Iran

Lord Dubs Excerpts

Thursday 15th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I need to repeat what I said: the future should be for the people of Iran to determine, not the UK Government.

On the issue of asylum claims and the closure of the embassy, I understand what the noble Lord is saying, but our first priority—and this is always difficult—is to our UK staff who are based in Tehran. That is a long-established way of working: we have to look after those for whom we are directly responsible. That makes support for others in Tehran and Iran more difficult. We understand that, and it is why these decisions are not taken lightly, but we had to do that in order to secure their safety.

[Lord Dubs (Lab)]

My Lords, given the strong possibility that many Iranians will seek to flee for safety from their murderous regime, I wonder whether the best approach by this Government would be to have a united European approach to asylum seekers, so that we could all take our share of responsibility for those Iranians who make their way to Europe seeking safety.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I do not think there is really anything to disagree with there. There needs to be greater co-operation internationally, not least in Europe, around support for refugees, and making sure that journeys are taken safely and that people are not exploited, and worse, along the way, which is all too often what we see happen.