Middle East Peace Process/Syria and Iran

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Anne McGuire

Tuesday 8th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

The £100 million will be added to the £400 million we have already committed; the great majority of this goes through the international agencies. We will make subsequent announcements about where exactly the recipients of that will be. I mentioned in my statement some of the totals before the £100 million—for Lebanon and for Jordan, where a great deal has gone. But, as I have also said, a good deal of this aid is getting inside Syria. It is not sent on any discriminatory basis—those connected to the UK or not connected to the UK. It is sent to help people in need. It is providing medicine, sanitation, water supplies, blankets, tents and so on to people, wherever we can get these things to them. I know that my colleagues in the Department for International Development will have more detail that they could give the hon. Lady, and I will ask them to write to her with that.

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

May I endorse the thanks from Members from across the House to the previous Minister and welcome the new Minister? As the Foreign Secretary may have seen, the chairman of the Charity Commission has said that money intended to ease the refugee crisis was “undoubtedly” going to extremist groups. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that in making these general comments the chairman of the Charity Commission needs to be very careful not to undermine the British people’s confidence in giving money to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal? It is undertaking significant humanitarian aid with the £20 million already raised in supporting those refugees from Syria.

[Mr Hague]

It is very important that we are able to continue to mobilise the immense British generosity we see in cases like this, where people are willing to give to these appeals. Clearly, we are one of the leading nations in this respect in what we provide from taxpayers’ resources, but many individuals and families also make a contribution, which helps to make a serious difference on the ground. I have not seen in detail the Charity Commission’s comments, but all of us will want to continue to urge people to give generously and responsibly to these appeals.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Anne McGuire

Tuesday 28th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

We have improved the nomination procedure by advertising the position publicly and subjecting applicants to interview by an independent panel of experts, prior to ministerial clearance. My hon. Friend raises a legitimate point. As things stand, parliamentary decisions on this matter are inconsistent with existing constitutional practice in the United Kingdom, and any change to the current procedure would, of course, set a precedent with wider implications. That can be debated in the House. I am conscious of the interest that the House takes and commit to keeping it updated on the progress made.

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

8. What support his Department is providing to private sector initiatives in the west bank.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Anne McGuire

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Well, I agree with my own French counterpart, and with the Prime Minister and the President of France, on the way in which they have put this. I think that the French Defence Minister has said one or two things that differ from that. My own colleague, Alain Juppé, is absolutely clear on this. He was with me at the Libya contact group meeting in Istanbul on Friday, and at our Brussels meeting yesterday. France and the United Kingdom take exactly the same position: Colonel Gaddafi has lost legitimacy, and negotiations certainly exclude the possibility of his remaining in power. The United States has made that position very forcefully to the Libyan regime as well in recent days, and that is our united position.

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

T8. The Secretary of State will be aware that the UK ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, said that if there is “a UN resolution” about “a Palestinian state, and nothing changes on the ground, this will create a dangerous situation.”Given the Foreign Secretary’s ambition to have peace negotiations started as soon as possible, can he give us an insight into why, when the Quartet met on 11 July, it failed to agree a statement on President Obama’s framework for peace negotiations?

[Mr Hague]

The answer is that discussions continue within the Quartet. There was a difference of view between the United States on the one side and the European Union, the United Nations and Russia on the other about the details of a Quartet statement. I hope that those differences can be resolved. We welcome the fact that the United States has said, as we urged them, that a settlement should be based on 1967 borders. That has been a big step forward, but there are continuing disagreements over the definition of a Jewish state and over the precise way in which to phrase a commitment to 1967 borders, so we are working to overcome those differences. That is the current situation.