Holocaust Memorial Bill

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Consideration of Commons amendments and / or reasons
Wednesday 21st January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

My Lords, I commend the very wise words of the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, and support the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, in this important amendment.

I should say first that I respect 150% the honesty and integrity of the Minister; I trust him 100%, but I do not entirely trust the Government to deliver on this. I thank not just the two Labour Peers who were on the Committee but all those Peers from all sides—the other Labour Members, Cross-Benchers, Lib Dems and Conservatives—who raised many concerns about all aspects of this memorial.

The one thing we were united on was that it had to commemorate the Holocaust—the Shoah—and antisemitism. What concerned us during the Committee was that on many occasions when we pushed the question, “Will this be purely about the Shoah?”, we did not get a categorical answer that it would be. We had many reports from other organisations suggesting that it could include Rwanda, Pol Pot, Darfur and others. Those were horrible genocides, I know that, and we have seen some horrible genocides around the world since the end of the Second World War, but they are not the Shoah, and the memorial should be purely about that.

The noble Lord was right: it would be perfectly in scope of the Bill to insert the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Deech. To reject that on the grounds that it would be inappropriate is rather flimsy. When I was chair of the Delegated Powers Committee and we saw the Government taking extraordinary powers to pass regulations, the Government always said, “Ah yes, but we don’t intend to use them”. The intention is irrelevant; it is what is in statute law that counts. Putting this into statute law would guarantee that it was enforced.

The Minister said, if I remember correctly, “Oh, people could challenge any requirement in a statute”. If people can challenge, with difficulty and judicial review, words in a primary Act of Parliament, then how much easier would it be to challenge a letter from the Government to the administrators or the trustees? That seems ripe for judicial review, whereas a statutory requirement would not be.

That is all I wanted to say. As I say, I entirely trust the Minister and his noble intentions, but I do not trust the Government to be able to deliver on this, either through negligence or a deliberate act on their part. The noble Baroness, Lady Deech, is absolutely right in seeking to put this in the Bill.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, I draw attention to the fact that I am, along with Mr Ed Balls, the joint chairman of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

I do not want to make the Minister blush, but I add my tribute to the way he has conducted the negotiations—I think we have arrived at a situation where we can see some progress—but I also associate myself with his words about the noble Lord, Lord Khan, who took this through its various stages with charm and considerable good temper, and we arrived at a better Bill because he was there. I am also grateful to my noble friend Lady Scott on my Front Bench for the way this has come about.

I have always been of the view that this memorial should also celebrate Jewish life and Jewish people, because—and I say this as a non-Jew—Jewish culture is a fundamental part of British identity. Without Jews, this country would be a lesser place. You only have visit a place like Poland to see that the very heart of that country has been ripped out by the removal of the Jews.

I supported the original amendment because this is not an academic exercise or a discussion over particular words. There is a real war going on—I do not think it is wrong to say that—which seeks to undermine and subvert the Holocaust and turn it on its head. We have seen two attempts in recent years to do this. First, there was an attempt within the academic board to extend the museum to cover slavery, which the board fought against solidly, leading to one member resigning. Secondly, we saw last year an attempt to equate the Holocaust with the false accusation of a genocide in Gaza. That awful attempt to invert the Holocaust is one of the reasons why fewer schools are commemorating the Holocaust this year than before. The reason for that is that the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust was not prepared to do “Holocaust-lite”. We are not prepared to dilute it.

But this continues. There is some criticism of Holocaust education. We see from Canada that the former attorney-general, Irwin Cotler, someone known to many Members of the House, regarded Holocaust education in this country as the gold standard. But it is only the gold standard if people attend the courses. Some evaluations from UCL and Visions Schools Scotland show that if people go through the course, things change for the good. But if you are a child of a parent who refuses to allow you to go, if you are on a school governing body that refuses co-operation, if teachers pressurise other teachers to prevent it, then those pupils lose out. That is why we see such bad scores on understanding of the Holocaust.

This is not just about the simple teaching of the past; it is about operating some support for our own liberal democracy. I am delighted to report that we are in advanced negotiations with the Shoah Foundation of the United States, which would like us to be one of the main centres for its database of Holocaust testimony. We already have its testimony for British survivors, but this means that we will be a main player on the scene. There is enthusiasm for this because we will get people to that learning centre—I am about to finish—who would normally not go to any other museum.

I welcome the unity. We should put the past behind us and now put our hands out firmly to opponents and those who are in favour, and work together to ensure that we build something we can be proud of.

[Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, while the tributes are flowing, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Verdirame, who gave one of the best speeches the first time this amendment was discussed, and to the noble Baroness, Lady Deech.

It is truly important to have this discussion and debate, and not just to say that it does not matter. I also do not doubt the sincerity of the noble Lords, Lord Collins of Highbury and Lord Khan of Burnley, who have both been absolutely reassuring. My problem is that I am not reassured by reassurances. I still cannot understand why it is only reassurances, and not firmly fixed. It is not reassuring that this cannot be written down, so that we all know it is not going to be sold out. No disrespect, but a lot of sell-outs happen in politics; however, I do not doubt the integrity of the noble Lords I have mentioned.

I just wanted quickly to just note why this matters. The noble Lord, Lord Pickles, made the point when he referred to the fight. I had written down, “The context of this is a fight”. I do a range of education work, although not this issue, but when I go to universities and schools I get into arguments—obviously enough—about all sorts of things. In a debate about whether there is a genocide in Gaza, because I said there is not, and tried to explain it rationally, I was accused of being a Holocaust denier. When I then tried to untangle why that was not the case and why you would use that term, one of the students said, “The problem is that Jews jealously guard the Holocaust. It is part of their colonial entitlement attitude”. That was quite a normal thing to say. I was shocked; nobody else was.

This is a learning centre. Look at the revelations that have come forth in relation to the MP from Labour Friends of Israel who was stopped from going into a school to teach, as well as the subsequent revelations—exposed by Nicole Lampert—about the goings-on in the National Education Union, a teaching union that is almost institutionally hostile to Israel and that has very strong and openly antisemitic elements to it. People who are worried about the Shoah being relativised or diffused are not being paranoid; this is happening.

Middle East

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right on that, and it is important that there is a viable Palestinian state across the West Bank as well. She will be aware, as I mentioned in my answer, of the reconstruction conference taking place at Wilton Park, which will bring all countries together, including the US and the UK. At the heart of that discussion are how we bring a lasting peace to the region and what reconstruction, support and action are needed. There is also the 20-point plan—it is called a peace plan, but it is a route to a plan in many ways. Those are very much items that are key to the agenda of the summit.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, there should not be any doubt that the Palestinian Authority is riddled with corruption from the top to the bottom. It uses formal and informal security forces to intimidate opposition and has been involved in the murder of opposition individuals. It uses its system to promote death against Jews through its education system—the latest books are outrageous. It gives pensions to people who kill Jews. What reforms are the Government going to press upon the Palestinian Authority, which is despised by most Palestinians, to ensure that it can participate in the peace process?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

Across the region, it has been clear, including from President Abbas, that there needs to be change in the Palestinian Authority. One of the roles of Michael Barber is to shore up the Palestinian Authority and ensure that, where there is corruption, it is rooted out. We have to have a reformed state. Unless we have security in Palestine and security in Israel, there will not be a lasting peace. That does not mean that anybody is saying that things are working well or could work well easily; it means there are several challenges, and he has outlined some of those. Unless we make some progress and get some capacity into that state, working across the world—I come back to the Wilton Park conference, in which I think that is absolutely crucial—we are not going to see the progress. There has to be a viable state and the credibility and confidence of the people of Palestine as well.

Middle East

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I agree with my noble friend and, as I said in response to the earlier question, that is why we have been working with France and the Saudis on the two-state solution. Of course, it looks extremely difficult to apply, but in working hard with allies in the region, I believe that that can be the long-term secure future that can resolve those issues.

I repeat that the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for the Middle East, not just in the past few days but all this week, have constantly been in touch with all our Middle East allies—across those divides, if you like—to ensure that we focus on long-term security, stability and de-escalation. That is what we have been focused on. The long-term solution to Iran’s nuclear capabilities is what President Trump said: do a deal and secure the long-term future.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on their decision to move towards proscribing Palestine Action. I urge them to take the next logical step and proscribe the people who are paying for Palestine Action and for terrorism on our streets in Europe: the IRGC. Can they act quickly, because we need to make our streets safer?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I totally agree with the noble Lord that we need to make our streets safer. Iran’s destabilisation of the Middle East, human rights violations and nuclear escalation also include threats to people in the UK. All these actions are absolutely abhorrent, and we will not hesitate to take the most effective measures against the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We are working at pace to identify further ways to deal with state threats, including those from the IRGC. On 4 March, we announced that we will place the Iranian state, including its intelligence services and the IRGC, on the enhanced tier of the new foreign influence registration scheme. As the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on Monday 19 May, the review of Jonathan Hall KC delivers a suite of recommendations to tackle state threats, and we are committed to taking them forward, including the creation of a new state threats proscription tool. I hope that the noble Lord will understand that we are focused on dealing with that threat.

Conflict in the Middle East

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

We have been very clear about the actions we have taken. I am not going to repeat all of them, including the arrest of Iranian civilians and the actions of the CPS. We have been clear that the evidence has shown the direct involvement of the Iranian Government in these activities. We have taken action, and we have sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We are absolutely determined to ensure that its malign influence cannot be taken any further. We are going to do everything we can to ensure it cannot influence or exert pressure both here and elsewhere.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, I was very surprised that the Minister said that the reason that Iran was seeking to get nuclear power was to intimidate the region. I do not think that is the case at all. If you are a bomb-happy regime, the object is to kill Jews and to wipe Israel off the map. If you are willing to launch nuclear weapons across the valley of Armageddon, snapback and diplomacy do not mean an awful lot.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I do not underestimate the threat Iran poses. When we see the leadership of Iran saying that it wants the destruction of Israel, we must take its threat seriously. I totally understand that, which is why we are absolutely focused on Iran not having access to nuclear weapons. If it had them, it would pose a threat not only to Israel but to the security of this country and many others. That will be what we are focused on. I do not want to keep repeating it, but there is a clear acceptance that the long-term solution will be delivered not by military action but by diplomatic agreements, which is what President Trump has been focused on and has repeatedly said.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear what my noble friend says, but since we came into office this Government have taken action. We stopped the export of arms that could be used in Gaza and we are determined to take further action, particularly with the discussions on the free trade agreement. This is a Government who have taken action, but it is not just about punitive action; it is about working with allies to achieve that goal of a two-state solution. That is why we are very committed to ensuring that the conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia is a success. If we can focus all international allies, including those in the Middle East, on the importance of delivering a two-state solution, this Government will be taking not just punitive action but positive action towards a peaceful solution. I say to the noble Lord opposite that the only real secure future, for both Palestinians and Israel, is a two-state solution where both communities can live in peace.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, if there is to be a recognition of a Palestinian state, will the Minister tell us what its boundaries will be? Will he give an assurance that any recognition would ensure that all parties recognise the right of the Jewish people to have a state?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I think the noble Lord knows the answer. For those who have advocated a two-state solution and support parties towards it, obviously a precondition is the security of the State of Israel. We are absolutely committed to that. On the progress towards a two-state solution, we have been working with the Palestinian Authority, which does recognise that, and we have had progress in the past. But we want to ensure that we support those in the Palestinian Authority who can deliver that two-state solution that the noble Lord referred to. So I do not disagree with him; I just think that he implies—and I strongly say—that we see recognition as part of the process towards the establishment of a two-state solution. We do not see it as the end in itself. When the time is right to do that, it will be when we can deliver a more secure basis for that solution.

Conflict in Gaza

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests. I recently returned from a visit to Israel. The Minister is quite right to say that aid should not be used for a political purpose, and he is quite right to concentrate on resuming aid going in. But the question my noble friend raised on the deliberate stealing of aid by Hamas and the use of that aid to buy ammunition, to sell it on the black market, and to ensure that Hamas continues to control a significant part of Gaza is important. We can have lasting peace only if one side is not dedicated to the utter destruction of the other. We know through the report issued by my noble friend Lord Roberts last week exactly what we are up against, so it is not unreasonable to say that when the aid goes back in, it cannot be business as normal.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. I have made it clear how the United Kingdom Government view the actions of Hamas. It is a terrorist organisation which has committed atrocious crimes that it must be held accountable for. I hear what the noble Lord says in relation to aid, but we are not getting aid in at all at the moment. We want to use all agencies. Certainly, the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, when he was responding on these questions, understood the importance of ensuring that there were facilities to get aid to those people most in need. We will continue to take every measure possible to ensure that is the case. So, I hear the noble Lord, but our priority is to get support to the most vulnerable and those most in need.

Northern Gaza

Lord Pickles Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

Both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have raised the issue of access to humanitarian aid and medical supplies with the Israeli Government. We are also giving support to UNRWA to try to get those supplies through. I think the right reverend Prelate makes an extremely valid point. It is unacceptable that such supplies should not be able to get through to those who need them. We are certainly making the strongest possible representations to ensure that they do get through.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords—