Syria

Lord Soley Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

This is the biggest humanitarian appeal ever. Half the country’s population has been displaced, and we are constantly playing catch-up. The UN relief effort is, despite the 71%, still critically underfunded; it is constantly kept at the table, and we continue to assess it. The longer this goes on, the larger the humanitarian need. Without being able to give specifics about what that humanitarian need will be, we should be even more encouraged to bring this matter to a political settlement so that refugees and displaced people can return to their homes.

[Lord Soley]

Can I take the Minister back to her penultimate answer about the religious aspect? I agree with her about Bosnia; the failure to intervene radicalised and organised people. What I struggle with, and I am certain the Government do too, is the religious divide and how it is moving. The Sunni-Shia divide is getting wider and was never as it is now. Driven, as it must be to some extent, by divisions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, I wonder what thought has been given to the Sunni-Shia divide. If that becomes, as it may well do, a much wider issue playing out on the streets of Baghdad and elsewhere, we have got a much wider and more complex problem. The Minister has painted a picture which is already complex, but underlying it is a religious divide issue which is feeding some of the battles.

[Baroness Warsi]

This is something with which the Foreign Office is acutely engaged. The concern, not only in relation to Syria but in the wider region, is that intra-community tension is becoming more apparent and support for that intra-community tension compounds that problem. It is a phenomenon of more recent years. On a personal level, my background makes me half Sunni and half Shia. As I was growing up, it was never considered to be that unusual as so many families came from that mixed background. Recent political events have brought certain differences into stark light. We see that not just in what happened in Iraq but in the wider region and also now coming to the fore in places like Pakistan. It is something that we are aware of and about which we are doing a huge amount of work, both on the ground and in strategic thinking at the Foreign Office.

Participation of Arabs in Public Life

Lord Soley Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble Lord will be aware, as will other noble Lords, that there are many people from the Arab community—people who identify themselves as Arab—resident in this country who were born here or are British citizens. Many are extremely successful, such as Dr Hany El-Banna, the co-founder of Islamic Relief; a rower from the Arab community took part in the Olympics. I go back to the approach that this Government have, which is not to engage with communities purely on the basis of their race and religion. It is right for the Government to create the conditions by ensuring that there are no barriers to integration and equipping people with the appropriate language, opportunities and spaces to meet people of different communities and achieve their full potential.

[Lord Soley]

As chairman of the Arab-Jewish Forum, I think the Minister might agree with me—and I hope she does—that there are a large number of Arabs who participate as local councillors or school governors, and on a range of other issues, but they do not always get recognised. A few years ago, I very nearly got an Arab to be a Member of this House but unfortunately he got squeezed out, as people do given the vast numbers coming in these days. My noble friend, who raised this question, is absolutely right. It would be sensible. There are a lot of Arabs in this country who are full citizens and take part very fully, and it should not be impossible for one of them to be a Member of this House. Even bearing in mind that I go around saying this House is far too big in number, the principle is right.

[Baroness Warsi]

I agree with the noble Lord that there are many Arabs playing a hugely influential role in large parts of society, including as councillors. I think the noble Lord will also agree that those who identify themselves as Arabs have many different countries of origin, backgrounds and, indeed, religions—there are many people who are Arab and Christian or Arab and Muslim, for example. I agree with him. Another hugely successful Arab is Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub, whom many will know as a world-leading transplant surgeon.

North Korea

Lord Soley Excerpts

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble and gallant Lord clearly speaks from experience in relation to his own visit and his own dialogue. I can only speak on behalf of our Government. Even in very difficult circumstances we felt it was appropriate to continue our dialogue and our discussions in whatever opportunities present through our embassy in North Korea.

[Lord Soley]

Can the Minister tell us a little more about the way we are trying to draw China into a longer and deeper discussion about how we deal with North Korea? China has an enormous problem on its own border, not just because of the military side but also because of starving refugees trying to get across that border. Surely a large part of this must be our attempt to get China more fully engaged in a longer-term proposal as this regime is one of the most awful and most dangerous in the world.

[Baroness Warsi]

I agree with the noble Lord that China has to be part of the solution in relation to North Korea. The noble Lord will be aware that it is part of the six-nation discussions, which of course also include the United States, Russia and Japan.

European Council: December Meeting

Lord Soley Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Soley]

Although the economic issues just discussed are probably the most important, can the Government also look at the way in which these international companies use the different tax regimes within the European Union to avoid their responsibilities in individual countries, and also perhaps at the semi-monopolistic practices of such companies? It is fairly easy—indeed, one might say pleasant—to boycott Starbucks, but Google and Amazon are a lot more difficult and are semi-monopolistic. It is something the EU should take a look at.

[Baroness Warsi]

The question goes beyond the immediate Question but I am sure the noble Lord will agree that the Government have been deeply committed to making sure that those who should pay tax do pay tax. We have invested more in HMRC to make sure that those who should pay tax in this country do pay tax in this country.

BBC: World Service

Lord Soley Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Coussins]

My Lords—

[Lord Soley]

Does the Minister accept that China and Russia in particular are rapidly on the rise with international services—Russia is now one of the fastest growing—and that if we do not emphasise the BBC and put the funds into it, particularly in the Middle East area, then frankly we are putting at risk not just our reputation but, more importantly, the dissemination of accurate views about crucially important events world wide?

[Baroness Warsi]

There are a number of ways in which the UK can continue to exercise its soft power; the BBC World Service is one of them. I am sure, however, that the House will also agree that extending our embassies and our consulates and having extra staff—extending our diplomatic network—are all part and parcel of ensuring that we continue to play an influential role in the world.

Bahrain

Lord Soley Excerpts

Wednesday 21st November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

My Lords, I understand that officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are in touch with, and have had some contact with, the two specific cases to which my noble friend refers. I know that he has strong views in relation to this matter, but I would take exception to the description given to my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. Indeed, earlier this week I myself met with Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, who is the Foreign Minister, and indeed the individual to which my noble friend refers. It was a robust and frank exchange, and a conversation in which human rights were openly and frankly discussed.

[Lord Soley]

We are all aware of the influence of Iran in this area, but how much have we discussed with the Bahraini authorities the difficulties that they face as a result of the two branches of Islam—Shia and Sunni—and involving that in the constitutional discussions that are taking place? It is very important, and there are ways of addressing it. Have they discussed it? I should declare an interest as the chairman of the Good Governance Foundation, which operates in the region.

[Baroness Warsi]

Certainly, we have these specific discussions regularly around freedom of religion. I spoke with the Foreign Minister when he was here this week specifically about that issue, and we had a lengthy conversation about the Shia-Sunni dynamic in Bahrain. We also spoke about historic coexistence between these two theologies within Islam. Indeed, we had a lengthy conversation about my own history when I explained to him that I was half-Sunni and half-Shia.

Middle East

Lord Soley Excerpts

Friday 16th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Soley]

I wish to address my brief comments to trends in the region and how we can be a positive influence on them. In doing so, I declare an interest as a director of the Good Governance Foundation. The dangers in the region are clear and we all know them. There is the unresolved and tragic Israeli/Palestinian question. There is the danger of an unpredictable regime in Iran. There is the growing conflict between and within Sunni and Shia groups, and as the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, indicated, the extremes of religion can be very dangerous. Indeed, I would argue that political ideologies have been replaced by religious ideologies, and not just in the Middle East. Those extremes are just as dangerous, if not more so. Then of course there is the question of the unpredictable outcomes of revolutions to which the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, drew our attention. It is easy to slip into the mode of saying that what has been happening in the Middle East will have a positive outcome. In fact, it is far more unpredictable than that, but I hope that the trends are going in the right direction.

What we can forget when addressing all the dangers that I have just listed and which have already been alluded to by other speakers in the debate is that there is also a positive side in the Middle East. For the first time in many years, I have been hearing a much greater emphasis being put on the questions of democracy, the rule of law, freedom and on progress generally. That debate is taking place. It is a struggle between the old and the new, of course, and there is no guarantee that the new will win, but it is important. If someone had told me five years ago that I would manage to get established at the King Saud university in Abu Dhabi a postgraduate school of law looking at human rights and international law, with Palestinian students from Palestine attending, I would have said, “It will not happen”, but it has. When talking to other academic bodies and governments about this, I recognise that there is a thirst for such developments. Some of that is driven by the fear of what will happen if they do not move forward, but whether it is driven by fear or desire matters less than the fact that it is happening at all.

We have to be quite clever in how we structure our aid packages. Just before Christmas, when talking to two very senior Egyptian generals holding influential positions, I emphasised the difficulty that I saw, and wondered if they too saw, in separating the armed forces from the state. That is because at the moment the armed forces in Egypt are like a parallel state. How you manage to help a country separate the two is hard to know, but I think our packages of aid need to address it.

I put great emphasis on the rule of law primarily because I believe it is easier for a number of these countries to focus on getting that right in order to step towards democracy. Some will say, “We do not want to go down that road”, but most countries are saying that they want the rule of law. The problem is how do they get it and how can we help them. As I have indicated, at times that requires packages of aid. I am also impressed by the increased level of discussion about, if not always a strong commitment to, human rights and women’s rights. The discussion has not moved as fast as I or indeed most people would like, but it is moving. All these are fairly positive signs, and we should not underestimate the importance of some of the other developments. I felt some years ago that Al Jazeera television was the best news in the Middle East for many years. It indicates the development of a free media.

I have a remarkable respect for Tunisia and I am full of admiration for the way the country is handling itself. During a discussion about free media not long ago, the ambassador said to me that what they wanted was help in establishing a BBC in Tunisia, and he did not mean our BBC, but Tunisia’s own form of BBC. The fact that such things are being talked about and people are seeking assistance is immensely hopeful and we should give these issues our strongest support. That is because another aspect that is changing in the Middle East is not just the uptake of new technology, but the recognition that no longer can you just gag your people. People do have a voice and they will use it.

Obviously, our policy, as the Government know only too well, is to focus on individual countries and sadly, at the moment, it will be Syria—led by an ex-constituent of mine. When I was an MP, he lived in my area, but I plead not-guilty to any responsibility for his activities. It is deeply sad, of course, but I repeat that the Ba’ath Party in Syria, and in Iraq in the past under Saddam Hussein, ran particularly efficient dictatorships—not least because they had their roots in the ideology given to them in the 1930s by the Nazi Party from Germany, which helped to set them up. We sometimes forget that there is a difference between incompetent and inefficient dictatorships and efficient and competent ones, but the latter are the most dangerous. The first ones are dangerous but can be dealt with, while the second ones cannot be.

I want to finish on a wider point, which people might think is not directly relevant to the Middle East, but it is. Here I declare an interest again as the chairman of the Arab-Jewish Forum, a body I set up when some Arabs came to see me in my former constituency and asked for some structure which could enable Arabs and Jews to talk to each other. I set it up; I hoped I could walk away from it, but because I am neither an Arab nor a Jew they asked me to continue chairing it. The idea was to have an annual conference in Britain where we could bring together the two diasporas—the Arab diaspora and the Jewish diaspora. We underestimate at times the enormous importance of the Jewish and Arab diasporas, particularly in Western countries and, more particularly, in the United Kingdom. In London they are immensely powerful. My aim has always been to have a two-day annual conference, similar to what happened in relation to Northern Ireland. I have spoken on and was involved in Northern Ireland, though I never organised those things, but I hope we can do that. At the moment, the Arab and Jewish diasporas tend to get behind their own country in the Middle East and shout for them, rather than actually recognising that they could have a wider point. At some stage, perhaps I ought to talk to the Government about some assistance for that, because it is difficult to fund such an organisation without some external help.

EU: December Council Meeting

Lord Soley Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Soley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what, if any, changes they envisage in the United Kingdom’s relationship with the rest of the European Union following the summit meeting of 8–9 December 2011.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford)]

My Lords, Britain remains a full member of the European Union and will continue to work hard with our many allies in Europe to advance our national interests as well as those of all other EU member states. Nothing arising from the December Council meeting alters that.

[Lord Soley]

I am grateful for that reply but, intentionally or unintentionally, at the December meeting the Prime Minister gave the very strong impression that Britain could never accept the concept of the ever closer union spelt out in a variety of treaties signed by the United Kingdom over many years. Will the Government give a clear answer, not least for that section of the Government led by the Prime Minister, as to whether we are on board for ever closer union, or do we reject that concept?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I think that most people looking at the 21st century have found the concept of ever closer union implying more and more centralisation as, frankly, yesterday’s stuff. This is not the way in which the European Union will strengthen its cohesion and flexibility in the face of the new international landscape. While certainly the events of the December Council struck a particular view in regard to the safeguarding of Britain’s interests in the light of the plans which are now going forward and in which we are participating for the new fiscal union and possible fiscal union treaty if one emerges, I do not think that there is anything very revolutionary or new about recognising in the debate on the reform and development of the European Union that ever closer union as a simple integrationist concept is out of date.

Eurozone Agreement

Lord Soley Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The views expressed by the group to which my noble friend has referred were of course very interesting and coincided broadly with what we all accept: if, as the Deputy Prime Minister rightly said, the UK’s interests are properly and fully safeguarded, then eventually this could emerge as a European treaty. However, at the moment that is not the position, as my right honourable friend the Prime Minister had to make clear in the December Council, where it was plain that our interests were not safeguarded. Until that matter is resolved, it is difficult to see how this can become a full European treaty.

[Lord Soley]

Can the Minister explain what the Deputy Prime Minister meant when he said that the agreement would be folded into existing treaties, and does he think that that could be done with or without a vote, as has been suggested by the Government?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I understood the Deputy Prime Minister to say that the UK would want to make sure that the basic building blocks of the single market—namely, a level playing field upon which competition takes place—are properly safeguarded. It is a question of safeguards. I think that the meaning of what is said by anyone who applies a constructive approach to this whole situation is that, if there is to be a fiscal union treaty and it is to go forward in a way that the whole European Union can support, it will have to safeguard the issues that we regard as vital to our national interest, which means preserving open competition and preventing further discrimination against our financial services. That is what all who have applied their mind to this issue agree is the right way forward.

BBC World Service

Lord Soley Excerpts

Tuesday 17th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

Of course that is absolutely right and my noble friend is extremely well informed on these matters. In fact, I really wanted to say to him that when he spoke about these matters the other day, I said that he was “misinformed”. On reflection, I think that that is too strong a word, and I apologise to him for it. He was correctly drawing on the BBC World Service circular, but that did not quite present the whole picture about the fact that the 24-hour service is being maintained in one form or another—although it is perfectly true that live broadcasts have been curtailed.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned in my Answer, we are working on specific projects under the Arab Partnership Initiative, and we hope that that initiative will be expanded and, therefore, that opportunities for more support for the service will expand. I should add that if one looks at the totality of the projection of our soft power communication with the Arab world, since between November last year and February there has been a 263 per cent increase in online BBC Arabic usage, a 949 per cent increase in requests for Arabic TV online streaming from the BBC, and a 559 per cent increase in online video requests. No one can say that we are backward in promoting the British message, persuading, using influence and communicating in a highly effective way with the turbulent Arab world.

[Lord Soley]

Has the noble Lord taken into account the very important fact that not just in the Middle East but in Iran as well television coverage is particularly important and that it is much more expensive than radio coverage? Will he give the House an undertaking that, in looking at these figures, the Government will take into account the additional cost of TV coverage to the Middle East and Iran to make sure that we do not undermine this crucial part of our soft power?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The noble Lord is quite right. As I indicated in the figures that I gave, although radio remains immensely important, the trend is towards television becoming the dominant leader. We can see from the enormous rise in the influence of Al-Jazeera just how powerful it is and how important it is to promote our own TV services. Therefore, although I cannot give precise undertakings on precise figures, that is clearly a high priority.