Ukraine

Debate between Lord Watson of Wyre Forest and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Thursday 29th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I recall a previous Question that the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, engaged with. When we look to our European partners quite directly, the ability for them to step up and do more in this respect is equally important, and we need that to happen. Of course, we will continue to work with the United States on this important priority, but my noble friend is right that we need to ensure that a diplomatic effort is afoot as well. We have been succeeding. You can count the countries that voted with Russia on a single hand, and that has been consistent over an 18-month period. This shows the strength of British diplomacy, together with our partners. Russia is increasingly feeling isolated, with $400 billion-worth denied to it because of the sanctions. Of course we have to look at circumvention and loopholes, but I assure my noble friend that our diplomacy continues in earnest.

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

My Lords, I hope the Minister is reassured by the support on all sides of the House. He has got a clear message that appeasement never works. When he looks forward to the long term, what representations have been made to the Treasury on the future of the defence budget?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I appreciate what the noble Lord said. It is clear not just to me but to Ukraine that it has strong support from the United Kingdom across the piece, from Parliament and from people. On budgets, of course we are very much seized of this. As I indicated in my Answer, this is a priority for not just the Foreign Office but the UK Government. Of course we work with colleagues, including those in the Treasury, to ensure that we can back the priority that we have made to stand with Ukraine today, tomorrow and until this war ends.

Death of Alexei Navalny

Debate between Lord Watson of Wyre Forest and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Monday 19th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

The short answer to the noble Baroness’s question is yes. She is right to raise the issue of those who profiteer. I mentioned earlier those who look for innovative ways of circumventing the legislation that has been imposed and the steps that have been taken. We need to ensure that the new bodies that have been set up and the new structures and powers that have been given are applied. There will always be deterrence, but there will always be those who seek to circumvent it. We need to close down the loopholes, including the ones that the noble Baroness has highlighted.

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

My Lords, it is reassuring to see all sides of the House with shared purpose in holding the Putin regime to account, but of course it is not just the death of poor Mr Navalny that we mourn. There have been extrajudicial killings on UK soil too. It is not just Russia that we fear; the Government have had to warn China about the intimidation of UK citizens, while the Canadians have accused India of extrajudicial killings of Sikhs in Canada. What reassurance can the Minister give to Russian and Chinese exiles and British Sikhs that they are safe to express themselves freely in the UK?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, our freedoms and our civil and human rights were hard fought for. If you go back a century into our own history, you see the challenges of the brave souls who had to fight for the most basic fundamental freedoms that we now enjoy, including the right of women to vote, which we take now as something quite simple, yet there were great struggles in the past. Our own history lends itself to ensuring that the strength of our communities and the diversity of people that we have today is fully protected. One thing is very clear: I am proud to say the UK is a place where we protect all our citizens, including those who take protection in the UK. That is a proud tradition that we have had over many years and it should continue to be the case. Accountability is a feature of our democracy. I speak for many noble Lords, including myself, who, because of the roles we have, the statements we make and indeed the policies we present, are then subjected to abuse that most people do not see, and it is almost second nature for us. But we must fight for those freedoms and protections and ensure that those who challenge our basic freedoms are given a clear and unequivocal message, as we have done today.

Afghanistan: Aid for Women

Debate between Lord Watson of Wyre Forest and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Monday 11th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to aid and support the women of Afghanistan since the departure of United Kingdom armed forces.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, we prioritise support for women and girls in response to the Taliban’s repression. We have repeatedly urged the Taliban to reverse harmful policies. I assure the noble Lord that we raise these issues internationally. I regularly meet Afghan women and leaders to hear their concerns directly. Since April 2021, the Government have disbursed more than £532 million to Afghanistan, giving 2.3 million women access to food, healthcare and other essential assistance. At least 50% of beneficiaries of UK aid are women and girls.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer. However, the Taliban have targeted women and girls by using decrees which place severe restrictions on freedom of movement, expression and association, prohibitions on virtually all forms of employment and bans on secondary and higher education, as well as permitting arbitrary arrests and violations of the rights of liberty. Taken together, that is arguably a crime against humanity based on gender, so what further actions can the Government take to support women human rights defenders who seek safe passage to the UK because their lives are under grave threat?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I believe that I speak for most noble Lords but I believe on a point of principle that the humanitarian support that we have given to the people of Afghanistan, supported by Pakistan, Uzbekistan and other near neighbours, has been the right approach. We cannot discard over 36 million people. We have also sought to provide support for those who are most vulnerable, those who work directly with the United Kingdom, through the various schemes that we have run—the ACRS pathway 3 and the ARAP. Those schemes support their access to the United Kingdom, particularly Chevening scholars working within the security firm GardaWorld but also those who worked within the British Council. That still is work in progress on year 1.

There is a lot more that we can do but we directly address the Taliban and say that what they are doing is not just against our assessment of human rights but against the assessment of the very faith that they claim to follow. Rights of women are human rights and the Taliban need to uphold them.

Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 17) Regulations 2022

Debate between Lord Watson of Wyre Forest and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Monday 23rd January 2023 Grand Committee

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

I am a new Member of this House, and this is my first time on an SI in Grand Committee. I apologise to the Minister if I am intervening on him inadvertently, but I am looking for one point of clarification. As I understand it, these regulations widen the scope to include advertising services within the remit of sanctions. Could the Minister confirm that that would also apply to data-targeted social media marketing services?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, for clarity and for the record, it covers all elements of that advertising, but on the specific points I will go back to the department to ensure I give a full answer. In welcoming the noble Lord and his scrutiny of legislation, I very much welcome his intervention. One thing I can say to him is that, over time, bearing in mind this package of sanctions, areas will arise that have not been looked at or, in practical terms, have not been covered by existing legislation. It is important, first, to identify and, secondly, to co-ordinate with key partners; we are doing both things. We are also monitoring the impact on private sector behaviour. All those things were reflected in my opening remarks that Russia is being impacted. The IMF’s forecast should not be taken lightly, and the reduction it shows is reflective of Russia’s actions. If there are further details, I will of course write to the noble Lord.

On the issue of FCDO staffing and the specifics of the question from the noble Lord, Lord Collins, at the end of 2021 and continuing through 2022, there were 48 substantive roles in the sanctions unit, which has now become the sanctions directorate. One would have hoped that we would not need to expand, but going from a unit to a directorate recognises the importance of this. We have doubled the number of officials focused on our response and we now have more than 100 permanent staff delivering that response. This number does not include those working across the FCDO and its overseas network who also cover sanctions as part of their designated roles.

On the financing of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, the office has also doubled in size this financial year and continues to grow. As set out in its annual report released on 10 November 2022, OFSI scaled up to more than 100 full-time employees by the end of 2022, accelerating and enhancing the transformation programme. I also have a personal anecdote: one of the current senior officers who sits behind me and is now a full member of the sanctions team used to be a member of my private office, so Ministers are adding to the weight of our sanctions directorate.

With that, I look forward to further discussions and debates. Regrettably, I do not think that this will be the last of the sanctions we will impose on Russia. I am grateful to the noble Lords who have participated from their Front Benches; I again welcome the new noble Lord to the House and welcome his contributions and analysis. We stand firm and resolute with the people of Ukraine. We continue to support them and the Ukrainian Government until such time as Mr Putin does the right thing and withdraws from Ukraine.