Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Anneliese Dodds(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
I am disappointed by the tone of the right hon. Gentleman’s claims, particularly given his interest in historical and particularly military matters. I hope that he is aware, although perhaps he is not, that Gibraltar was ceded by the Crown of Spain to the Crown of Great Britain under article 10 of the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. That is in contrast to the history of BIOT, which is completely different. BIOT was established by the UK’s initiative as a colonial power, and the modalities of that establishment have long been contested. The United Kingdom is steadfast in its commitment to Gibraltar, its people and its economy. The right hon. Gentleman should surely be aware of that.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
Negotiations on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status are well advanced but are not without their hurdles. One such hurdle relates to the stationing of armed and uniformed Spanish border officers at Gibraltar’s air and seaports—a proposal that Gibraltarians understandably cannot tolerate. Can the Minister assure the House on Gibraltar Day that the wishes of Gibraltarians will always be paramount in the ongoing negotiations; that the Government have taken the opportunity to remind all parties that the lives and livelihoods of Gibraltarians and others should never be used as leverage in the negotiations, however inadvertently or locally applied they may be; and that, for the sake of the people and communities of Gibraltar and La Línea, this will never be allowed to happen again?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. First, he asked about whether the interests and concerns of Gibraltarians will be paramount. They absolutely will be. We remain steadfast in our support for Gibraltar and will agree only to terms that the Government of Gibraltar are content with in a deal. Furthermore, the kind of leverage that he discussed would never be accepted by the UK Government. One of the objectives of having a treaty is precisely to remove border checks between Spain and Gibraltar.
Ukraine
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Anneliese Dodds(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
Russian oligarchs close to Putin have numerous assets under UK jurisdiction, equating to nearly £23 billion. Will the Minister commit to acting on a Lib Dem manifesto commitment to begin the process of seizing currently frozen assets in the UK and repurposing them in support of the people of Ukraine, building financial resilience in UK domestic support even if US support were to waver following the US election in November?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. He is right in his implication that we need a robust sanctions regime—this Government are absolutely committed to that. Without sanctions, we estimate that Russia would have over £400 billion more to fund its war for another four years. It is important that we continue with that sanctions regime and do what we can to ensure that it is impossible to circumvent—I believe that his point was about that particular issue.
There is an international movement towards ensuring that Russian sovereign assets are put into play to support people who have been so appallingly impacted in Ukraine. We are working intensively with all our allies to pursue lawful ways to ensure that Russia meets its obligations. Together with our G7 partners we have agreed to make available approximately $50 billion to Ukraine by the end of the year by advancing the extraordinary profits generated by immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the EU and other relevant jurisdictions. Work is already ongoing on the issues that the hon. Member mentioned, if I understood his question correctly.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Al Pinkerton and Anneliese Dodds(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
The Government have announced a strategic defence review, but the challenges faced by the UK in the mid-21st century are military-related, development-related and diplomacy-related. May I have an assurance that the Foreign Office will have a distinct role to play in the strategic defence review—especially in the light of the conversation that we have just had, which has shown the complexities of the UK’s global posture in the 21st century?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his point. Of course, all these issues are strongly related. We are absolutely determined to work with colleagues in Defence, as well as across the whole Government, so that we ensure that we are putting our country’s interests first and, above all, protecting our security—the first responsibility of any Government.