Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Sammy Wilson

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

It is vital that Israel ensures sustained passage for patients who need treatment that is not available in Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire. We announced £1 million for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through WHO Egypt, to support Palestinians medically evacuated from Gaza. Officials from all relevant Whitehall Departments are exploring avenues to ensure that our support best meets the needs of critically ill people in Gaza.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

We welcome the release of the hostages, though for eight families it will be a sad day as they realise that their loved ones were murdered in captivity. Israel has taken considerable risks by withdrawing troops, opening borders and agreeing to the ceasefire, while Hamas continue to attack in the west bank and continue to humiliate hostages to show that they are in control. Given that Hamas have previously used aid to exercise control of the Palestinian population, and given the huge links between UNRWA and Hamas, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that UK aid is not used by Hamas to re-exercise control in Gaza?

[Anneliese Dodds]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the devastating time that the families of those eight hostages are going through. It is really terrible, and it is important to underline that. At the same time, there is extreme relief for those who have been able to return to their families. The UK has consistently worked hard on this. We need to ensure that aid gets to where it is really needed. We have been working on that with a number of UN agencies, as well as with bodies like UK-Med.

Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Sammy Wilson

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I know the whole House would want to send our very best wishes to the hon. Member’s grandmother and that it regrets the really difficult situation that her family was placed in. The Government absolutely recognise the challenges, and have been working hard on them, and I am grateful for her kind recognition of that. There have been two challenges: the disruption caused by bad weather, for example, to Malaga, as otherwise there would have been planes landing on Gibraltar; and the issues she mentioned with the airport, which were caused by the ingress of water. I pay tribute to the RAF staff who have been working around the clock to try to set that right. We recognise the disruption and will continue to make many representations to ensure that those who should be able to smoothly exit and enter Gibraltar can do so in the future.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

There is no doubt about it: last week, the Spanish authorities sought to hold the British people of Gibraltar hostage by putting in border controls and disrupting their travel. One should not be surprised by that. I know that Government Members try to deny it, but there is a connection between what happened with the Chagos islands last week and the aggressiveness of the Spanish authorities and the EU this week. The EU has learned a lesson, not just from this Government, but from the last Government —when it comes to wanting to put its footprint on British territory, successive British Governments have shown, whether with Northern Ireland or now with Gibraltar, that they are willing to concede. Can the Minister give us an assurance that she will not be giving in to the bullying, bribery or attempts by the Spanish Government and the EU to once again put their imprint on British territory?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am afraid I have to wholly reject the claims made by the right hon. Member. The agreement on the British Indian Ocean Territory is unique, and based on the unique history and circumstances of BIOT. It has absolutely no bearing on the wider UK Government policy regarding our other overseas territories. It is not just the Government who are stating that, but the people living in those overseas territories; they are clear about the party politicking around this issue. The United Kingdom will never enter arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes. We could not be clearer about that.

Ukraine

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Sammy Wilson

Monday 2nd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

The UK Government have been crystal clear that we will do everything we can to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, and to ensure that it has the equipment it needs to defend its territory from Russia’s illegal invasion. The hon. Gentleman will understand that we will not comment on operational decision making.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

Ukrainian refugees in my constituency have welcomed the continuity of approach to the situation in Ukraine following the change of Government here. However, the Minister has mentioned a number of times today that we are giving a long-term arms commitment to Ukraine. How can she make such a commitment, given the concerns about the equipment and ammunition available to our own armed forces, and what steps has she taken to ensure that the United Kingdom’s defence industry is geared up to meet both the commitments for our own armed forces and those that she is making to Ukraine?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for making that critical point. Such a long-term commitment to ensuring the provision of defence capacity for our allies and friends is not only important for those countries—in this case, Ukraine—but extremely important for our own domestic industrial capacity. It enables us to secure long-term jobs, long-term contracts, long-term prospects and, indeed, long-term careers for people in our country who work in the defence industries.