Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Stephens Excerpts

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of UK diplomatic relations with the US.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

4. If he will discuss the human rights record of the US with President Trump during his 2018 visit to the UK.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

5. If he will discuss the human rights record of the US with President Trump during his 2018 visit to the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Boris Johnson]

I think that when the Prime Minister spoke, she spoke for me and for everyone else in the House, and, indeed, for the nation—and the hon. Gentleman will have noticed that no sooner had she spoken than the President signed an executive order repealing the policy.

[Chris Stephens]

United Nations human rights experts say that Trump’s policy of detaining children “may amount to torture”. They say:

“Detention of children is punitive, severely hampers their development, and in some cases may amount to torture.”

In the light of that, does the Foreign Secretary believe that President Trump’s visit to the UK should go ahead?

[Boris Johnson]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the President has now repealed the policy, and I think it is still common ground on both sides of the House that it is important to welcome the Head of State and Government of our most important ally.