Gaza and Lebanon
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Tim Roca(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
As I mentioned, the UK Government are looking carefully at all reports. There has been considerable footage that is extremely disturbing—not just the footage that many of us have seen, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, but other types as well. It is very important that the UK Government look at them carefully and make proper assessments. There is a legal regime for doing that, and this UK Government take those legal responsibilities seriously because we know the impact that they can have.
Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that we urgently need a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza, but also, with the grotesque level of civilian deaths, we need international law to be observed and breaches of it investigated properly?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. Let me underline again that the UK Government want an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas and much more aid to enter Gaza. The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable, and the UK Government were the first Government in the G7 to call for a ceasefire in Lebanon. It is critical that international humanitarian law is upheld, and we take that responsibility very seriously.
Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks
Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Tim Roca(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
That commitment is one that we share within this House. We cannot be clearer on that.
The right hon. Gentleman specifically asked about the details of recent events. Just to provide a little more information on that for the House, on the evening of 10 October the UK Government were notified that Spanish officials had increased checks on UK nationals crossing into Spain, including permanent residents of Gibraltar. We understand, as I mentioned at the beginning, that this change process was instigated by a local border officer, not by the Spanish authorities centrally. The Chief Minister of His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar released a press release with further information on the situation at the time. The UK Government raised the issue with the Spanish authorities, including at ministerial level. We are in close touch with the Government of Gibraltar and continue to monitor the situation. It is in all our interests that the border between Gibraltar and Spain operates smoothly. That has been made crystal clear by the UK Government.
Although I appreciated many of the comments made by the right hon. Gentleman, I did regret the tone of the claims he made in relation to BIOT. The situation of BIOT is not comparable. That is a unique agreement that has absolutely no bearing on wider UK Government policy regarding our overseas territories. It is a very different issue with a very different history. The UK remains committed to our overseas territories family. If there is any question about that, I would again refer the right hon. Gentleman to the comments from the Chief Minister of Gibraltar himself, who could not be clearer about his disappointment at those who seek to party-politicise these matters.
The right hon. Gentleman referred to the work towards the treaty. The UK Government are working with the Government of Gibraltar to progress a treaty that protects sovereignty and UK military autonomy, and that secures future prosperity for Gibraltar and the region. We remain steadfast in that process and in our support for Gibraltar, and we will only agree to terms with which the Government of Gibraltar are content.
Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)
It seems that we are to be treated to another bout of recklessness on foreign policy by the Conservative party this week. Can the Minister confirm that British sovereignty over Gibraltar is not up for negotiation, and that to suggest otherwise is both wrong and irresponsible?
Anneliese Dodds
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. I absolutely can make that confirmation. The UK Government are committed to the double lock. We will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes, and we will never enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.