Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Burt and Martin Docherty-Hughes

Tuesday 22nd January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

2. What recent discussions he has had with his Iraqi counterpart.

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

I spoke to Foreign Minister Alhakim on the telephone on 14 November. I saw him in Rome with President Barham Salih at the end of November, and the noble Lord Ahmad spoke to him in December.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes]

I thank the Minister for his response. Ben Taub reminded us recently in The New Yorker that the murder and rape of women and the brutalisation of children in Iraqi detention camps do not bode well for peace and security. Does the Minister agree that when he next meets his counterparts he should remind the Iraqi state that it should be building peace and reconciliation rather than creating breeding grounds for a new Daesh insurgency?

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Debate between Alistair Burt and Martin Docherty-Hughes

Monday 7th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady and her constituents, and indeed to the constituents of the many hon. Members who have written to their MPs and, through them, to me about the circumstances of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to ensure that she is never forgotten by anyone. I will certainly bring the hon. Lady’s points about the Home Office directly to my colleagues.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) on gaining this urgent question. I should also like to pass on to the Zaghari-Ratcliffe family my thanks and those of the family of my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal for the support that they have offered his family during his detention in the Republic of India.

The theocracy of Iran cites diplomatic support and consular services, but there is a litany of inconsistency, whether in relation to the Republic of India in relation to Jagtar Singh Johal or to the Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to the Zaghari-Ratcliffe case. In order to get over some of those inconsistencies, will a Minister from the Foreign Office agree to attend the all-party parliamentary group on deaths abroad and consular services and assistance, to listen to the lived experiences of families who are undergoing this situation here in the UK while their family members are being held abroad, whether in Iran or anywhere else? It is that lived experience that will inform best practice in the Ministry.

[Alistair Burt]

On and off, I have been dealing with consular cases in the middle east region since 2010. I have met a number of families in very difficult situations following a variety of crises, as well as those who have been held. In each particular case, we have tried to engage the consular service, which tries to look at each case individually and to apply its sense of what is in the best interests of each individual being held abroad. The contact has to be very good between them and the families, but I know that there is not always agreement about what might be in the person’s best interest. My right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan) is the Minister with responsibility for consular matters within the Department—[Interruption.] One of my ministerial colleagues has principal responsibility for all consular matters, and I will certainly ensure that the hon. Gentleman’s request is passed on—[Interruption.] The Minister responsible is my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin). We have heard the hon. Gentleman’s request, and I am sure that a colleague will attend that APPG meeting if a request comes through.

Ukraine-Russia Relations

Debate between Alistair Burt and Martin Docherty-Hughes

Tuesday 27th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

As I have reiterated throughout, it is essential that responses are co-ordinated and collective. The United Kingdom has made its position extremely clear at the United Nations, in collective meetings today and yesterday, and in the Foreign Secretary’s statement. We will work in concert with our partners in seeking to reverse these actions and achieve our objective, which is stability and mutual security in the region—mutual security that is based on respect for territorial integrity and a rules-based international system.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

On the back of the Russian Federation’s illegal and immoral actions in Ukraine, the President of Ukraine is flirting with martial law. Once assumed, martial law powers are rarely given up willingly, and unconsolidated democracies that take them rarely survive. In that context, can the Minister assure the House that the links between the President of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s right-hand man, Viktor Medvedchuk, will be fully investigated and exposed, and that we, as a member of the European Union—while we still are—will fully push the rest of the European Union to get its act together and ensure that more solid sanctions are imposed on the Russian Federation?

[Alistair Burt]

As I mentioned earlier, the imposition of martial law by the Ukrainian Parliament was announced yesterday, and will come into effect tomorrow at 0900 hours. We welcome what the President said in relation to the limitation of those powers, and we are monitoring very carefully what the impact and effects may be.

Mental Health (Armed Forces Veterans)

Debate between Alistair Burt and Martin Docherty-Hughes

Wednesday 14th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

My hon. and gallant Friend from the Ministry of Defence says that there is money available in a bidding programme and he will write to the hon. Gentleman and see what more can be done in relation to that.

I want to say two things as we run towards a conclusion. Many of the servicemen affected will of course be treated by the NHS in the course of ordinary medical treatment. The so-called talking therapies from the IAPT programme have been particularly successful. It is important to ensure that the particular needs of veterans are catered for in this programme. Work has been under way to ensure that that is done. The IAPT programme has been very successful. For the first time, we have standard waiting times and access targets. That will help veterans too.

[Martin John Docherty (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Alistair Burt]

I only have a couple of minutes left, but if the hon. Gentleman must intervene, I will give way.

[Martin John Docherty]

I am very conscious of the time, and I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. We have heard much talk about service personnel, and I completely agree with it, but there seems to be little discussion about the impact of service personnel’s mental health issues on children. Given that the strategic defence and security review is coming up, will there be some commitment to investigations and discussions with the children’s commissioners of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to see how they can inform that debate?

[Alistair Burt]

I note the hon. Gentleman’s remarks. I cannot say anything about the review, but I take his point. It is recognised that anything that affects the mental health of an individual can impact on the family. I hope that the veterans’ work involves that.

May I just say a little more as I have something specifically to say about that? Additional services include: a 24-hour veterans’ mental health helpline that receives more than 800 calls per month; an online peer support, well-being and counselling service called the Big White Wall, which provides support and services to armed forces, their families and veterans 24 hours a day all year round; Combat Stress, of which people are aware; and Help for Heroes’ “hidden wounds”, which is a psychological well-being service offering support to veterans and their families. It is important that these veterans’ services are both sustainable and fully embedded in the mainstream of the NHS so that veterans can move to other mental health services if necessary and at the right time.

In view of what colleagues have said, let me conclude by returning to my original point. There are services in place. They have clearly improved. We have recognised the good work of my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire some time ago and the demand that has come back, but it is plain from what colleagues are saying that they want us to do more. I do not think that there is a finite limit that we can go beyond in recognition of what has been done for us. I am absolutely certain that the commitment that the Prime Minister made this afternoon in his answer to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow in which he demonstrated his own deep awareness of the situation is one that we can all rely on. We will continue to meet the commitments of the armed forces covenant and to work closely with all those relevant organisations in the best interest of veterans and their mental health. That is the best way in which we can say thank you.

Question put and agreed to.