Sudan

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

I welcome the shadow Foreign Secretary’s words on Sudan. It is the worst humanitarian crisis in the 21st century, and the whole House should be united in wanting it to end. She asked about the work being done through the Quad, and the work led by the US. I am in close contact with the US special envoy, Massad Boulos, and I am keeping in close contact with Secretary Rubio on this issue. I have also been involved in discussions with the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. A lot of work is being pursued by the Quad, but, linked to that, the UK and Norway are also pursuing further work, particularly to build civilian capacity. We all want this to move towards a civilian political transition, but we need to build up the capacity of Sudanese civilians, who have faced the most horrendous devastation and had to flee their homes as a result of this conflict, and they need support as well.

As I said in my statement, we believe that this has to be an international effort, in the same way as in the run-up to the Gaza ceasefire, where there was work by the Arab League to say that Hamas should play no role, work by the UK, France and other countries to recognise the state of Palestine, and work by different countries to put forward potential reform plans during the summer, all of which was ultimately drawn upon in the 20-point plan put together by President Trump last year. We need the same intensity in relation to Sudan, with the same level of international engagement. That is what I want to see, and it is why I spoke to so many African Foreign Ministers in neighbouring countries this week. It is why I have been speaking to the African Union, and why I will be raising the issue not just at the UN Security Council when we hold the Chair this month, but at the Munich security conference, and as part of the Berlin conference. It is crucial that we keep that focus and energy in relation to Sudan. The £20 million announced this week is new money that will be used, in particular, for the survivors of sexual violence.

The right hon. Lady mentioned Peter Mandelson. As the House will know, I withdrew Peter Mandelson from his role as ambassador to the United States less than a week after I was appointed as Foreign Secretary. I am clear that his actions are completely unforgiveable. Given that at the heart of what Epstein did was the grave abuse and trafficking of women and girls, this is particularly disturbing. I will say something else: I was Chief Secretary to the Treasury at the height of the financial crisis, when everybody was busting a gut to rescue the savings and livelihoods of ordinary people across this country, so the idea that a senior and experienced Cabinet Minister, working alongside us, could instead be behaving the way we have seen is truly shocking. It is right that a police investigation is under way.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for her impactful visit and for the sanctions that she has announced today. Earlier this week, the all-party parliamentary group for Sudan and South Sudan met the Somoud civilian coalition. It stressed, as she has done today, that it is often civilians who are delivering humanitarian assistance, and it was civilians who were ejected from Government by the two generals who are currently slogging it out, at the expense of thousands upon thousands of slaughtered civilians, and millions of hungry and displaced civilians. She talked about the UK and Norway being focused on developing civilian capacity, but does she agree that cannot be a separate track to what the Quad is doing? Civilian voices must be involved in peace processes. We cannot see an empowerment of the generals, who have caused the crisis in the first place, which is what will happen if civilians are not engaged in what the Quad is doing now.

[Yvette Cooper]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s points and pay tribute to the bravery of Sudanese civilians, especially those who continue to run the emergency response rooms, providing urgently needed support for desperate people in Sudan. She is right that civilian capacity has to be a central part of the peace process. In fact, members of the Quad have specifically asked us to play a role in developing that as part of the peace process. I also discussed that with the African Union this week, because we believe that civilians can only be supported with the assistance of the countries bordering Sudan, and with the African Union.

Oral Answers to Questions

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Yesterday, the International Criminal Court’s deputy chief prosector said that atrocities in Sudan would be repeated from town to town unless impunity for belligerents ended. What measures have the UK Government been taking to make it clear to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North, as well as to the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese armed forces, that they must protect civilians and let aid through?

[Yvette Cooper]

I thank my right hon. Friend for raising this issue, because the continuing humanitarian crisis and horrendous violence in Sudan are deeply troubling, and I worry that they are not getting sufficient international attention. This weekend, I discussed extensively with the UN Secretary-General what further action can be taken and what concerted pressure can be put on any country that has any influence on the warring parties. We urgently need a ceasefire, but we also need an end to the horrendous and brutal violence, particularly the sexual violence towards women.

Iran: Protests

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I just want to be clear about the status of our embassy in Tehran. While it is true that we have withdrawn our staff, we have not closed our embassy. I expect that the embassy will be fully functional again soon—I hope with some of this behind us.

On the IRGC, which the right hon. Gentleman has asked about on several occasions, as have others in the House, we conducted the Jonathan Hall review and he found that it is important that we have a tool that is focused on the particularities of the threats from Iran and the IRGC. That is a different threat from that which emanates from a simple terrorist group, if I may use that language, and we are committed to taking forward those recommendations through the creation of a state threats proscription-like tool, and we will be coming back for the parliamentary time to do that.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Chillingly, the head of the Iranian judiciary has publicly called for the acceleration of executions of protesters. The killing in Iran is not stopping. Last week, when the Foreign Secretary talked of further sanctions and sectoral measures, she linked those to the nuclear industry. Will the Minister now confirm that the UK will be seeking to go further than sanctions applied in relation to nuclear issues, to also seek to impose them on human rights grounds for those who have been linked with this brutal Iranian regime?

[Mr Falconer]

I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend who has considerable experience in these matters. She is right to differentiate: there are the snapback-related sanctions, which are in progress and which the shadow Foreign Secretary and I have corresponded on recently; and I can confirm that we are also separately considering human rights sanctions in relation to the abuses that we see.

UK-France Relations

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Chris Murray]

I agree entirely with the point my hon. Friend makes. Like him, I have worked a lot with the Franco-British Council, and he is right that Europe’s strategic autonomy and ability to act collectively and in coalitions of the willing—an issue I will come to in a second—is important, given the changing geopolitical situation we clearly face.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

My hon. Friend will be aware that both our nations are currently subject to disinformation online, and we also face the challenges of artificial intelligence, as well as its promise. Does he therefore agree that we need to continue the work from the Bletchley and Paris summits on AI, and to really intensify that work on technology in the future?

[Chris Murray]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The UK and France have substantial military technology sectors, which are critical for not only our security but the rules-based international order that the relationship between the two countries props up. When it comes to new technologies, whether it is AI or military hardware and kit, the rules-based international order needs—the liberals in the world need—the UK and France at the forefront. They need our technology and defence industries to work with our political objectives to achieve that. I think that is the point my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) was about to make.

That takes me to exactly the point I was about to make in my speech. At the UK-France summit last year, the Prime Minister and President Macron reaffirmed in the Northwood declaration the declaration from 1995 about our nuclear posture and our shared nuclear weapons objectives. They said:

“we do not see situations arising in which the vital interests of either France or the United Kingdom could be threatened without the vital interests of the other also being threatened.”

There are not many countries in the world that we could say that so baldly and so clearly about. In other words, we are saying that British security is French security, and French security is British security. Despite all the bumps in the road, that strategic truth endures.

Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his further questions. He is not correct about ODA cuts for Sudan. The Prime Minister has already committed to that funding continuing over the next three years, so it is not correct to say that there will be ODA cuts for Sudan.

We continue to support the International Criminal Court’s active investigation of the situation in Sudan. In relation to arms, I say to the House that we take very seriously allegations that UK-made equipment may have been transferred to Sudan, in breach of the UK’s arms embargo. There is no evidence in recent reporting of UK weapons or ammunition being used in Sudan.

In terms of reporting to the House, the Foreign Secretary answered substantive questions on Sudan at the beginning of this month and made a statement at the end of last month. It is notable that the hon. Gentleman was not here for those questions.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the Government’s sanctioning of senior commanders in the RSF, but the Minister will be aware of the genuine fears about further barbaric escalation in the run-up to Christmas. He rightly talked about the appalling killing of peacekeepers, but in the past couple of days a hospital has been shelled, and there are huge concerns about the insecure situation of refugees, particularly in Tawila. What is the Government’s timeline for further measures to try to force the belligerents to protect civilians, as a matter of extreme urgency?

[Chris Elmore]

I know how much my right hon. Friend cares about this issue, particularly as she was a development Minister last year. Tomorrow, the UK will co-host with Denmark a closed informal interactive dialogue at the United Nations Security Council. It will address the urgent need to harmonise regional international mediation efforts to bring about the much-needed humanitarian ceasefire.

Oral Answers to Questions

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

I have already discussed Sudan on several occasions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and I will continue to do so. We have further direct discussions on Sudan between other Ministers and other US envoys, because it has to be a central priority for the entire international community. Currently, neither side is accepting the US-led ceasefire proposals. We need continued pressure from all sides on the warring parties to sign up to the ceasefire, or even a humanitarian truce, so that we can get the talks started and get the aid in.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I was pleased to hear that the Foreign Secretary met representatives of the emergency response rooms. I also met some of those incredibly brave volunteers. Of course, their humanitarian organisations have been strictly neutral throughout the war, yet they have been targeted by belligerents on all sides, simply for trying to feed people. What representations has she made about the need to protect emergency response room volunteers?

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree with all the points that my right hon. Friend has made on this issue. The bravery that the volunteers show means that they themselves are directly targeted; they described how, with each change of control, they end up getting targeted again by the warring party that has taken control of the area. What we have seen is absolutely horrendous. We will continue to speak up for Sudanese and other aid workers.

Gaza and Sudan

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

I welcome the response by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. I agree with him about the importance of an arms embargo around Sudan, and about ensuring that it is properly implemented. It is deeply disturbing that weapons are still being supplied to the RSF, despite the atrocities, and that there are still weapon flows to all sides. That means that there are immensely serious issues, including around borders, access and routes, that we need to continue to pursue through international pressure.

The hon. Gentleman raised a point about the investigations. The UN Human Rights Council resolution that the UK drafted with partners provides for the UN-led investigation of these atrocities, but that will be scant comfort to anyone if there is not also the urgently needed action to prevent further atrocities. There must be accountability, but there must also be urgent action to prevent atrocities in the first place.

On Gaza, work is under way to constitute the International Stabilisation Force. Some countries are prepared to come forward and contribute, and crucially the mandates were provided last night. The ISF must operate in line with international law. Further details of how the new Palestinian committee will operate need to be developed, and we want it to be constituted as rapidly as possible. Also, we must see an end to illegal settlements. We need to rebuild the connections between the west bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, so that we can have a Palestinian state, in which people live in peace and security, alongside the Israeli state. That is the only way that we will get to peace for both.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

On Sudan, I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s comments about potential additional sanctions and aid access, but surely, given the nightmarish reports, we need to go far further if we are to do what she has committed to doing—if we are to prevent further atrocities, and prevent impunity for perpetrators. Will she push the Quad to pressure the RSF to do two things: first, to allow International Criminal Court forensic teams and the media into El Fasher and on to other key sites; and secondly, to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to detainees, given that they seem to be routinely subject to torture and mass execution?

[Yvette Cooper]

My right hon. Friend has been raising her deep concerns and championing these issues for some time, including in her work to deliver the London Sudan conference, which took place last year. She asks a series of questions about the ICC forensic teams and the ICRC, and I agree with her.

Conflict in Sudan

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point, based on long years of experience. I will certainly discuss his suggestions with the Minister with responsibility for Africa.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification recently discovered conditions of famine in El Fasher and Kadugli. It has also stated that conditions in Dilling in south Kordofan are likely similar to those in Kadugli, but those conditions cannot be classified due to insufficient reliable data. Does the Minister agree that just as it is unacceptable to indiscriminately kill civilians, health workers and aid workers and restrict aid access, it is unacceptable to deny access for the purposes of famine classification, and are the Government making that point to the belligerents?

[Mr Falconer]

That is a very important point. It is absolutely vital that the IPC has the access it requires to make its classifications. I note with alarm and dismay how often this House relies on IPC classifications, not just in Sudan but in Gaza. It is vital that the IPC can do its work properly, so that its classifications, which are the world standard, can be relied on.

Drug-related Deaths

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Charlotte Nichols]

I absolutely agree. Later, I will try to develop my argument for that kind of approach, which we could take here but do not.

As a Parliament and as a society, we may have inadvertently come to accept the yearly statistics, and have perhaps not given them the necessary thought, but I stress that there are cost-effective solutions that could save the taxpayer money and save the lives of our constituents, while taking money out of the pockets of exploitative, organised criminal gangs.

I am afraid to say that the problem may be far worse than is recognised. A recent report by King’s College London indicates that there has been a severe under-reporting of drug-related deaths over the past 15 years. The researchers found that drug-related deaths have been under-reported by 30%, and opioid-related deaths between 2011 and 2022 were found to be 55% higher than recorded, putting the estimated number of opioid-related deaths in that period north of 39,000.

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate. She will be aware that many of those who have died from complications and overdoses related to opioids died on their own. That reflects the social isolation that so many experience when they become addicted to drugs. Does she agree that it is incredibly important that the social isolation of those seeking to move beyond addiction is broken through, and will she join me in thanking organisations like Jungle in my constituency, which seek to provide companionship and support for those who are trying to move beyond addiction?

[Charlotte Nichols]

My right hon. Friend is exactly right. The clearest way to recovery is with companionship and support—there is no path to recovery without that—and I of course give credit to the organisation she mentioned that is doing such fantastic work in this space, as we were discussing earlier today.

The implications of the under-reporting of drug-related deaths are that the problem is far worse than previously thought and the decision to cut funding to services under the previous Government was based on flawed figures. The National Audit Office reported that between 2014 and 2022 there was a 40% reduction in real-terms spending on adult drug and alcohol services, so I do not think it is a coincidence that the Office for National Statistics has reported a near doubling in drug-related deaths since 2014, and that the number of deaths only rises every year.

It is clear that the problem has been made substantively worse by under-investment by the previous Government. We can all acknowledge that, but acknowledgment without reform is meaningless. Persisting with failed, punitive policies will only deepen a crisis that already ranks among Europe’s worst. Now is the time to show the difference a Labour Government can make by putting in place harm-reduction policies that will start to undo this extensive damage.

As I mentioned previously, and I will repeat again because it is important, near half of all drug-related deaths registered in 2024 were confirmed to involve an opioid. In addition, this year’s ONS report found that the number of deaths involving nitazenes—a group of highly potent synthetic opioids—almost quadrupled from the year before. This marks the beginning of a new stage in the drug-related deaths crisis. As we have seen across the Atlantic, once those synthetic opioids take hold, it becomes all the more difficult to limit their devastation.

I welcome this Government’s changes to the human medicines regulation that further expanded access to naloxone, the lifesaving opioid antidote administered in the event of an overdose. Indeed, naloxone plays a vital role in the fight against drug-related deaths. However, further change is necessary and naloxone should be available rapidly and reliably in every community pharmacy in the UK, so that it can be quickly accessed in the event of an overdose.

It is important to note that naloxone cannot be administered by the person overdosing and must instead be administered by someone else. That necessitates further education on the existence of naloxone, and how and when to use it, with people who may come into contact with people who use opioids, including frontline service workers, such as police officers and transport workers, and the loved ones of those struggling with addiction.

The period immediately after release from prison or discharge from hospital is when risk peaks. Opt-out pathways for naloxone distribution should be the norm. Take-home naloxone on release or discharge, same-day linkage to community treatment and a clear pathway for handover care are essential for people struggling with substance use disorders.

As of December 2021, the Government estimated the annual cost of illegal drug use in England to be £20 billion. Around 48% of that was attributed to drug-related crime, while harms linked to drug-related deaths and homicide accounted for a further 33%. Notably, the majority of those costs are associated with the estimated 300,000 people who use opiates and crack cocaine in England.

Dame Carol Black’s landmark 2021 review of UK drug policy found that for every for every £1 spent on treatment, £4 are saved through reduced demand on the health and justice systems. In the face of rising fatalities and a cost of living crisis, failing to scale treatment and harm-reduction measures is both morally indefensible and financially illiterate. If we want to realise that four-to-one return, we must provide long-term funding for organisations delivering services. Drug treatment services can only deliver if they are able to retain staff, train consistently and scale according to demand.

Sudan: Government Support

Anneliese Dodds Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Brian Mathew]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and I agree with him. Will the Government do for Tawila what was not done for El Geneina, Zamzam, or El Fasher, and recognise its precariousness before it is too late? Will the Government use every diplomatic pressure and avenue available to secure guarantees that humanitarian assistance and aid can be delivered unimpeded?

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am very grateful to the hon. Member for securing this important debate, and to everyone who has participated. He mentioned impediments to aid, and he will be aware that the most recent, very disturbing IPC assessment showed that famine is taking place in El Fasher and Kadugli. That came out after the quad statement from the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. On the subject of diplomatic pressure, does the hon. Member agree it is important that the UK uses its influence with those quad members, to say that they must pressure the belligerents to stop blocking that much needed aid in this famine situation?

[Brian Mathew]

I completely agree with the right hon. Lady and thank her for raising that point. A third of children under five in El Fasher are suffering from acute malnutrition, and some are resorting to eating animal feed and plant waste to survive. I would hope that everything possible will be done to allow humanitarian corridors to open for civilians to leave besieged areas, and to be assured they are not going from the frying pan into the fire. The supply of weaponry and military equipment is the oxygen keeping this conflict alive, and we as penholder should lead efforts to impose a binding, enforceable arms embargo across all of Sudan.