Contaminated Blood

Debate between Alistair Burt and Gerald Howarth

Thursday 15th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

I thank my hon. Friend. The report by my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley and the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North, who I will call my hon. Friend for these purposes, covered those issues in some detail. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North will speak about some of the practical issues to do with financial provision.

Following the public meetings, we decided to take the opportunity to use new technology. Both the all-party group and my group of colleagues went out with surveys to as many people as we could find. I am deeply grateful for support given by YouGov and the personal support given by my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon, whose commitment and resource allowed us to do this job. It is a measure of the impact of this problem that about 1,000 people responded to our surveys, which is statistically way above the normal response to such surveys. We are profoundly grateful to those who responded so honestly and no doubt with much pain as they went over difficult and hurtful circumstances in an effort to inform us and the Government of what they had experienced. Key findings in our survey included the ideas that lump sums rather than ongoing payments might suit some sufferers better, that ongoing support for widowed partners and spouses was vital and that some form of inquiry was still relevant. All our findings have been reported to Government.

We then asked more people to contact their Members of Parliament, as my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) has just mentioned. The number of colleagues now involved is well into three figures, and the number who have signed our motion can be seen on the Order Paper. I have colleagues who wanted to be here but could not—the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe) and my hon. Friends the Members for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin), for Ipswich (Ben Gummer) and for Erewash (Jessica Lee). I could go on about their stories for some time.

I do not expect the Minister to deal with the possibility of further financial relief today. I accept that the delay to Penrose means it is possible that it could report in such a way as to require some form of response from the Government that might have financial implications which it would be unwise to commit to now and have to revise again quite soon. However, I put it on record that I do not expect that closure can be effected without some further financial provision. There will always be inevitable arguments about money. The truth for a Government is always that at any one moment there is money and no money. When the banks needed to be bailed out, money was found. When we needed to compensate those who had lost their futures through Equitable Life, even if all the money could not be found, over £1 billion was found. If, God forbid, the country were to have a catastrophe tomorrow, we would find money. A catastrophe? Perhaps 1,800 dead is a catastrophe.

[Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)]

Like other colleagues, I pay tribute to the work that my right hon. Friend has done on this. I do not have any constituents who are affected, but I have served in this House, along with him, since 1983, and I feel that this is business that neither the House nor successive Governments have properly resolved. Does he agree that as this blood was provided by the national health service—by the state—it is therefore the responsibility of the state to sort out the affliction that has affected these people over decades?

[Alistair Burt]

My hon. Friend puts it very well. He is yet another example of an MP who does not have a constituency interest but has recognised the responsibility that we all share, and the state shares, for what has happened.

Only this morning we saw in one of the newspapers that local authorities had spent £5 billion on consultants. As I say, at any one time a Government will have no money or can find money.

Syria (EU Restrictive Measures)

Debate between Alistair Burt and Gerald Howarth

Tuesday 21st May 2013 Commons Chamber

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

I beg to move,

That this House takes note of EU Council Decision 2013/109/CFSP amending Decision 2012/739/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria; takes note of the deteriorating situation in Syria that has led to the deaths of more than 70,000 people at the hands of the Assad regime; and supports the decision of Her Majesty’s Government to agree with Council Decision 2013/109/CFSP.

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the important issue of Syrian sanctions. In addition to the statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my appearance today, the Government have sought to keep the House and the European Scrutiny Committee updated through statements, answers in the House and correspondence, including between the European Scrutiny Committee, which has called this debate, and the Minister for Europe.

Today’s debate is the result of the European Scrutiny Committee report dated 13 March, which referred for debate on the Floor of the House the Council decision agreed by member states on 28 February. The decision amended the EU arms embargo to allow for the provision of non-lethal equipment and technical assistance for the protection of civilians. I apologise to the House that on that occasion the Government had to override the normal scrutiny process due to negotiations on the Council decision in Brussels going to the wire. I appreciate the House’s forbearance on that, and I welcome the opportunity today to debate issues around that Council decision and subsequent developments on Syria.

Syria is one of our greatest foreign policy challenges, not least as it has brought about a humanitarian crisis on a scale not seen in decades. The enormity of death and destruction is horrifying. More than 80,000 people have died, a quarter of the country’s population has been displaced and more than 1 million Syrians have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

A year ago, 1 million people inside Syria needed humanitarian aid. That figure is now nearly 7 million, and the United Nations forecasts that it will reach 10 million by the end of this year—10 million people displaced by the Syrian conflict. To put that number in context, it is the combined populations of the cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool, and all are in dire need of shelter, water, food, health care and other basic supplies.

As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has repeatedly made clear, most recently in his statement to the House yesterday, our objective is to achieve a political solution to the conflict in Syria and bring an end to the terrible violence and human suffering. Sanctions are an important tool in achieving that objective, but as with any tool, they must be used intelligently to make maximum impact.

Our initial aim in imposing sanctions was to cut off the flow of funds and arms to the Syrian regime, choking off its ability to continue to wage war against its people, and to increase pressure on individuals in the regime to end the violence. Those sanctions have had a profound impact on the regime’s financial flows and put it under increasing pressure, but they have not proved decisive. The Syrian regime has continued to receive material and financial support from its international backers and been able to continue its brutality. I am proud of the leading role that Britain has played in using sanctions to put pressure on the Assad regime. We must now play a leading role in refining those sanctions to ensure that they continue to support our overall goal of achieving a political solution and ending the violence and suffering.

As the conflict in Syria deteriorated, it became clear earlier this year that elements of the existing sanctions package had become an obstacle to our efforts to help the opposition National Coalition to deliver life-saving support to civilians inside Syria, and an obstacle to our efforts to increase the pressure on the regime to end the violence. The Syrian regime has shown no remorse in targeting civilians, including those involved in distributing essential assistance. That is why we pushed to achieve an amendment to the EU arms embargo in February to allow the opposition to receive much-needed technical advice and assistance in addition to a greater range of non-lethal equipment.

The breakthrough achieved by the UK in February has allowed us and other European partners to consider a greater range of measures to help to protect civilians in Syria. The Syrian opposition needs to be appropriately trained to respect the principle of international humanitarian law. The technical assistance includes advice to the opposition to help it to get on with the business of governance and saving the lives of ordinary Syrians.

Since the amendment achieved in February, the situation in Syria has continued to deteriorate. Syria is an unmitigated humanitarian disaster. The Assad regime continues to use heavy weaponry and ballistic missiles on its own people, and there is increasingly persuasive evidence that chemical weapons have been used by the regime.

[Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)]

The House is well aware of the dreadful situation in Syria, and of the atrocities allegedly committed by the Assad regime, but will my hon. Friend tell us more about the atrocities committed by the people to whom he wishes us to send arms? The House and the country need to be clear on whether the good boys are on one side and the evil boys are on the other, or whether there are faults on both sides.

[Alistair Burt]

As my hon. Friend is aware, it is clear that there are faults on all sides, but all the evidence collected so far by the UN indicates that a greater degree of atrocities have been committed by the regime than by elements of those opposed to it. He is correct to draw attention to the latter, as the Government do. Abuse of human rights is incompatible with our values and we condemn it everywhere. However, the opposition is divided into different elements. We wish to support and are supporting those who we believe are moderate, and those who have declared their adherence to democratic principles, most recently in April. They are under pressure from the more extreme elements, but we condemn atrocities on either side. We are working with those who we believe have the right values. Those are the ones we wish to continue to be supported.