Middle East
Debate between Chris Bryant and Hamish Falconer(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Falconer
It is very difficult to have one’s predecessor ask in Parliament for credit to be given to his predecessors. In the spirit of the bipartisanship we have shown this afternoon, I acknowledge that talks on the GCC FTA were indeed started under the previous Government—
Mr Falconer
But not finished, indeed. I am sure the Minister for Trade would be keen to emphasise how much heavy lifting has been required over recent months and years to get it over the line.
I will not enter into a hypothetical discussion about the approach that has been taken since 2015 to try to ensure that Iran did not have the degree of highly enriched uranium that it now has, and how that could have been avoided, because that is the situation we now face. We must have a serious diplomatic process that involves a reduction of HEU, which is such a danger not just to the region but to the world, including the UK. We take that with the seriousness that the right hon. Gentleman would expect.