British Indian Ocean Territory
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Mark Francois(1 day, 16 hours ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
The right hon. Gentleman is well aware that of course we know about that ICJ carve-out in relation to the Commonwealth. That is common knowledge. I find it slightly strange that he is presenting that as something that the House is not aware of—that is very peculiar indeed. He would have done well to wait for the rest of what I was going to say in relation to legal jeopardy, because this is by no means—
Anneliese Dodds
I note that when the right hon. and learned Gentleman talked about the potential for real-world consequences coming from legal uncertainty, some on the Conservative Benches laughed. We do not find this subject amusing; we view it as incredibly serious. If we do not have a deal with Mauritius, Conservative Members know that it would have every incentive to do a deal with someone else. We would face the risk of joint military exercises around the base—I did not hear a single word about that from Opposition Members. We would face the risk of other countries setting up outposts on surrounding islands, which appears not to be a concern for Opposition Members. We would also have the risk of hostile actors trying to interfere with crucial communications, and crucial communications they are. That is what is in our strategic defence interest, which the shadow Foreign Secretary mentioned. Without a negotiated solution—
Anneliese Dodds
No, I will keep speaking, as is my right. Without a negotiated solution with Mauritius, it would pursue its legal campaign; it has made that very clear, as the shadow Minister knows. That would lead to an inevitable, legally binding judgment, which would be—[Interruption.]
Anneliese Dodds
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
As I was saying, in that kind of situation, we would unfortunately see international organisations following that determination, such as the International Telecommunication Union. [Interruption.] I heard from the Opposition Front Bench, “Let them have a go.” The consequences of letting them have a go could be that critical spectrum for telecommunications that is essential for our security is compromised, another issue about which I sadly heard nothing from the right hon. Member for Witham.
The legal necessity of this deal has rightly been recognised by successive Governments.
Anneliese Dodds
I agree with the chuntering; it is risible that the Conservatives undertook 11 rounds of negotiations on this subject, and they simply will not admit to having done so. The right hon. Lady herself stated that that was something she could not speak about.
Anneliese Dodds
I think that the ordinary general public would be pretty concerned about a situation in which we had the risk of joint—[Interruption.] Opposition Members laugh. They laugh about the risk of joint military operations around the base. They laugh about the risk of other countries setting up outposts on surrounding islands, and they seem unconcerned about the threat of hostile actors trying to interfere with crucial communications. Those matters are of concern to the public, and they are of concern to the Government.
Mr Francois
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I apologise, but to prevent the Minister from inadvertently misleading the House, in answer to a parliamentary question, we have it from Sir Chris Bryant, ironically—
Mr Francois
We have it from the telecoms Minister that the International Telecommunication Union has no power to veto the use of military spectrum, so it could not interfere with satellites. That is the Government’s official position; does the Minister now wish to correct her remarks?
Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Mark Francois(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
What is really important is that the daily lives of Gibraltarians are as smooth as possible and that their interests and sovereignty are always at the forefront of these issues, not party politics.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
History shows again and again that appeasement does not work. It was inevitable after the abject surrender of the Chagos islands, for that is what it is, that the Spanish would try to exert pressure on Gibraltar. [Interruption.] Hon. Members shake their heads, but the Government are so embarrassed by the Chagos deal that they will not even tell the House of Commons what we will have to pay to rent our own base.
Coming back to Gibraltar, my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) is right that under Blair, Labour tried to sell out the Gibraltarians for joint sovereignty and a referendum killed it. We could not trust Labour on Gibraltar before, so why on earth, after what it has done to Chagos and the Chagossians, should we trust Labour now?
Ukraine
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Mark Francois(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important point. Putin’s shadow fleet softened the blow of our sanctions regime, and it poses serious maritime security and environmental risks. In response, the new Government have already taken decisive action. Earlier this month we sanctioned 11 Russian ships, and almost all sanctioned tankers have ceased trading Russian oil. As I mentioned, at the European Political Community summit, 44 countries and the EU signed the call to action, spearheaded by the UK, calling out the risks posed by the shadow fleet and committing to work together to confront those risks. I will not speculate on future decisions on our sanctions regime, but we will of course always keep it under review.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
May I follow the excellent point made by the Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), on Storm Shadow? There is no third country exercising a veto on how Putin uses long-range missiles, which he uses without compunction even to attack children’s hospitals in Ukraine. Yet the media consistently report that there is an American veto on the Ukrainian use of Storm Shadow missiles to attack targets at depth in Russia, even though that would materially assist the Ukrainian war effort. Will the Minister, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence talk with our American allies to get that veto removed? The Ukrainians are fighting for our freedom too and, two years in, they can no longer be expected to do it with one hand tied behind their back.
Anneliese Dodds
As I mentioned previously in this important debate, the UK Government will continue to work with all our allies from all engaged parties, seeking to ensure that we do all we can to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and to enable it to exercise its right of self-defence against Putin’s illegal aggression. As I mentioned, there has been no change in the UK’s position on the matters the right hon. Gentleman specifies. We have been providing military aid to support Ukraine’s clear right of self-defence against Russia’s illegal attacks in accordance with international humanitarian law, and we are clear that equipment provided by the UK is intended for the defence of Ukraine.