Africa: New Approach

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Foreign Secretary if she will make a statement on the Government’s new approach to Africa.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

Africa matters to the United Kingdom and it matters to this Government, our missions and our plan for change. Africa has the greatest growth potential of any continent, providing expanding opportunities for UK businesses to kick-start economic growth. Strengthening the foundations of UK growth requires engagement with Africa to secure our borders and address the drivers of illegal migration. Africa is home to 30% of the world’s mineral resources, including significant deposits of the growth minerals identified in the new UK critical minerals strategy, which are essential to securing our supply chains and enabling the UK’s mission to become a clean energy superpower.

However, we inherited an approach that reflected the past and not the opportunities of Africa’s future. That is why we committed in our manifesto to deliver a new approach for mutual long-term benefit. We were also clear that reframing our relationship was not something to cook up here in London and then package as a shared approach, so we launched a five-month listening exercise, hearing from Governments and more than 600 organisations—from civil society and diaspora communities to businesses and universities—about what they valued and wanted to see from Britain. There was a clear common message: African nations want respectful, long-term partnerships that deliver real change for people’s lives.

Responding to the consultation, the UK’s new approach provides a high-level framing to guide the Government’s long-term engagement with African partners, reaffirming the shift from paternalism to a partnership of respect and equality over seven areas of shared interest. First, we are moving from donor to investor. We will go further to unlock investment and trade, helping African and British businesses to create quality jobs, economic opportunities and prosperity. Secondly, we are working together on the challenges of illegal migration. Migration should be fair, managed and controlled. We will be unapologetic in pressing for high ambition and clear progress against our priorities in this area. Thirdly, we are advancing shared interests on climate, nature and clean energy, recognising their significance for growth and security. Fourthly, we are continuing to collaborate for peace and security, working to silence the guns and tackle violence against women and girls. Fifthly, we are strengthening the systems that support people and growth, including strengthening financial self-resilience. Sixthly, we are championing African voices in global decision making, including in the global financial system. Finally, we are supporting innovation and cultural partnerships. This adds up to a new kind of partnership—one that works with African leadership and is inclusive, respectful and strong enough to work through difficulties and disagreements.

Our high commissions and embassies will be at the forefront of embedding this approach in spirit and content, and we will take it forward into the UK’s G20 presidency in 2027. British Ministers will be out there on the continent championing these principles, strengthening coherence across our partnerships and backing diverse African voices to shape our work.

[Mr Speaker]

I will just say gently, Minister, that this is a very important statement, and what you have said is so important to the House. We do not need written ministerial statements; it would be easier if it was brought to the House, rather than hidden away in the Library.

[Adam Jogee]

I am grateful to you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for foreign affairs and co-chair of the APPG for the Commonwealth.

The geopolitical challenges we face as a nation are acute and mounting and have real impacts on people back home in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across our United Kingdom. For too long, our relationship with countries on the African continent has been viewed through the prism of colonial guilt, which has harmed our ability to engage, left relationships to suffer and let generations down. We must think about what we can do with, not to, nations on the African continent.

The African continent is a big and diverse place and cannot be put in one basket. Each region will have different characteristics, and our approach needs to reflect that with respect, understanding and action. The United Kingdom has been found seriously wanting in relation to its former colonies over the past 30 years under successive Governments, and this must be a turning point based on respect, friendship, equality and our shared histories, bonds, systems and experiences.

I have the following questions for the Minister. How will the Government’s approach protect the United Kingdom against the geopolitical threats we face from Russia, China and other hostile states and their corrosive impact on nations across the African continent? Many African nations are members of the Commonwealth—a hugely important but totally underutilised post-war creation. How will the approach ensure that the Commonwealth gets meaningful support and is properly fit for purpose? I am concerned that one word that was not mentioned in the statement was “Commonwealth”.

How much money will be put behind this new approach? What steps will be taken to ensure that new, meaningful trade deals are established between African nations and the United Kingdom? Fair, balanced and decent trade has a hugely important role to play in this relationship, and it must be taken seriously. What will be expected of our heads of missions at high commissions and embassies across Africa to advance this approach? Finally, what will our new approach mean for British engagement with the African Union?

The bonds of history and people bind together our United Kingdom and many independent nations on the African continent; we have common languages, common legal systems, common but difficult histories and a common purpose. This new approach has the potential to help to grow our economy here at home, neutralise the influence of hostile states and move forward together. If it does that, it will have my full support.

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend both for the question and for his dedication to and diligence on these issues. I reassure him of the importance that this Government place on the Commonwealth, which is a vital partnership both in Africa and across the world. It is the C in FCDO, and it is very close to our minds and central to our strategy both in Africa and elsewhere.

My hon. Friend asks important points about the role of Russia and China in Africa. As he knows well, China particularly has been a long-standing presence in many African countries as an important source of trade and finance. In my experience, though, African countries are not naive about Chinese motivations or the potential risks associated with elements of its offer. The Africa strategy that we announced yesterday is in part a response to the desire from so many African countries for a longer, enduring and sustainable partnership with the UK, both to respond to the interests of others, whether that is China or Russia, and to build on the historic ties to which he so eloquently referred.

I pause briefly to talk about Russia’s role in Africa. Russia is exploiting conflicts, instability and natural resources right across Africa, in the Sahel and indeed in north Africa. We are already supporting African partners through strategic security and defence relationships with countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, co-ordinating closely with like-minded states and international organisations. The role of the Africa Corps in Africa is malign.

Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore]

As I said in answer to the shadow Foreign Secretary, we do not rule out any further sanctions and we will take evidence-based decisions on what has meaningful impact. On the UK Government’s response, as I have already said, the UK is at the forefront of the process at both the Security Council and the Human Rights Council. I reiterate that we take very seriously any allegations of UK-made equipment being used in this regard in relation to Sudan, but there is no evidence of that in recent reporting. In fact, where any weapons have been found, they have been of no ammunition or military purpose. They have been non-lethal supplies, which I am afraid is the issue in front of us.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

People in Newcastle-under-Lyme are watching this crisis unfold with horror, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) on securing this urgent question. I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box—it is the first time I have seen him—but I must say that an oral ministerial statement would have been welcomed. What specific engagement has taken place with the African Union not just on securing a much-needed peace, but on the distribution of aid? What co-ordinating role is the United Kingdom playing with our European counterparts, because the world cannot sit by and watch this any longer?

[Chris Elmore]

We are working with the African Union as best we can on ensuring that aid is delivered. There was a statement on 18 November, and there were oral questions to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at the beginning of the month. The fast pace of this work in Sudan, as a personal priority for the Foreign Secretary, means that it is under constant review and dialogue with various partners, including as recently as last week with US Secretary of State Rubio.

Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I pay tribute to the hon. Member and his constituents for their work to support Ukrainians. I know that hon. Members right across the House and their constituents have been engaged in supporting Ukrainians in many different ways. I myself have met the Ukrainian community in Lincoln, and there are many people in Lincoln who have taken in Ukrainians or provided support. I would like to assure all of those people that we will continue to stand with the Ukrainians on these questions.

The hon. Member asks an important question about how we can continue to identify those children who have been seized by the Russians. There is work ongoing, often using Russian databases themselves, which are relatively freely available, to identify where Ukrainian children are likely to have been taken in Russia. I imagine that the Russian authorities think people are not sufficiently interested to track individual children. I can assure the House that we are, that we will and that we will continue to follow this to the end. Alongside our Ukrainian friends, we have identified 600 individual Ukrainian children by name. We will not forget the names of those children, and we will not forget the locations of those children. The Russian families who have sought to take in those children should know that such an effort is ongoing, and that it is supported right across the Government, right across the House and right across the country. We will continue, day in and day out, to ensure that those children are returned.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

Using children in this way is sick—there is no other word for it. The people of Newcastle-under-Lyme opened their homes, they spoke out, they spoke up and they stood with the people of Ukraine—and they still do. They raise money and deliver medical supplies, books and clothes. I thank them all for their efforts and commitment. We rightly support the people of Ukraine against Russia, but we also see Russia continuing to seek influence in other parts of the world through money, arms and the rest. This is a geopolitical challenge that we think we are getting right in one part of the world, but we cannot afford to ignore it in others. What are we doing to help ensure that we neutralise Russia’s attempt at command and control in other parts of the world?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. Russia exerts a malign influence not just in Ukraine; we have seen its relationship with the Houthis. We have seen its relationships in Syria. I am glad to see that they have declined in recent months, but it continues, through Africa Corps and a number of other arms of its state, to be a malign influence right across the world. Its efforts are always at the expense of the populations where they are found. We continue to work with our friends and allies across the world. I was discussing malign Russian influence in Yemen in recent days. I have discussed it in Libya. I have discussed it in Syria. We will continue to act across the world—as my hon. Friend would expect; I know he pays close attention—and we will not rest while Russia continues to exert such a malign influence on global affairs. We wish to have a friendship. We have long and historic relations with the Russian people. I know that nothing would give greater pleasure to so many in the UK than to have a more normal relationship with the Russian state than we currently do, but that will require significant changes from the Russian state, which continues to exert such a malign influence on global affairs.

Parkinson’s Disease

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) on his excellent opening speech. In June this year, my father-in-law, Adrian Lawther, died after living with Parkinson’s for more than a decade. Adrian was a smart, decent and unassuming man, and very much lived the lessons of “two eyes and one mouth”. He did not miss a trick and spied everything, but only ever spoke when he needed to—a lesson he never managed to teach me, but one that I suspect quite a few of us around here would benefit from. He had an interest in the world around him and the world far overseas, and was incredibly kind and welcoming to me—which is no guarantee when marrying someone’s daughter. But for all the memories, the love, the grief and the sadness, we also saw up close the cruel impact of Parkinson’s on a person’s dignity and their quality of life, and on those around them.

[Graeme Downie]

I thank my hon. Friend for the moving way he has talked about his father-in-law. Does he agree that what he has said emphasises the need to make sure that families are also supported during Parkinson’s care?

[Adam Jogee]

I could not have put that better myself.

In Newcastle-under-Lyme, hundreds of local people live with Parkinson’s, and that number is rising. It is a life-altering disease that destroys personal autonomy; it affects someone’s ability to talk, swallow, move and write. Cruel is not the word. For those who are suffering and need treatment now, the lack of care provision and the inaccessible treatment is simply unacceptable.

I think of my friend Alderman Lizzie Shenton, a former leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme district borough council, who I saw just last week. She has been diagnosed with the early onset of Parkinson’s in her 50s. She is very healthy and still has much do to. Lizzie had to wait 10 months for a consultant appointment to make a formal diagnosis, and she has been waiting for her DaT scan for five months, without which no medication or treatment can be prescribed.

I pay tribute to the fantastic work being done by the North Staffs Parkinson’s UK branch—the chair, Lorraine, the treasurer, Councillor David Grocott and the whole committee who do wonderful things week in and week out. I thank the Dubb family from the Westlands in Newcastle-under-Lyme for their annual fundraising 5k run and a massive cookout at their home—which smelled very good—all raising money for Parkinson’s UK. My constituent Julie Hibbs has long campaigned to add Parkinson’s to the medical exemption list. The Minister knows that I support those calls—I have raised them with her and others, and I will continue to do so.

The funding and availability of care for Parkinson’s patients do not match the severity of this disease and the desperate need for proper treatment. Getting those suffering from Parkinson’s the right care at the right time is critical to ensuring that their quality of life is as high as it can be, and that the cost of providing that is used as efficiently as possible. As more and more of us get Parkinson’s, those who will suffer from it and their loved ones deserve to know that the question of getting the right treatment is not one they will ever have to worry about.

[Emma Lewell (in the Chair)]

I am terribly sorry; we are not able to take any more Back-Bench speeches. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Sudan: Protection of Civilians

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

I absolutely recognise the concerns of the Sudanese diaspora in this country—indeed, I have many different members of the Sudanese diaspora in my constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth—and I absolutely assure the hon. Gentleman that they have not been forgotten by this Government or by many Members of this House. Many of us have spoken on these issues over many years and have worked to try to find ways forward, to ensure that support is given and there is an end to this terrible conflict. He can be absolutely assured that we engage regularly with different groups. I will pass on his request to my colleague in the other place and hope to be able to get back to him in due course.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I am grateful to my experienced right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) for her urgent question. As the grandson of a proud Jamaican, I am grateful to the Minister for updating us on efforts to mitigate the impact of Hurricane Melissa.

The events in Sudan are inexplicably evil. The brutal murder of people at a hospital in recent days and over many months are frankly crimes against humanity, and I add my voice to urging the Minister to engage as much as he can with the Sudanese diaspora not just in Newcastle-under-Lyme, but up and down the country. The two words we have not yet heard are “African Union”. Can the Minister tell me what engagement has taken place with the African Union in recent days to ensure that the power of that body is exercised as quickly as possible?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

We need much shorter questions, please.

BBC Monitoring Service

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

rose—

[Sir Julian Lewis]

I will give way first to the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger).

[Sir Julian Lewis]

I agree entirely, and before I give way for the next intervention, I will read what I had just been about to say.

The report’s main conclusion was that the Government should reinstate their previous model of funding BBC Monitoring through a ringfenced grant in aid, rather than allowing the funding to come from the licence fee. As a non-partisan, cross-party body, I doubt if today’s Defence Committee would take a radically different view. Indeed, we have just heard from the Foreign Affairs Committee representative that that view still has a great deal of validity.

[Adam Jogee]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, even if he chose my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) before me. I wish to congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on the report, which I have in front of me. I note that only three colleagues who were on the Committee in 2016 are still in this House. The fact that he makes these points now, as he did almost 10 years ago, speaks to the challenge we face, as well as to the threats to our ability to tackle the geopolitical challenges to which he has referred and how we will be found wanting in that effort if we do not get this right, and get it right soon.

[Sir Julian Lewis]

It is very gratifying to an old timer like me to see a fresh generation of serious-minded hon. and right hon. Members from all parties so united on this common theme in the national interest. I will have to race on a bit now so as not to cut into the Minister’s time too much.

So far I have focused in large part on the negatives, as the House has heard, but all is not a picture of doom and gloom. Despite the substantial redundancies of 2016-17 after the reduction in licence fee funding and the closure of Caversham Park, an 11-year customer service agreement was signed with the Government, covering the period 2017 to 2027 inclusive. A business development team also succeeded in widening the commercial customer base and lessening, to some extent, the dependence on the licence fee.

Those in charge at BBC Monitoring are in no doubt of the importance of their mission. They point out in a most helpful briefing document that they provided to me that in today’s environment of intensifying information warfare, weaponised narratives and global instability, the value of BBC Monitoring’s work is more crucial than ever. They note:

“The global media landscape has undergone a profound transformation, driven by the rapid expansion of social media, the democratisation of content creation, and the accelerating capabilities of generative AI. These shifts have dramatically increased the volume and velocity of disinformation… In response, BBC Monitoring has evolved its editorial strategy, moving beyond translation and summarisation to deliver expert, evidence-based analysis. The introduction of data specialists has enabled the production of interactive maps, graphics, and other tools that help users navigate complex information environments.”

BBCM has expanded its coverage of Chinese, Russian and Iranian media influence operations, of jihadism, of climate change, of water and energy security, and of migration—all issues that are central to our national interests and foreign policy. Its products underpin the work of BBC journalism, particularly when reporting on countries where direct access is restricted or prohibited.

There is, in short, no question about the irreplaceable value inherent in the BBC Monitoring service. By securing this debate and sharing the contents of this speech in advance with the Minister, as I have, I aim to give the Government an opportunity to endorse its vital work tonight and perhaps shine a little light on some relevant aspects of that.

First, on its budget, at the time of the December 2016 Defence Committee report, the annual costs of BBCM were known, as I said earlier, to be a modest £25 million. What is its budget today, and what percentages of its income derive from the licence fee and from each of its other main funding sources? If the Minister cannot be too specific this evening, I would be grateful if he might write to me in more detail.

Secondly, now that the US Open Source Enterprise organisation is—most regrettably—no longer co-located with BBC Monitoring in the United Kingdom, what is the nature of the residual relationship between the two organisations? Do they no longer together cover the globe, freely exchanging their respective products, as in the days of Caversham Park? Does BBCM even see the OSE product? Does it have to pay for it and, if so, how much income does BBC Monitoring receive for supplying its output to the United States?

Thirdly, I understand that BBCM has taken some strides in introducing artificial intelligence into its modus operandi. How far does it expect that process to go, and will human expertise and judgment remain integral to its monitoring work?

Fourthly, while the restoration of an annual Government grant would be by far the most secure funding model, in the absence of that, is there any danger of BBC Monitoring being cut loose from the World Service organisation and farmed out insecurely to BBC Sounds, as has previously been mooted?

Finally, with a new agreement having to be negotiated with the Government before the expiry of the existing one in two years’ time, will the Minister please undertake to set out specific details of the target quantities of actual monitoring outputs—not to be conflated with analysis—specified under the existing agreement, and the extent to which those targets have, or have not, been achieved? Only in that way shall we know if our vital open source intelligence operation truly has the resources it needs.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

I am extraordinarily grateful to the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) for securing this important debate and sharing his remarks with me in advance. I can assure him that things have changed a lot since Michael Foot. This Labour Government are proud to support our nuclear deterrent and invest in our defence. I pay tribute to the right hon. Member’s extensive and long-standing expertise on this issue and many other related issues, and I am grateful for all the contributions.

I can confirm that the Government share the right hon. Member’s view that BBC Monitoring is a vital national asset, as many colleagues across the House have expressed. Indeed, I declare an interest personally because I have been a substantial user of its services in the past and am an avid listener of the BBC World Service, so I can truly attest to its incredible services and the work of its staff. For over 80 years, it has provided indispensable insight into world events, shaping our understanding of the global landscape, and high-quality and independent analysis, supporting that integrity of information worldwide, which lots of Members touched upon. Of course, those contribute to the Government’s wider efforts to combat misinformation, disinformation and harmful narratives produced by malign actors, hostile states and others around the world. It also provides a crucial insight into the international media landscape, and that informs our national security work, our foreign policy and our ability to take action on the world stage.

We must be clear about BBC Monitoring’s present value. As has been referred to, it has unique linguistic skills and deep regional expertise to fulfil the task of analysing media from across the globe. Whether that is state broadcast, social media, local news sites or official statements, it provides that texture, nuance and ground truth that enrich the quality of the evidence underpinning policy making for us and many others. It also helps us understand the deeper messages that Governments and others, but also their own people and audiences, are saying around the world. The value of that work should not be underestimated and, indeed, it is valued by colleagues in not only the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, but the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office, as well as many others.

Of course, BBC Monitoring’s value is not confined to Whitehall; it is also an internal radar for the BBC itself. It identifies emerging narratives, spots developing stories, provides BBC News and the World Service with early warning, and helps them get ahead of the curve with their reporting and deeper conceptual analysis, so this is a symbiotic relationship. Of course, it also supports commercial partners and others with their insight and analysis. We fully endorse that service.

Although the BBC is responsible for the staffing, administration and editorial direction of the service, it is provided under a specific agreement—to which the right hon. Gentleman referred—between the BBC and the Government, enabling collaborative discussions about the Government’s priorities for BBC Monitoring to consider in its wider prioritisation. That provides us with the assurance that the service continues to evolve in line with the changing media environment and the need to understand it, and ensures that it continues to provide value for the licence fee payer and the nation.

The Cabinet Office is the lead Department, managing the relationship, while the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides ministerial oversight. Of course, as the right hon. Gentleman noted, the service is funded through the licence fee as part of the BBC’s public service remit. I am happy to write to him further on some of the details of the current funding arrangements. As I have mentioned, it derives some revenue from commercial customers and partnerships as well. It has many customers, including non-governmental organisations, intergovernmental and research bodies, media organisations, think-tanks and businesses. He asked how much the monitoring service costs the BBC. It has a range of funding streams, as I have set out, and ultimately it is for the BBC to approve the budget.

The right hon. Gentleman also asked about the relationship with Open Source Enterprise. I can confirm that the service maintains a strong and highly effective information-sharing partnership with OSE under an annually reviewed memorandum. The two organisations continue to work together to cover the globe and fill in their respective gaps. They share expertise and collaborate on technological innovation.

The right hon. Gentleman is right to focus on the future. We want to see BBC Monitoring thrive. A key part of that is ensuring that the organisation is not standing still. It is embracing new technology to enhance its capabilities, including by integrating AI into its workflows, in accordance of course with BBC permitted usage and protocols. That will see staff using cutting-edge tools to sift through vast quantities of data at speed, allowing analysts to focus on providing the high-level insight and nuanced judgment that human expertise alone can supply. That will mean a combination of human insight and AI. This is a rapidly changing field, and BBC Monitoring is testing AI tools to help journalists keep track of what is being said in different outlets—that follows BBC rules and is designed to give a broad overview of the landscape that they are reporting on—but I should reiterate that decisions will still be made by people, not by machines. Indeed, BBC staff undertake mandatory AI training courses.

At the same time, BBC Monitoring has chosen to focus on providing deeper insights and context in its work. It now produces fewer reports but each carries greater analytical value. In 2024, it produced 78,832 reports; that is a reduction on the original target but reflects a deliberate and sensible shift away from basic translation and summarising, and towards analysis that delivers real impact. Having used that service before, I can say that it really does provide critical insight. Reports do not always draw a clear line between monitoring and analysis, recognising that both are part of the same effort to understand narratives. I am pleased to see those advancements and I am sure that they will continue in the years ahead.

The existing charter is due to expire at the end of 2027, and that will be an opportunity, as has been discussed elsewhere, to consider a wide range of issues. That will ensure that the BBC has a sustainable funding model for all its important work, including BBC Monitoring. My colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have made it clear that they are keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee and will think creatively about all the options to future-proof our national broadcaster.

[Adam Jogee]

Will the Minister give way?

[Stephen Doughty]

I will give way briefly before I conclude.

--- Later in debate ---

[Adam Jogee]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way and congratulate him and his husband on their recent marriage.

I am just reading “The UK’s new approach to Africa: summary of consultation”. Point 47 states:

“We also heard that parts of the UK’s soft power appeal can be intangible.”

May I invite the Minister to confirm that both the World Service and the Monitoring service are, in his view, key parts of UK soft power?

[Stephen Doughty]

I absolutely agree that they are. As I said, I am an admirer of them, and they are admired around the globe—I hear that repeatedly on my travels, as do ministerial colleagues. And I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks on my marriage.

I want to be clear. Of course I cannot pre-empt the outcome of the licence fee process—that is for other colleagues—or make specific comments about future funding arrangements today, but I can give the House and the right hon. Member for New Forest East this assurance: he should be in no doubt about our high regard for BBC Monitoring. Its value and readiness for the future is understood at the highest levels, and we will continue to work with the BBC, DCMS and others across Government to ensure that its work continues and that we are all able to benefit from its unique expertise and analysis.

Question put and agreed to.

Humanitarian Situation in Sudan

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Harpreet Uppal]

I thank the hon. Member for his important point, which I am sure the Minister has heard.

Behind every number, there is a human being: a parent trying to find water for a child; a grandmother who has not eaten for days; a teenager who dreams of going to school but instead hears shellfire. As the rainy season approaches and worsening weather conditions make it increasingly difficult for aid to reach those most in need, the parties to the conflict continue to fight fiercely, heightening insecurity and disrupting critical trade and aid routes.

Hoy da, a member of the Sudanese diaspora community in my constituency of Huddersfield, has spoken of the

“colossal devastation and destruction of all aspects of normality of life in Sudan throughout the last two years”.

Hoy da also says that efforts by authorities to establish normality, and a return for those who have been internally or externally displaced, face severe challenges.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend not only for securing this debate, but for her leadership on these important issues and for ensuring that in this House we do not forget what is happening in many other parts of the world. She has spoken about the horrors that we see on our TV screens, which speaks to the experience of constituents she has met and those I have met in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Will she join me in urging the Minister to ensure that we do as much engagement with the Sudanese diaspora in this country as possible? The effects of the horrors that we see on our television screens are being felt big-time in communities up and down the United Kingdom.

[Harpreet Uppal]

I thank my hon. Friend for that point, which I will come to next.

Hoy da and the Sudanese diaspora community continue to play a pivotal role in assisting families, relatives and friends through financial remittances, but Hoy da told me that

“their needs are much bigger than the capacities of individuals”

and that international communities must come together to

“accelerate efforts and initiatives for de-escalation that may lead to a permanent end to the fighting.”

I thank Hoy da and all members of the Sudanese diaspora community. I know how much of an impact supporting loved ones stuck in danger will be having both emotionally and financially.

I am also aware that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has, under previous Administrations, committed to a diaspora engagement strategy, but that strategy has not been produced, which represents a missed opportunity. Without access to decision makers, diaspora and civil society groups cannot utilise their knowledge of the crisis to help shape policies. During the MSF roundtable that my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) mentioned, we heard the stories of medical workers in El Fasher. They were performing a caesarean section when soldiers from the RSF burst in, killing the patient and her unborn child. That is the reality of a healthcare system that is being systematically attacked.

Recent publications by organisations working in Sudan document testimonials from people displaced from El Fasher and Zamzam in North Darfur, from which thousands fled to Chad after an RSF attack on the Zamzam camp. During that mass displacement, one mother told an aid worker that several of her children died of thirst on the road. Another spoke of pregnant women dying as they walked. One woman was raped during the attack. All left loved ones behind in El Fasher, a place they described simply as “hell”.

Those testimonies reflect just a fraction of the suffering taking place across the region, so let me turn to Darfur specifically. Its population of around half a million people is in dire humanitarian need. Following the April attacks on Zamzam internally displaced persons camp, half a million IDPs have been moved to Tawila, a small town in North Darfur. They face a catastrophic shortage of food, water, shelter, household items and healthcare. The wind and rains, which are due to start within weeks, will destroy shelters and contribute to the spread of disease.

The mass killings, rape, ethnic violence, starvation and humanitarian crisis that we are witnessing can no longer be tolerated by the international community, but frontline organisations are being pushed to breaking point. Agencies have told us that cuts to official development assistance have made it harder to maintain services; without urgent intervention, a major funding cliff edge is approaching in September. That is when multiple key humanitarian programmes are due to expire, with no confirmed renewal.

If the funding gap is not urgently addressed, the consequences for those relying on aid in places such as Darfur and Tawila will be devastating. The UK Government have made Sudan a stated foreign policy priority. I welcome the steps already taken, but the operational reality on the ground remains dire.

Actions of Iranian Regime: UK Response

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his important question. I am sure I will receive complaints from his party’s Front Benchers, but he will understand that I will not be commenting on the assessment of the strike or on intelligence matters. But I will say that it is absolutely vital that IAEA inspectors are allowed back into Iran; that is the fundamental basis on which trust can be built for a diplomatic solution. Now that a ceasefire is in place, the inspectors must come back in.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

People across Newcastle-under-Lyme watch events in the middle east week in, week out with anger, horror, sadness and frustration. I am grateful to the shadow Foreign Secretary for bringing this urgent question to the House this afternoon.

May I ask the Minister two things? First, what specific engagement has happened between the British Government and our regional partners in the middle east? I am not sure he has touched on the specifics. Secondly, in an answer he referred to a state threats mechanism. Can he elaborate a little more on what that means? If he cannot do that on the Floor of the House, I will be happy to have a cup of tea with him so that he can tell me in detail.

[Mr Falconer]

I would be—[Interruption.] There is an amusing degree of lightness from the Opposition Benches about security matters. I would be delighted to discuss this matter further. The question at issue in the Jonathan Hall report is the state threats proscription-like tool. I accept that the name is rather clunky, but it is focused on the fact that a state, in this case, has proved a persistent threat in the UK, using methods unlike those usually employed by a state. I will not say very much more about that, but Jonathan Hall has identified a gap and it is that gap that we are seeking to fill. I will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the issue further.

Kashmir: Increasing Tension

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

India and Pakistan are our friends. We have historical connections to both states and to communities right across the region, and we will continue to be committed to regional stability. Of course, we also call for calm on our own streets.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Smethwick (Gurinder Singh Josan) on securing this urgent question, but I do say to the Minister that this really should have been a statement. We are all horrified by the act of terror that we saw just days ago and condemn it without equivocation. I have heard from many of my constituents from both diasporas in recent days, and it is important to note that many people are feeling this act of terror deeply in my community, and up and down the United Kingdom. India and Pakistan are two very important members of the Commonwealth. Can the Minister specifically outline what engagement the British Government have had with the Commonwealth to help to reduce tensions?

[Mr Falconer]

If my hon. Friend would like a statement, he can stay for 45 minutes and he will get another one from me. We have been in direct contact with both India and Pakistan, and we will continue to do so.

London Sudan Conference

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

We are clear that there should be no external interference in Sudan and that a continuation of this conflict serves no one. It is why we took the efforts last week that we did, and we held the conference in closed-door sessions in order to allow the frankest possible exchange of views on the way ahead.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

The scenes from Sudan are beyond harrowing. There is brutal murder, millions at risk of starvation, and millions more have been displaced, with women and children watching their sons, fathers and husbands be brutally killed and many of those women and children being victims of the most horrendous sexual violence. In Newcastle-under-Lyme, I represent a number of people from the Sudanese community—either born in Sudan or whose parents were born in Sudan. They are watching the TV in horror, fear and sorrow. What we are doing to engage with and support the British Sudanese community here in the United Kingdom?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend speaks about the horrors for British Sudanese residents who are looking back at home and seeing such atrocious scenes. I am sure that the Minister for Africa will be happy to meet with my hon. Friend and his constituents to discuss the issue further. I have Sudanese constituents in Lincoln, and I know the horror that they feel each and every day looking at this imagery.