Middle East and North Africa

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. One of the reasons that I feel quite so strongly that the UK needs to be outward-facing and strong diplomatically, defensively and in our development work is that if we neglect areas of the world, such as the Sahel, then the conditions allowed to grow in Africa, and in that region especially, will make it a breeding ground for extremism, dangerous Islamism, and activities of states that do not wish us any good and certainly do not wish the people of the Sahel any good either. It is vital that the UK maintains its leadership role globally in fighting these things. We work as closely as we ever have with our allies and partners, especially in places where it is the most difficult, such as those that he describes.

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister back to her usual position this week—I know it has been a long week, and it is only Wednesday—and I very much welcome the update on a wide range of issues. I want to ask her a question on Iran. I recognise that she, speaking on behalf of the Government, wants to be careful in her wording. However, those of us who are not in government, and are therefore free to say so, want to stand in strong solidarity with the protests in Iran, particularly about the repression that women and girls have faced in Iran over this past number of years. Given that the New York Times, citing Iranian officials, has said that Iran is operating under “survival mode”, will the Minister say whether our Government, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence are ready for the potential collapse of the Iranian regime and the consequences that will bring, not just for that state but for regional security and UK interests?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We consider all eventualities and work these things through carefully, because some things seem imminently likely while others seem less likely but would have wide-ranging consequences should they occur, so we do the kind of work the noble Baroness has asked me about. I am not in a position to give a detailed analysis right now of what that looks like, but the Government’s position is that we support people who want to see an open society in Iran. We think that the repression that they have lived under is wrong, and they have tolerated it for far too long.