under threat globally, and we need to ensure that we continue to act.

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the Foreign Secretary has promised to do whatever it takes to secure the release of these individuals. In addition to the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations that have intervened in similar circumstances, there is of course the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who has been quite effective in direct communications with Russia, particularly on humanitarian corridors. Can the Minister tell us whether the Foreign Secretary or the Prime Minister has been in contact with the Secretary-General to raise these cases?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, the Secretary-General himself has had to face many challenges in his direct engagement with Russia. Indeed, although he made a visit to Moscow, that was possible only after various representations were made. Russia was blocking his visit, and I am sure that many within the international multilateral framework are frustrated by the lack of engagement Russia has shown on a wide range of issues. What I can share with the noble Lord is that we are engaging with all partners, including the United Nations, at the very highest level across a range of issues, including those of detainees.

British Council Contractors: Afghanistan

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the situation in Afghanistan is obviously dire: there are humanitarian and human rights crises. In the Commons last Thursday, we heard that just under 200 British Council contractors are still trapped in Afghanistan. All of them are in fear of their lives. We know their names but not their locations. Bob Blackman asked the Minister, Vicky Ford, if the applications for those people to come out of Afghanistan to the UK can be “lodged by other people” on their behalf. As he rightly pointed out,

“people will have to spend time online and getting to places that will be unsafe for them to travel to.”—[Official Report, Commons, 23/6/22; col. 966.]

In response, Vicky Ford said that she would examine whether “third parties” can put in applications. Can the Minister advise the House on the progress on this because speed is absolutely of the essence, lives are at risk and we owe a duty of care to these people who worked on our behalf?

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, first, I put on record my sincere thanks to the noble Lord for his constructive engagement on this important issue both during Operation Pitting and subsequently. He will be fully aware of my direct engagement on this. We welcome the opening of this particular pathway.

The noble Lord makes a valid point about accessibility. We are working directly with the three key partners that we announced in the three cohorts; the British Council is primary among them. The important thing is to get these people registered on the portal and here. The difficulties within Afghanistan are well known to us; we are of course working with key partners, such as the British Council, to ensure that we identify and look for safe passage for those of whom we are aware and whose details we have—although their locations may be sensitive—to leave Afghanistan and move onwards towards the United Kingdom. I cannot delve into more detail than that but I can reassure the noble Lord that we are working directly with the organisations we have identified and the British Council is a priority among them.

Ukraine

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. As Putin’s war of attrition against the people of Ukraine continues, we must stand firm with our NATO allies in providing military, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian assistance. We are at one with the Government on their support for Ukraine.

The people of Ukraine continue to show extraordinary heroism in defending their country against unprovoked and unjustifiable attacks that are having ramifications around the world, as the Minister put it in the Statement. Putin’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is now driving a global humanitarian catastrophe, leading to a rise of 41% in global food prices. As a result, the International Rescue Committee projects that almost 50 million people will face acute hunger this year. The World Food Programme puts the estimate at 47 million.

The Minister will recall that last week I asked him about the Government’s response to the EU President’s strong backing at the Security Council for UN Secretary-General Guterres’s efforts to get a package agreement that would allow grain exports from Ukraine and ensure that Russian food and fertilisers have unrestricted access to global markets. In his response, the Minister referred to the Prime Minister’s conversation with President Zelensky that week but was not able to give a precise read-out of their discussion, only to say that this issue was a key focus of it. Is he in a position to respond more fully today? What precisely are we doing to work in concert with the EU on this important area?

Also, what progress has been made in identifying alternative sources of food supplies to tackle the global food crisis? Will the Government deliver on Labour’s call for the UK to convene an emergency global food summit with the UN?

This is an international crisis, but we must also remember that the people of Ukraine are paying the highest price. Unfortunately, the recently published international development strategy weakened and cut UK support for the multilateral system, which has been crucial to the delivery of humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine. Can the Minister confirm how much of the humanitarian support pledged to Ukraine to date will be delivered through the multilateral agencies?

Even in Russia, Putin’s invasion is now having disastrous consequences. In recent days, we have read how Alexei Navalny has been removed from a prison, his whereabouts now unknown. Can the Minister tell us what the FCDO has been doing to raise Mr Navalny’s case with Russian counterparts and to seek assurances for his safety and security?

As much as we must recognise that many in Russia are suffering as a result of Putin’s illegal invasion, there is also a ruling elite that must be held to account, as the Minister highlighted in the Statement. The Government claimed some time ago that they were looking into the possibility of confiscating and repurposing frozen Russian assets to provide compensation to victims of war in Ukraine. Since then, we have seen the US, Canada and the EU all developing proposals in this area. Is the Minister able to confirm whether the Government are still pursuing this course of action? If so, what resources have they committed to seeking a solution?

We must also continue to ask what we can do to bolster the security of other democratic states in the region, which will be less safe and secure as a result of the invasion. We should stand in full support of Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO, which we hope can be completed as quickly as possible. On that point, exactly what efforts is the FCDO making to persuade counterparts in Turkey to ensure that avoiding delays on these applications is paramount?

I welcome the Minister’s assurance in the Statement that the UK will continue to stand with Ukraine at this difficult and incredibly harmful period in its history. We stand with the Government in support of Ukraine.

[Lord Stoneham of Droxford (LD)]

My Lords, I also welcome the actions that the British Government have taken to support the Ukrainian nation and its people, including welcoming the provision of multiple launch rocket systems. However, sometimes I get the impression—and the flavour of this Statement indicates this—that the Government think they are the only leading supporter of Ukraine. Actually, we as a nation should be more interested in partnerships being strengthened through this action with other nations, particularly through NATO and with the EU, because that is the organisation that is right on the doorstep of Ukraine.

We know that Russia is using hunger as a weapon of war, with the continued Russian blockade on Ukrainian Black Sea ports, where 98% of Ukrainian grain and wheat exports are harboured. We know that this is a deliberate tactic of war that will have catastrophic global reverberations. Is the UK involved in plans to release those grain stocks, particularly over land? Who are we working with to secure vital future food supplies from these sources?

The war in Ukraine and the global fallout that it has caused are a crisis of epic proportions, which makes the Government’s actions on international aid even more bewildering. Does the Minister really believe it is still appropriate to cut the international aid budget by 35%, as laid out in the Foreign Secretary’s international development strategy? How much of the £220 million pledged to Ukraine has already been delivered, and what impact has it had on the war and the humanitarian crisis? Is that money being kept quite separate from our normal overseas aid plans?

The Liberal Democrats campaigned hard to put pressure on this Government for the golden visa scandal to be ended. It saw thousands of visas granted to Putin’s associates, who laundered their dirty money and reputations in our country—the very same people whom the Government have now sanctioned. For months now the Government have told us that the review into the scandal will be published in due course, but little clarity has been forthcoming. Why are they delaying the publication of that report? Will the Minister confirm a timetable for publication?

We welcome the concept of a Marshall aid plan, but, to be effective, that requires the wholehearted support not just of this country but principally of the USA and the EU. What discussions are taking place with the EU so that there is a genuine partnership to make best use of the limited available resources? Obviously Ukraine is likely to be the principal beneficiary of this aid but, given the migration, the problems in Ukraine’s economy and the impact in Europe, partnership in Europe is very important to the success of any Marshall aid programme. Will the Government please comment?