25th Anniversary of 9/11

Alan Mak Excerpts

Friday 11th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

Twenty-five years ago today, on a clear Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists hijacked four passenger planes. Two were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. A third struck the Pentagon, and the fourth, United Airlines flight 93, crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew resisted their hijackers.

In a period of less than two hours, the twin towers fell and 2,977 innocent people from more than 90 countries were murdered. Of those killed, 67 were British citizens, more than from any other country apart from the United States. Thousands more were injured, and many survivors, emergency workers and people who took part in the recovery operation have lived with the physical and psychological consequences ever since.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward the debate. It is only right on this day that we remember all those who lost their lives, in particular the 67 British citizens. As someone who represents a constituency in Northern Ireland that knows all too well the cruel, devastating scourge of terrorism and the effect on loved ones and first responders, I know that grief is indeed the price we pay for love. Does he agree that this House stands resolutely shoulder to shoulder with our American allies in the ongoing fight against global terrorism, wherever it may be in this world?

[Alan Mak]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his apt intervention. I absolutely agree with him: the United Kingdom stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States of America, our strongest and longest-standing ally.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the loss of emergency workers in that brutal attack, and we celebrate and salute their courage. But we now know, since the attack, that more firefighters have died as a result of their work on the site than died on the day of the attack itself. When we remember those who died that day, we also have to think about the legacy of the attack, including those firefighters who have been lost.

[Alan Mak]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise that point, and it is one that I will come to later in my speech. I was just saying to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) that it is right that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends and colleagues from the United States, because although the attack took place on American soil, it was a global tragedy. Its victims came from across the world. Its grief crossed borders and its consequences shaped the quarter of a century that followed.

The work of the 9/11 memorial and museum in New York is guided by three simple principles: to honour, to educate and to inspire. Those principles should also guide us in how we mark this anniversary in Britain: honouring those who are lost, educating those too young to remember and drawing inspiration from the courage shown in the face of terror.

For those of us old enough to remember that day, the events are seared into our memory. We remember where we were when we heard the news. We remember watching the images from New York and struggling to understand what we were seeing. We remember the shock of the second plane striking the second tower when it became clear that this was not an accident, and we remember the towers falling, knowing that thousands of people were still trapped inside.

But the passage of 25 years creates a new responsibility. Every child now at school was born after the attacks. Many young adults have no personal memory of 9/11. Indeed, one current Member of this House was not yet born when the attacks took place. In fact, across the United Kingdom, around 20 million people—close to three in 10—have been born since the attacks. For a growing number of our population, 9/11 is not a memory; it is something they encounter only in textbooks, in online videos or in brief references during foreign policy discussions. For them, it is history. That change is inevitable, but forgetting is not. We must ensure that future generations understand what happened, who was lost and why the attacks still matter.

Young people should understand that al-Qaeda’s terrorism was driven by a murderous ideology. They should also understand the extraordinary courage shown in response.

[Matt Turmaine (Watford) (Lab)]

We must also remember the families of those killed on this tragic day 25 years ago. I was working in the BBC press office at the time and remember everybody standing around watching the shocking scenes unfolding on television—horrific scenes, unseen until perhaps the covid pandemic. Does he agree that international efforts to promote tolerance and understanding to avoid another such incident of this type are vital?

[Alan Mak]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. We should use this opportunity of the 25th anniversary to look forward and to educate young people.

As well as educating young people about al-Qaeda’s terrorism and its murderous ideology, there is an opportunity to teach them about the extraordinary courage shown in response to that ideology—from the firefighters climbing the stairs as others came down, to police officers, paramedics and office workers helping strangers to safety, and to the passengers and crew of United Airlines flight 93 whose resistance prevented many more deaths.

9/11 must never be reduced to footage of aircraft and collapsing buildings. The numbers “2977” were 2,977 individual lives—parents, children, husbands, wives, siblings, friends and colleagues, all of whom expected to return home that evening. That includes the 67 British victims, who were mentioned by me and the hon. Member for Strangford.

9/11 was an attack on the United States, but its grief crossed borders immediately. British families received the same unbearable phone calls, waited for the same news and experienced the same permanent empty place at family gatherings. I recognise those British families today. Their loss did not end when the cameras moved on. Anniversaries can bring public attention, but bereavement is lived privately day after day and year after year.

Earlier this year, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen visited the memorial in New York. They laid flowers beside the south pool, met bereaved families, survivors and first responders, and left a message honouring those who lost their lives. They expressed Britain’s enduring solidarity with the American people, and their visit was a fitting expression of the special relationship between our countries and a reminder that Britain continues to share in this remembrance.

That loss also reaches into my Havant constituency. My constituent Sally Taber lost her godson Oli Bennett in the attacks. Oli was 29 years old and a successful financial journalist. He was at the World Trade Centre on 9/11 to report on a conference. Sally told me that, when she saw the TV footage, she knew her godson had died. Oli’s family, his godmother and his school friends were determined that his life would be remembered not for the terrible way it ended, but for the values he had lived. They established the Oli Bennett Charitable Trust in his memory, offering grants to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Over nearly 25 years, the trust has helped 169 young people begin their dream of starting a business. The trust is now drawing to a close, but its closure does not bring Oli’s legacy to an end. It leaves behind scores of young people who were given an opportunity because his family and friends responded to an act of destruction by helping others create something new. Sally’s story reminds us that an atrocity committed thousands of miles away can leave an absence in a home and a community right here in Britain. It also reminds us why names, photographs, voices and personal memories still matter.

We must therefore continue to recognise that the human cost did not cease on 11 September. The destruction of the World Trade Centre released a vast toxic dust cloud, and more than 400,000 first responders, recovery workers, survivors, residents and others were exposed during the attacks and the nine-month recovery operation that followed, as the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) rightly said, and this House pays tribute to all of them.

It is also right that this year, for the first time, the ceremony at ground zero will include a seventh moment of silence, dedicated to those who died from 9/11-related illnesses. This is an important recognition that the victims of 9/11 were not only those whose lives were taken on the day itself, but also those whose sacrifice shortened their life in the years afterwards.

That brings me to the role of technology in remembrance. 9/11 was one of the first great tragedies of the digital age. Millions watched it unfold live on television, and much of what survives was recorded by ordinary people using the technology available to them at the time: voicemails, telephone calls, photographs, emails, webcam recordings and amateur video. They all captured fragments of individual experience. Today’s technology allows those fragments to be preserved, connected and shared on a scale that would once have been impossible. A pupil in the Havant constituency who has never visited New York can examine a digital timeline of the morning, study primary source material and hear directly from a survivor, a bereaved relative or a first responder.

That work of preservation is increasingly urgent as people with first-hand memories of 9/11 grow older. The children who lost parents are now adults. Many of the firefighters, police officers, medics and recovery workers have passed away. We cannot assume that first-hand testimony will always be available, so we must record it while we can so that it remains accessible in the decades ahead.

No institution has done more to provide that access than the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York. Built on the site of the World Trade Centre, it combines the physical power of place with the evidence needed to understand what happened. Its collections preserve objects, images, recordings and personal accounts, and its educational work helps teachers to introduce pupils to an event that took place before they were born.

Anyone who has visited the memorial and museum, as I have had the privilege of doing with my wife, will understand the scale of its reach. It is not only an American place of remembrance. Around 97 million people have visited the memorial and nearly 28 million have entered the museum. Visitors have come from more than 170 countries, travelling to the place where history happened to pay their respects, understand the attacks and remember those who were murdered.

I thank everyone at the memorial and museum for the care and the seriousness with which they have preserved this history, supported families and helped a generation understand the attacks. I also thank the survivors, relatives, first responders and witnesses who have entrusted the museum with their memories. Sharing those experiences can carry a considerable personal cost, but it gives future generations something that no summary can ever provide: a direct connection with another person’s experience.

The museum’s work should prompt us to consider our responsibilities here in the United Kingdom. 9/11 is not a mandatory topic in England’s national curriculum and, while some schools do teach it, not every pupil will learn about it. I recognise that education policy does not fall within the Minister’s Department; nevertheless, 9/11 was an international event that profoundly shaped Britain’s relationship with our closest ally. I would therefore be grateful if she addressed three questions when responding.

First, will she work with the Prime Minister and the Education Secretary to examine how 9/11 is taught in schools and how resources from the museum can be made more readily available to teachers and pupils? Secondly, will she ask the British embassy in Washington and the consulate general in New York to support closer educational and commemorative links between the museum, British cultural institutions and victims’ families? Thirdly, how can the Government support British families to preserve their memories so they are not lost?

Today’s anniversary is an opportunity to reaffirm our faith in democracy and decency.

[Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend very much on bringing this debate to the House. What he has said is symptomatic of the importance of the special relationship, which he does so much to support in his role as a member of the executive of the British-American Parliamentary Group. Does he agree that a point that could be added to his list would be for the Government to promote the special relationship, ensuring that generations of children coming up realise that we are really close allies and shall remain close allies with our friends in the United States, irrespective of who happens to be holding elected office at any one time?

[Alan Mak]

I thank my hon. Friend for his very positive intervention and for his work as an officer of the British-American Parliamentary Group. I am proud to serve on its executive. The Minister will have heard his request, which I certainly agree with. I agree that today’s anniversary is an opportunity to reaffirm our relationship with the United States and our wider faith in democracy and decency.

The terrorists sought not only to murder innocent people on 9/11, but to destroy open societies, the relationships my hon. Friend talks about and the values that sustain them. They failed. The response to hatred was courage. The response to destruction was rescue and rebuilding. The response to human lives being lost is a determination to keep speaking their names.

Remembrance is not passive. Instead, it requires active choices: to teach, to preserve and to tell the stories of individuals, rather than allowing them to disappear into history. Those who remember that morning must now pass on its story to those who do not. We owe it to the people who were murdered, including the 67 British victims; we owe it to families such as Sally’s, who have carried their loss for a quarter of a century; and we owe it to future generations, who must understand both the hatred displayed that day and the courage that came in response.

Inscribed in the 9/11 museum’s memorial hall are words from Virgil’s “Aeneid”

“No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”

Inspired by Virgil’s poetry, we must ensure the victims of history’s deadliest terrorist attack are never lost to time. That is a responsibility carried by each generation, including ours, and it is one that we must always honour.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

8. What recent progress the Government have made on tackling climate change through international co-operation.

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

9. What diplomatic steps the Government are taking to lead the international effort to tackle climate change.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

14. What recent progress the Government have made on tackling climate change through international co-operation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

We are very direct with President Trump. We do not agree with him on climate change, which is why we continue to uphold the Paris accord and why we are championing a UK bid to host the next big climate change conference, COP 26. We want it to be held in London at the end of next year, and if we are successful, it will tell the whole world how seriously we take the issue.

[Alan Mak]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s efforts to secure the COP 26 summit for Britain. If he succeeds, how will he ensure that schools in Havant and across the country can contribute to the summit, given the importance of climate change to the next generation?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to focus on young people, and I am sure there will be a youth event if we are successful in our bid to host COP 26, but in some ways I want to have an oldies event as well, because I want young people to see that older generations really do take this issue seriously. Their concern is that we are not as committed to it as they are, and we must prove them wrong.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mark Field]

The right hon. Lady is absolutely right. She will recognise that Hamas is one of a number of Iranian proxies in the region. Our position is that Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously agreed and signed agreements. We condemn Hamas and other terrorist groups for firing rockets into Israel from not only Gaza but elsewhere, in the way described by my hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb). Those groups must permanently end such attacks against both civilians and defence forces.

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to enhance UK soft power overseas.

[Craig Mackinlay (South Thanet) (Con)]

15. What steps he is taking to enhance UK soft power overseas.

[The Minister for Asia and the Pacific (Mark Field)]

We regard the UK as a soft power superpower, and this is widely recognised in independent international surveys and reports. [Interruption.] A few more tongue twisters and I will be anyone’s! This is the sort of thing you want to do at 11 in the morning, not 11 o’clock at night. The FCO vigorously continues to support the UK’s soft power through the funding of, among others, Chevening scholarships, the British Council and the BBC World Service.

[Alan Mak]

The Commonwealth is one of the driving forces of UK soft power around the world. What plans does my right hon. Friend’s Department have in place to capitalise on these relationships to improve our power and security?

[Mark Field]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the UK has an unbreakable connection to the Commonwealth and the democratic, inclusive values that it upholds—we discussed earlier the importance of maintaining a rules-based international order, particularly in these uncertain times. The Commonwealth also proudly represents some of the fastest-growing economies and accounts for one fifth of global trade. We shall of course continue to work closely with all members of the Commonwealth to ensure that it realises its full potential in that regard, and to ensure a more sustainable, prosperous and secure future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 4th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for the Middle East (Alistair Burt)]

We are still pressing the Israeli authorities in relation to exactly what we said previously. That is the best way to try to find an answer to the tragedy that happened in Gaza.

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

T3. The Chevening awards help Britain to engage young people from across the world. What support has my right hon. Friend given to British embassies and missions in the greater China region to promote those important awards?

[Mark Field]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the soft power access of the Chevening scholarship programme, which creates lasting, positive relationships with future leaders, influencers and decision makers from 145 countries around the world. We now have some 50,000 Chevening alumni since the project was set up in 1983. Last year, with 75 scholars, China was the single largest part of our Chevening ambition.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

1. What steps his Department is taking to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

[The Minister for Africa (Harriett Baldwin)]

The UK is taking a leading role in ending the illegal wildlife trade globally. The Government are funding practical action to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement and develop sustainable livelihoods in the communities affected by the illegal wildlife trade. We will host an ambitious high-level international conference in October to push for further progress.

[Harriett Baldwin]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that organised crime is attracted to the illegal wildlife trade, as it is attracted to others such as the drug trade and human trafficking. That is why this is a transnational problem, and why the world must work together to end this terrible crime.

[Alan Mak]

British scientists have developed new forensic techniques to help to identify ivory poachers, including new fingerprint kits. Will my hon. Friend continue to support scientific techniques to try to clamp down on illegal wildlife traders?

[Harriett Baldwin]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that having the right forensic evidence in place is crucial. Indeed, many of the projects that the UK is supporting worldwide are using that expertise to get the right forensics, so that the criminals can be prosecuted and these crimes can be tackled worldwide.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ellwood]

I know the hon. Lady follows these events very closely. I do not know the details of that particular Sky report—I have not seen it. I am very happy to meet her outside the Chamber to discuss it. I can give her a reply in due course, or I can give her a public reply in the now much-vaunted and much-publicised debate we are having on Yemen on Thursday.

[Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

Since 1953, the Foreign Office has supported Marshall scholarships to help young Americans to study in the UK. Will my right hon. Friend continue to support this increasingly important aspect of the special relationship?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alok Sharma)]

The Government, of course, support the Marshall scholarship programme. It is another example of Britain’s soft power, and I am delighted to say that we have made additional funding available to enable 40 scholars to study at UK universities from September this year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 12th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

We regularly make representations to the Government of Iran about the widespread abuse of human rights there, including the widespread use of the death sentence and the completely unacceptable practice of imposing death sentences on minors. We will continue to make such representations at every opportunity.

[Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

Commonwealth countries are already large investors into the UK. Will the Government continue to work with Commonwealth business groups, such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, to make sure that that track record continues?

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 12th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ellwood]

I am pleased that Prime Minister Siraj and the Presidency Council are now meeting in Tripoli. It has taken a long time to get the General National Congress and the House of Representatives to agree to support the Prime Minister. These are important initial steps, but the hon. Gentleman is right to recognise that Daesh has a foothold in Derna and Sirte. That is why the sooner the Prime Minister is able to make the important decisions, the sooner the international community can come in and provide support to make sure that Daesh does not gain a long-term foothold.

[Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

British exports to China have more than doubled since 2010, led by firms such as Havant-based manufacturer Colt. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Colt, and encourage other firms to follow its lead?

[Mr Swire]

Indeed, I congratulate all the companies in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Trade with China, despite the recent setback, is still doing extremely well. Our bilateral relations have been reset, following the successful state visit to this country of President Xi. The Foreign Secretary has just been in Beijing. We both encourage British companies to trade more in China—it is a huge market—and all of us, as local Members of Parliament, to do everything we can to encourage our small and medium-sized enterprises to trade with China. Equally, the United Kingdom still continues to attract huge Chinese investment in our infrastructure, which of course provides employment and jobs.

European Union Referendum Bill

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to make my maiden speech in this House. I am honoured to represent the people of Havant and I thank them for placing their trust in me. I am delighted to follow the hon. Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin) and the other, excellent maiden speakers, who have set the bar high.

Like many hon. Members, I suspect I will be spending some of the coming weeks and months engaging with voters on the EU referendum, probably standing at the front of school halls and community centres. But it was my father who first inspired me into public service, because he was more used to standing at the back of all the rooms he was in. He had escaped communism and dictatorship to find freedom and opportunity here in Britain. He worked as a waiter and a bartender, standing at the back of restaurants. It was tough work, but it allowed him to save up and open a small shop up in Yorkshire with my mother. We lived above our shop, and much of my childhood was spent working in it. That journey from the back of the room to the front—from the shop floor to the Floor of this House—sums up the spirit of the opportunity society that my family and I have cherished, and which we must safeguard for future generations.

One man who shares that view is my predecessor, David Willetts, who represented Havant in this House for 23 years. David was an outstanding local MP, a distinguished Parliamentarian and a successful Minister who served his country and his constituency with distinction and honour. David was a practical and innovative thinker, and many of his ideas became Government policy. David understood that a strong economy is the driver of social mobility. Building a country where everyone has the chance to succeed, no matter what their starting point in life, will be the focus of my work in this House. As many hon. Members will know, David was affectionately nicknamed “Two Brains”. I want to manage the House’s expectations for the future, because although I have twice as much hair as David, I must confess I only have half his brains, but I hope to make up for it with my passion for Havant.

Although the modern Havant constituency is named after the ancient market town between Chichester and Portsmouth, today the seat is a microcosm of modern Britain—leafy suburbs, social housing, a rural island and a coastal town—and each part of my constituency values its own identity. Emsworth, for example, is a beautiful market town overlooking Chichester harbour that hosts an annual celebration of British produce. Emsworth also used to be famous for its oysters—until a banquet in 1902, that is, when some local councillors died from food poisoning after eating Emsworth oysters. I am sure that hon. Members would never want any councillors they know to suffer a similar fate. Further south, Hayling Island combines rural charm with a bustling visitor economy. Its beach has been awarded a blue flag for the last 24 years, and Hayling is a world-class centre for water sports and sailing. Bedhampton, Purbrook, Widley, Stakes, Warblington and Denvilles complete what is a wonderful constituency nestled between the south coast and the South Downs.

For centuries, Havant’s economy prospered on the back of parchment making, brewing and manufacturing, powered by our famous watermills and natural springs. In fact, local tradition says that Havant parchment was used for Magna Carta and the treaty of Versailles. In the modern era, Havant is now a world-class centre for high-quality engineering, science and technology. Multinationals such as Lockheed Martin, Colt, Pfizer and Kenwood all have substantial operations there, joining our many small businesses. The IBM factory that David Willets mentioned in his maiden speech has reopened as Langstone Technology Park, an outstanding example of economic regeneration and one of the crown jewels in our local economy. Whatever the British people decide in the coming referendum, which my party has enabled, we must maintain our status as an outward-looking nation, working with our partners in Europe, but also strengthening our ties with the exciting, fast-growing economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

I am also mindful that in today’s economy, every worker in Havant is facing competition, not just locally but globally. We must equip them with the skills to compete and win. Having benefited from an assisted place scholarship myself, I am confident that the Government’s academies and free schools programme will do just that. The transformation of Havant Academy shows exactly what can be achieved. Five years ago, it was literally a different school. Then called Staunton Community Sports College, it recorded England’s worst GSCE results, but by last summer it was England’s most improved school.

Havant Academy largely serves Leigh Park, one of Britain’s largest post-war housing estates. Some may ask me why my seat nevertheless returns such a large Conservative majority. I can tell them: Leigh Park is home to entrepreneurial tradesmen—some with white vans and England flags rightly and proudly displayed—small business owners, military veterans and hard-working families. They all want to get on in life, not just to get by. Most of them bought their council houses through right to buy, many work for local businesses and understand the importance of a strong economy, and they all care about their children's future. I am proud that they have turned to my party for a secure and prosperous future, and I am proud to represent them in the House.

My parents not only taught me how to serve people from all walks of life, but instilled in me an enduring faith in the enormous possibilities of our great nation, our great United Kingdom. For example, I am proud to be the first-ever Member of Parliament—in any party—of British-Chinese heritage. In many places, a seat in Parliament is open only to the rich and powerful, but we are all privileged to live in a country where anyone, even a family of modest shopkeepers, can stand tall and achieve their dreams. I hope that, through my work in the House, I can help everyone in Havant to achieve the same.