Iran and the Middle East

Lord Fox Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Any threats to BBC Persian service staff in London or anywhere else—but certainly any threats in this country—are completely unacceptable, and our security services and the police work hard to keep them safe. One of the atrocious things about the Iranian regime is the way it has sought to act in the way it has against journalists and those wishing to report the truth about what is happening in Iran.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, one of the consequences of the conflict has been President Trump seeming to clear India and other countries to break sanctions and buy Russian oil, which clearly changes the balance of the economy in the Ukraine war. Does the Minister agree that any political party, particularly His Majesty’s Opposition, which chooses unequivocally to support Donald Trump, is absolutely supporting this policy and letting Ukraine down?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right in that all these conflicts are interconnected in many subtle ways that often are not immediately obvious to those seeking to make political points in this country. It is obviously a matter for His Majesty’s Opposition to answer for their own conduct.