Palestinian Refugees

Debate between Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Lord Lemos

Thursday 13th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I totally agree with that question from the noble Lord and I am delighted he asked it. It is important that I make clear what the Government think are now the urgent priorities following the 20-point plan and our welcome for the ceasefire agreement led by President Trump. We want to move towards the disarming of Hamas and the UK has experience from Northern Ireland that we will deploy. We want to see the deployment of a ceasefire monitoring mission and an international security force, and the implementation of transitional governance arrangements in Gaza. I can tell the noble Lord, and indeed the whole House, that we have deployed UK civilian and military personnel to the Civil-Military Coordination Center that aims to co-ordinate reconstruction efforts across partners in Gaza. I hope the noble Lord will agree that we are doing everything we can for the moment.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

My Lords—

West Papua: Deforestation

Debate between Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Lord Lemos

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. I am very happy to confirm, as I have said, that the UK continues to build on the work of the previous Government at the forefront of international efforts to champion forests and tackle deforestation. I stress that mobilising finance and business for the protection of forests and the ecosystem services they provide is an essential, and perhaps the most important, part of that.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister recognise that someone such as me, who has visited West Papua frequently in recent years, can have no doubt whatever about the scale of the deforestation and the fact that it is being done to plant oil palms? Can he set out what precise steps we are taking to ensure that palm oil produced in that way and as a result of deforestation does not enter the United Kingdom?

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. I have already commented on palm oil, but I will comment specifically on palm oil products and other forest products entering the UK. We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest-risk commodities is not driving deforestation, and we will set out our approach to addressing UK consumption of forest-risk commodities in due course.