Prime Minister’s Statement

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Boris Johnson

Saturday 19th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me first say that I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman in this sense: together he and I, and the rest of his group, made a case powerfully to the EU that it was necessary for Northern Ireland to come out of the customs union—which was not, by the way, a point that was accepted by the EU—and we were successful in that. The right hon. Gentleman is critical of the arrangements, but the significant point about a customs union is that it is a union that sets its own tariffs and duties at the perimeter around that customs union, and that is what the whole of the UK will do, including Northern Ireland. And let us be frank, that is not what the European Commission or our European friends thought would be the result of these negotiations. I believe that it is a great success for Northern Ireland and the whole country.

The arrangements that have made that possible, of course, are temporary and determined by consent. I do think it a pity that it is thought necessary for one side or the other in the debate in Northern Ireland to have a veto on those arrangements because, after all—and I must be very frank about this—the people of this country have taken a great decision embracing the entire four nations of this country, by a simple majority vote that went 52:48 and which we are honouring now. I think that principle should be applied elsewhere, and I see no reason why it should not be applied in Northern Ireland as well. It is fully compatible with the Good Friday agreement.

[Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Ind)]

Before I decide whether to jump on the Prime Minister’s bus, I would like to be just a little clearer about the destination; I would like to be reassured that it remains the deep and special partnership with the European Union that we promised the British people in our 2017 election manifesto. In the absence of the UK-wide backstop, which has now gone from the package, the best way to give us that reassurance is to ensure a proper role for Parliament in the process of the future negotiations. So could the Prime Minister today make a commitment to accept the Nandy-Snell amendments, which the previous Government agreed would prevail?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly give that commitment.

G7 Summit

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am glad that the hon. Lady has given me occasion to remind the House that there are now in fact 700 more doctors in the NHS since the vote to leave the EU. Just in the last six weeks, we have been able to announce another £1.8 billion going to 20 new hospital upgrades around the country, in addition to the £34 billion extra that the Conservative Government are putting into the NHS. I am grateful to her for allowing me to point that out.

[Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has assured me that he is very keen to get a deal with the European Union, but last Friday Chancellor Merkel of Germany observed somewhat acerbically that nine days into the 30 days that the Prime Minister had requested during his visit to Berlin, she had not yet seen any proposals from the United Kingdom. Could the Prime Minister now make a commitment to publish this afternoon the UK’s proposals, so that those of us who are considering what to do later today can have had the benefit of seeing them? Will he further commit to transmitting those proposals without delay to the European Union?

Britain in the World

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Boris Johnson

Monday 1st June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I will make some progress, but I will come back to the hon. Gentleman because he has been very persistent.

When it comes to tackling Islamist extremism and its consequences, we will need a comprehensive approach, deploying every one of the tools available to us in a generational struggle against an evil but amorphous foe. As the brutal attacks in the past year by Islamist terrorists in Tunisia, Belgium, France, Australia, Canada and elsewhere have demonstrated, this is not just about Iraq and Syria; instability and extremism in one part of the world can end up costing innocent lives on the other side of the globe.

Established groups such as ISIL and al-Qaeda have an international reach and pose a direct threat to the safety of British citizens and those of our allies. Newer extremist groups aspire to match them. They threaten stability in regions critical to our prosperity and our security, and the brutality and suffering they inflict on communities in the areas they currently control have led to millions of people being forced to flee from their homes in search of safety.

That is why the 60-nation international coalition against ISIL, in which the UK plays a leading role, is developing a comprehensive response across five mutually reinforcing lines of effort: supporting military operations and training; stopping the flow of foreign fighters; cutting off ISIL’s funding; providing humanitarian relief to those displaced by ISIL’s advance; and delegitimising ISIL and its messaging. We will remain at the forefront of the battle to degrade and ultimately destroy Islamist extremism in the middle east and Africa, and to stop it spreading and undermining democracy in south-east Asia, especially in Indonesia, the largest country in the Islamic world.

[Boris Johnson (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend is speaking very well about everything Britain can do to prevent ISIL from killing people in Syria and the middle east. What can we do to prevent the appalling tragedy that might befall the great ruins—the great archaeological site, I should say—in Palmyra? Is there any hope he can offer?

[Mr Hammond]

I know that my hon. Friend is extremely concerned about this issue, but he will know that ISIL, for what it is worth, has given some limited assurances about its intentions with regard to the site. The problem is that the principal instrument the coalition has to deploy is air power, and he can well understand the difficulty in deploying air power to protect historical sites—that does not make sense. I am afraid that the answer lies in the relentless pursuit of the campaign against ISIL: pushing them back on the ground, pushing them back wherever they present themselves.