Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Duncan Excerpts

Tuesday 4th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

I was appalled by the attack in the bar in Benidorm that put Jimmy Carol in a coma. Our consular staff have been supporting him and his family and talking to the Spanish police responsible for the investigation, and I hope Mr Carol makes a full recovery and that his attacker is brought to justice.

[Rosie Cooper]

What information does the Minister have that might explain the serious delay in the investigation of that violent attack on my constituent?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

The circumstances were a little confusing. The Spanish police might have seen it as a straightforward pub brawl, when in fact Mr Carol was intervening to back up some women who were being badly harassed. I think the answer to the hon. Lady’s question is that it took some time for the local police to pass the case on to the national police. I would be perfectly happy for her to come and see me, perhaps with a close relative of Mr Carol, and I will do my utmost to ensure that consular officials do all that they can on this case.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

8. If he will make it his policy to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

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[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

We are deeply concerned by the severe economic challenges and deepening humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and indeed by their impact on the wider region. We have noted the Government’s recently announced economic measures, but it remains to be seen whether they are going to improve the situation in any way at all.

[David T. C. Davies]

An oil-rich nation that once boasted the highest living standards of the whole of Latin America has now been plunged into starvation and crisis as a result of years of socialist policy and the removal of democracy. Does my right hon. Friend join me in condemning those who have imposed socialism and removed democracy in Venezuela, and those who have given them succour from the House of Commons?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I must say that I do. Venezuela enjoys the world’s largest proven oil reserves and it has the largest gas reserves in Latin America, but all of these are being squandered. It has had years of economic mismanagement based on outdated and misguided ideologies, and it cannot even provide the most basic necessities for its people. The country is facing rampant inflation. This is an example of how one man at the top of a country can destroy that country’s economy and prospects.

[John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Clearly, a precondition for resolving the dreadful situation in Venezuela is an early end to the disastrous communist Maduro regime and a return to parliamentary democracy, but the desperate people of Venezuela—those in the country and the millions in exile—need food and medical supplies now. What are the Minister and the Department for International Development doing about that?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I have to say to the right hon. Gentleman that DFID has limited experience in Latin America. We would like to be doing more, and there has been the provision of humanitarian advice, but I would be the first to admit that that is not nearly enough to address the seriousness of the plight that Venezuelans face. As he rightly says, millions of people have left Venezuela and these problems are now affecting neighbouring countries in a serious way. We are working closely with the Lima group, led by the Peruvian Foreign Minister, to do what we can to try to change the disastrous situation in Venezuela.

[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)]

10. What recent assessment his Department has made of the level of political (a) violence and (b) arrests in Sierra Leone.

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[Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) (Lab)]

12. What steps his Department is taking to promote and support human rights internationally.

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

Promoting and defending human rights is an essential aim of the foreign policy of “Global Britain”. The Foreign Office’s 2017 “Human Rights & Democracy” report demonstrates the breadth of the issues that we campaign on and how we mobilise the diplomatic network to champion universal rights.

[Gerald Jones]

It is now over a week since the Government missed their own deadline to take a decision on whether to order an independent inquiry into the role of the UK in the use of torture. When can a decision be expected? Why have the Government not accepted the recommendations of Members across the House to hold such an inquiry?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

Obviously, this matter will in due course be addressed in front of the House, not in public first. The Prime Minister will make a decision and will inform the House accordingly.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

The human rights situation of Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov should give us all cause for concern. When I first raised Mr Sentsov’s plight in October 2016, the then Foreign Secretary said that the UK Government were appealing to the Russian authorities for his release. Sentsov is now three months into a hunger strike and faces almost certain death unless he is released. What further representations can our Government make to secure his release and save his life?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this pressing case. We should all be speaking loudly in favour of the release of this prisoner from unjustified detention. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary undertakes to raise the matter directly with Sergey Lavrov when he meets him, and I hope that the prisoner will be released. There is absolutely no justification for this man being imprisoned. Indeed, he risks death as a result of his hunger strike.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

18. What are the Government doing towards the release of Shahidul Alam, the photographer imprisoned and tortured in Bangladesh, whose case has been championed by 10 Nobel prize winners and Sharon Stone? He is one of 700 detained under that country’s Information and Communication Technology Act, which Amnesty International says represents a muzzling of all critics of the regime. Offences carry a minimum seven-year sentence, and the judiciary is not impartial. Will the Minister impress upon this ally that such draconian legislation is killing Bangladesh’s once vibrant civil society?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

My right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), who doubles up as a Department for International Development Minister, made direct representations when he visited last week, and the high commissioner in Bangladesh is continuing to make strong representations as frequently and as effectively as she possibly can.

[Rachel Maclean (Redditch) (Con)]

A vital human right is that girls receive an education. Given that girls are likely to be out of education in conflict zones, what further actions are the Government and the Department taking to tackle that serious and worrying issue?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

We championed that important issue when I was DFID Minister, as did my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). It is a joint objective of DFID and the Foreign Office to ensure that girls have a full education for as many years as possible, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will be meeting the DFID Secretary this afternoon to discuss exactly this topic.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

In June, the International Trade Secretary hailed a new £1.5 billion natural gas deal with President Biya’s regime in Cameroon in a Government press release entitled “International visits pay off”. Can the Minister tell us whether the International Trade Secretary knew about the Biya regime’s ongoing persecution and massacres in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, or did he just not care?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I hope that the hon. Lady welcomes the investment that goes into Cameroon, particularly from the United Kingdom, but she is also right to say that any investment, particularly in the extractive industries, must meet the highest possible environmental and social standards, and we will endeavour to make sure it does.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

13. What recent progress he has made on securing the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

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[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has spent much of the summer travelling across Europe and meeting his European counterparts. Through EU membership, the UK is part of around 40 international agreements covering 70 countries. We are committed to ensuring continuity for existing EU trade agreements as we leave the European Union and to building up the closest trade agreements that we can with countries in the Commonwealth.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

T7. I thank the Minister of State for Europe and the Americas for meeting me just before recess to hear my concerns about the Colombian peace process. I visited Congressman- Elect Jesus Santrich in prison in Bogota last month. He has been on a 41-day hunger strike. He is very frail, and has been denied access to doctors and to medication—the only medication that he has had is through his lawyers. Will the Minister please speak to the new Colombian Government not just about access to medication for him because he is frail, but about his continued administrative detention?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I hope to make the hon. Lady’s comments of even greater value by saying that I will have such conversations and that I will put in calls to Colombia. I know that our mission in Colombia, in Bogota, is always doing its best to make representations of this sort.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T9. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his appointment as Foreign Secretary two months ago. I would be grateful if he committed to reviewing the resettlement of the Chagos islands, the British Indian Ocean Territory, by the native islanders.

[Sir Alan Duncan]

As my hon. Friend appreciates we do have a long-standing policy on this issue and we do not recognise the sovereignty claim of the Republic of Mauritius over Chagos archipelago. We very much regret that Mauritius is taking its case to the International Court of Justice. That case started yesterday, so it would be more appropriate for us to wait until the outcome of any judgment, which should conclude this week.

[Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)]

T8. The Indian state of Kerala has suffered its worst flooding in almost 100 years. One million people have been displaced and more than 400 have already died. What is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office doing to ensure that it offers adequate consular assistance to British citizens in Kerala and to those with relatives in the state?

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[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I am proud that the UK has taken a global lead on tackling plastics in our oceans and the terrible pollution that it causes, including, of course, the ban on microbeads and microplastics. None the less, more must be done. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should continue to talk with other nations, so that they follow our example, and that we bring in the cause of microfibres as well, which are causing devastating pollution, too?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

At the Commonwealth meeting, the Prime Minister launched the UK-Vanuatu-led Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance, which sees countries across the Commonwealth join forces in the fight against plastic, including a ban on microbeads. I shall take further steps after these questions to investigate further the extent to which it also might include microfibres.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

T10. Lesotho Minister John Maseribane admitted to “Channel 4 News” that he had received payments to his personal private bank account from Mr Arron Banks. Will the Foreign Secretary speak to the Attorney General about investigating this matter under the Bribery Act 2010 as this Government contribute to the Government of Lesotho?

[Scott Mann (North Cornwall) (Con)]

Will the Minister join me in congratulating Lewis Pugh on his recent swim across the English channel? It was a fantastic achievement. Along with 285 Members of Parliament, Lewis is championing the cause of the Great British Ocean Coalition. May I ask what progress is being made on marine conservation areas around the South Sandwich islands?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I think that the whole House will want to congratulate Lewis Pugh on his quite amazing swim. It puts my crawl—if I might put it that way—to shame. What he achieved was quite remarkable. The South Sandwich islands are very well managed. We are committed to protecting 10% of the world’s penguins there and around about. The UK is on course to protect 4 million square kilometres by 2020, which represents 60% of the UK’s oceans.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

Further to the answer that the Minister gave my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens), since President Duque took office there have been over 30 extra-judicial murders in Colombia; that is one every 18 hours. What can the Minister do when he calls Colombia to draw these murders to the attention of the Government in Colombia and to ensure that they bring the perpetrators to justice?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

We are happy to include all such issues in any conversations that we might have with Colombian Ministers. Indeed, we are particularly concerned to ensure that the peace process remains on course. It has been deviating slightly recently. The Prime Minister confirmed the UK’s full support of that process during her phone call with the new Colombian President on 9 August. The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Holmes also discussed UN Security Council support for peace in Colombia when they met in New York on 24 August.

[Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con)]

How are plans progressing to redeploy secondees to the European External Action Service, and what plans does the Foreign Office have to reconfigure our diplomatic footprint in Europe post Brexit?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

As my right hon. Friend will be aware, we have dedicated more resources to increasing our representation across Europe, so that we are fully equipped to do all that we can to represent the UK’s interest once we have left the European Union.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

The 50-year conflict in Colombia has seen thousands and thousands of campesino and indigenous families thrown off their territory, tortured and murdered, so the Minister is absolutely right to say that it is distressing in the extreme to see that the peace process has now stalled. The Spanish Prime Minister went to Colombia last week to impress on President Duque that he must get this back on track. Will the Minister make sure that British representations to President Duque are just as strong as those from Spain?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

Yes, I will do so very genuinely. I think that I am right in saying that the hon. Gentleman has recently visited Colombia. I would therefore like to invite him and any other colleagues to see me in order to brief me on what they learned during their visit.

[Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)]

Further to the Minister’s earlier remarks, will he make it clear to our Saudi allies that they are on a hiding to nothing in this war in Yemen and that every effort must be made to support the peace process being brokered by Martin Griffiths, the UN Special Representative for Yemen? Will the UK support renewal of the mandate of the UN’s group of eminent experts on Yemen at the Human Rights Council this month?

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[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

What conversations has my right hon. Friend had with his counterpart in Spain about the Catalan prisoners, some Ministers, who are imprisoned without charge?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

As my hon. Friend will appreciate, this is of course primarily a matter for Spain itself, but in our conversations with Spain we urge it to make sure that every step it takes is fully in compliance with its constitutional obligations.