Ambassador to the United States
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Emily Thornberry
The right hon. Gentleman raises some important points. The power of Select Committees to summon witnesses has been an ongoing debate, and I suspect we have not resolved it yet. He also raises the matter of Privy Counsellors; our Committee has myself and another Privy Council member. The difficulty is that if we were offered Privy Council briefings, as we are sometimes, it is quite difficult, because we want to be able to do those things in public and inform the public of the work of the Foreign Office to ensure that when difficult decisions are being made, they understand why those decisions are being made, with all the factors involved in that. That is fine; I think we need to trust the public more than we sometimes do. We certainly need to trust Back Benchers more than we sometimes do.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
The Chairman of the Select Committee is being very generous. She is elegantly describing due process and is implying—at least I think she is—that due process may have been set aside for other purposes in this case. However, we know that due process was done because the Prime Minister stood at that Dispatch Box last Wednesday and said that it had been done—unless he is using the Bill Clinton defence, and it turns out that due process was done, but set aside. Where does that leave the Prime Minister?
Emily Thornberry
I think it is difficult to have answers to all the right hon. Gentleman’s questions at the moment. I think the most important thing is that lessons are learned, and even if all due process was followed and the inquiries were proceeded with to the letter, they clearly are not good enough and we need to change them. Either due process was not followed or it was and we need to change it. Either way, we need to work together to ensure that this never happens again, because something went very wrong.
Qatar: Israeli Strike
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Mr Falconer
I am disappointed that my hon. Friend’s constituent did not reserve a cookie for me, but I am grateful for the important question that she asks. For the reasons I set out before, it is important that we continue to engage directly with the Israeli Government, particularly on questions such as the evacuation of vulnerable people from Gaza, on which Israel’s co-operation is essential for any further progress.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Several of our partners in the region—in north Africa and the middle east—have expended a great deal of political capital in trying to achieve a rapprochement with Israel in recent years. The Minister will be aware, for example, of Morocco and its work and leadership in achieving the Abraham accords. What does he think this attack has done to them, and what confidence can they have that Israel is now truly embarked on a quest for peace in the region?
Mr Falconer
Even in advance of the events yesterday, nations in the region that had taken the step of signing the Abraham accords were signalling disquiet, most obviously and signally the United Arab Emirates, which released an important statement on this question. I will not seek to speak for our Arab allies, but I am sure that they will be looking at the events yesterday with great concern, and I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have seen the number of statements that have issued from the region over the last 24 hours.
Oral Answers to Questions
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Mr Falconer
My hon. Friend asks a vital question, which I raised directly with the Syrian Minister of Justice and the Syrian Foreign Minister last week. The violence—in coastal regions, targeting Alawites, and in Suwayda in the south, targeting Druze and others—was deeply concerning. The Syrians have conducted an investigation relatively independently in relation to the violence at the coast. I called on them, as the Foreign Secretary has done before, to do everything they can to ensure that minorities in the new Syria feel safe and protected by the Syrian Government.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Despite the strategic dialogue referred to by the Foreign Secretary, the Government have decided to veto the UK-Morocco power project, so what are they doing in practical terms to maintain the momentum in our relationship created by the association agreement signed with Morocco in 2019?
Mr Lammy
There was no veto. It is right that the Government look at all projects through a value-for-money lens. I was very pleased to be in Morocco, I remain engaged with its Foreign Minister, and I will build on that strategic visit. There is much to do over the coming months.
Middle East
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Mr Lammy
I reassure my hon. Friend that we are not at risk—we are not complicit. I am a former lawyer, and I study these things closely. I ask her to look closely at what we have done in relation to other Governments; we do not act unilaterally, but I think we are holding up pretty well. I wish the situation on the ground had changed. It has not yet changed, but we will continue to do everything we can to bring this war to an end.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Happy birthday, Madam Deputy Speaker.
The law of armed conflict is hardwired into the behaviour of our military, and we should demand the same of our friends and allies. Israel is our friend and ally. What assurances has the Foreign Secretary therefore had from his colleagues in the Ministry of Defence that they have gained from their Israeli interlocutors the assurances that we need that the 40 or 50 incidents involving the IDF on the west bank and in Gaza since 2023 will be brought to a proper conclusion, and that any wrongdoing is held to account?
Mr Lammy
The right hon. Gentleman put his opening remarks very well, and I would accord with them. We need proper independent scrutiny of some of this behaviour. We did call for that, by the way, for the awful atrocity involving the World Central Kitchen staff, where British nationals lost their lives, and we await an update from the advocate general. I understand that the Israelis have said there will be an investigation into the incidents we saw last week, but there are many for which it is not clear that there will be an investigation. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to put this centre stage, which is, of course, something I do when I speak to the Israeli Government.
Middle East
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
Before I call the next speaker, let me say that I heard some unacceptable comments directed at a Member in this Chamber, and I will not be having that. We are investigating it. Until I find out from the Clerks who said those words, please do be assured that I will investigate it.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
The Foreign Secretary, at the beginning of his remarks, mentioned the savagery unfolding in southern Syria, and said that he had spoken to his Syrian interlocuter, Minister al-Shaibani, about it. Has he spoken to Tel Aviv about it, since the only country that has visibly come to the assistance of the Druze, for all the criticism that has been rightly aimed at it, is Israel? If he has, can he say what his assessment is of the wisdom or otherwise of the action that Israel has taken?
Mr Lammy
The UK is clear that we expect Israel to adhere to its commitment that its presence in the area of separation in the south is both limited and temporary. I did press the Israeli Foreign Minister on Israel’s activity, which I worry destabilises the situation further.
Actions of Iranian Regime: UK Response
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Mr Falconer
I am not, for reasons obvious, going to provide a running commentary on the assessments of UK intelligence agencies.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
The Defence Secretary has said, correctly, that Operation Midnight Hammer has alleviated a grave threat, but the Attorney General appears to be less clear and wonders if it was illegal, while the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary appear to sit on the fence. I am sorry to put the Minister on the spot, but does he agree with the Attorney General or the Defence Secretary?
British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Stephen Doughty
I have respect for the right hon. Gentleman, but I totally reject his assertion. There is full support for this deal—and, indeed, full support for it from our allies in the United States and the Five Eyes partners. On the point about alleged tax cuts, at no point in his Budget speech did Prime Minister Ramgoolam say that he was planning to fund income tax reform with the money from this deal. That was very, very clear. Indeed, the rationale for this deal, which I have explained multiple times to the House, is that our national security was at risk and the operations of that base could not function as they once did. That is why the Opposition started the negotiations and why we have concluded them.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
After yesterday’s complete chaos, my constituents are bracing themselves for big tax increases in the autumn. How does the Minister think they feel when they see the Mauritian Government crowing about virtually abolishing income tax in Mauritius thanks to the largesse that he is about to pour on them?
Stephen Doughty
I am genuinely surprised by the comments of the right hon. Gentleman. As a former Defence Minister and someone who has served, he will know the importance of this base and the need to secure it, and he will know the risks to our operations that were inherent under the previous Government. That is why his Government started this process and why we have concluded it. It is also why our costs under the deal are broadly comparable with what France pays for its base in Djibouti, even though our base 15 times larger and has immeasurably more capability, as he well knows.
Oral Answers to Questions
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Mr Lammy
I have found it hugely beneficial to be able to speak to His Highness Prince Faisal so closely over the last few days, at the outbreak of this crisis and then again in the last 48 hours. We stay in close touch, and Saudi Arabia is a key ally. Of course, we were worried about how the situation would affect regional allies like Saudi Arabia. There is so much that we can do together, not just on security, but on trade. Our trade has grown by 70%, and we remain committed to growing our total trade to £30 billion by 2030.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
The creation of the Abraham accords was one of the achievements of the first Trump Administration, and the President of the US has said that he aims for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to join those accords. What are the UK Government doing to encourage that process, and what preconditions does he believe Riyadh has for joining the accords?
Mr Lammy
The right hon. Gentleman raises a good question. We should remember when thinking about 7 October that one of the objectives of Hamas was to tear apart the prospects of normalisation in the region. Notwithstanding the horrors and pain of the crisis in the region over these last months, the Abraham accords and Israel’s changed relationship with so many Gulf partners in particular, but also other Muslim countries, are important to keep hold of. We continue to discuss these issues, but there are no prospects until we get to a ceasefire.
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Mr Falconer
As ever, my hon. Friend makes an important and powerful contribution. I will not repeat the position on recognition, but we recognise the force of what he says, which is that the situation has deteriorated, settlements have increased very significantly over the last year, as has settlement violence, and it is unacceptable.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
It is a sad day when the UK Government and the Governments of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Norway feel it necessary to sanction Government Ministers in the state of Israel, one of our closest allies, but it is the right thing to do. Can I, however, counsel the Minister, if I may be so presumptuous, against performative politics, and ask him how many mouths will be fed, how much violence against Palestinians in the west bank will be avoided or averted, and how much closer are we to achieving the two-state solution that we all want to see as a result of the action he has announced today?
Mr Falconer
As my predecessor, the right hon. Gentleman can, of course, counsel me, and I am grateful for his support on the measures we have taken. As I said to another of my predecessors, the right hon. Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne), I recognise that sanctions are not a remedy: this will feed no Palestinians. I hope it will deter, but we have no guarantees that it will save any Palestinian lives. However, we think these are important statements of principle and actions that demonstrate not just to the two individuals, but to Israeli society, where we stand on these questions.
Gaza: UK Assessment
Andrew Murrison Excerpts(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Mr Falconer
As I said earlier, the words of Tom Fletcher in the United Nations Security Council are important. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment that was produced on Monday—that assessment is authoritative and thorough in its production—is the most important indication of needs in Gaza. It should be taken seriously by everyone in this Chamber, and indeed by the Israeli Government. My hon. Friend has long been committed to these issues, and he knows the actions that we have taken so far. I will not speculate from the Dispatch Box, other than to reassure the House that we will be working urgently with our allies and partners to ensure that Israel changes course.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
There can be few now who would believe that the conduct of the Netanyahu Government is anything other than gross and disproportionate. However, does the Minister agree with me that the actor in the region that has unequivocally embarked on genocide is Hamas, with their self-avowed policy of killing Jews and eradicating the state of Israel?
Mr Falconer
I have condemned Hamas for their despicable actions and ugly and unacceptable rhetoric many times from this Dispatch Box, and I am happy to do so again. It is the events of 7 October, in all their full horror, that triggered this most recent, most horrific round of violence.