Counter-Daesh Update

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend that our commitment to that part of the world is for the long term. Our military commitment is finite—it is restricted to the mandate given by the House of Commons—but we are committed in every possible way, because we recognise that if the region is unstable, we will pay the price back here, through terrorism, disruption to our economy and any number of ways. He is absolutely right that our commitment must remain.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

The Leader of the Opposition is a former national chairman of the Stop the War Coalition. Under his chairmanship, the coalition issued a statement praising Daesh for its “internationalism” and “solidarity”. Does my right hon. Friend agree that although we might have many words to describe Daesh, those are certainly not two of them?

[Mr Hunt]

I agree wholeheartedly. I think that it is a terrible mistake when people misjudge the atrocities that organisations such as Daesh are capable of just because they happen to share their own anti-western worldview.