Uyghur Slave Labour: Xinjiang

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

We have been leading on this issue internationally, and I referred to the 38 other countries that joined us at the UN in one of the many statements that we have made on this issue. However, any action we take at the UN has to have an opportunity of succeeding, and there is no point bringing forward measures that will potentially give the intended target a propaganda coup.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con) [V]]

Like many right hon. and hon. Members across the House, I have been shocked, saddened and appalled by the plight of the Uyghurs in China. This was reinforced yesterday by the words of the Chief Rabbi. I would like to inquire what practical steps the Minister and the Foreign Secretary are taking to hold China to account for its disturbing and abhorrent actions.

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this again. We welcome the Chief Rabbi’s intervention, and we share his serious concerns about the violations that are being perpetrated against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. I can assure my hon. Friend that we are playing a leading role internationally in holding China to account for these violations. We have led or co-ordinated multiple joint statements on this issue. This groundswell of international concern does send a powerful message, and I can assure him that it is increasing the pressure on the Chinese authorities to change course.

Government Policy on Iran

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Westminster Hall

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

For the sake of brevity, I shall skip to the point. This debate provides a timely opportunity to highlight the issues regarding Iran’s activity globally and, more specifically, here in the UK. The Iranian regime has a long history of propagating antisemitism, often including holocaust denial, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith) has just outlined.

In a speech on 22 March this year in response to a coronavirus outbreak, the ayatollah himself, in an attempt to blame the USA, claimed that Jews were experts at sorcery and were creating relationships with demons. He previously called the holocaust a myth. In recent years, there have been at least two high-profile international holocaust cartoon competitions held in Iran, with Government support. The most recent competition was held in 2016 and, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, included 150 entries.

Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984 by the US State Department, which considers it to be the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism. Iran’s support for terrorism is a global threat, particularly for the Jewish community, which has been repeatedly targeted. The most noticeable example is the 1994 Hezbollah bombing of the AMIA building, a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, killing 85 and injuring hundreds. In doing so, the bombing ripped the heart out of the community.

This continued threat is a major reason why Jewish communities around the world, including in the UK, require security at schools, synagogues, community centres and events. I would like to pay tribute to the fantastic work of the Community Security Trust, in keeping not just the Jewish community but my constituents safe, as they go about their daily life.

In 2012 alone, Iran or Hezbollah were connected to incidents targeting Jewish communities or Israeli interest groups in India, Georgia, Thailand, Singapore, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Kenya. Those incidents need to stop. I will conclude by echoing—and I will refer to him this way—my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) in calling for the IRGC to be proscribed by the Government.

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[James Cleverly]

The hon. Lady makes a very good point. Let us be crystal clear: Iranian support for those groups contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and breaches international law. We currently hold Iran to account through a list of over 200 EU sanctions that are currently in place, including those against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety.

The hon. Lady mentioned our new autonomous Magnitsky-style sanctions, as did other right hon. and hon. Members. We have heard those calls. Right hon. and hon. Members will understand that we never discuss future designations under our autonomous sanction regimes, to prevent the risk of individuals removing assets that we might seek to freeze, but the calls for us to review the actions of members of the Iranian regime, in light of the sanction regime, have been heard and noticed.

We continue to support the enforcement of UN prohibitions on the proliferation of weapons to non-state actors in the region. We are committed to work with regional partners, the E3 and the US to find a solution to Iranian proliferation in the region.

Our concerns are not limited to Iran’s nuclear programme or regional behaviour. A number of Members, including the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), highlighted Iran’s actions towards its own people and its minority communities. Iran’s heavy-handed response to protests, its restrictions on freedom of expression, belief and religion, its use of the death penalty and its continued use of arbitrary detention, including to British dual nationals, remain of deep concern to the UK, and we remain opposed to them.

We continue to make clear to the Iranians our concern and opposition to their repeated, persistent violation of human rights. As has been mentioned by a number of Members, I can assure the House that the safety and good treatment of all British dual nationals in detention in Iran remains a top priority for the UK Government. We will continue to lobby at all levels for the immediate and permanent release of all British dual nationals in arbitrary detention, so that they can return home to the safety of their country and the embrace of their loved ones.

The Foreign Secretary recently summoned the Iranian ambassador to hand over a letter from E3 Foreign Ministers, expressing our concern about the grave human rights violations in Iran, including the arbitrary detention of dual nationals. We are deeply concerned that Iran has issued new charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. These are indefensible, unacceptable and unjustifiable. We have been consistently clear that she must not return to prison. The UK Government, from the Prime Minister downwards, remain committed to doing everything we can for her and the other British dual nationals held in detention.

We want to see a peaceful and prosperous Iran, that is famous for its art, culture and history, not for its destabilising influence in the region and the world. We want to see an Iran that does not pose a threat to the UK, or to our friends and allies.

[Christian Wakeford]

Many colleagues mentioned the need to proscribe the IRGC. Will my right hon. Friend commit to working across Government, and across parties, to make sure that that sensible, credible plan is adopted moving forward?

[James Cleverly]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. I cannot give him clarity on that in today’s debate, but I recognise that those calls have come from every corner of the House and that there is cross-party support for that. Again, it will be noted, and I genuinely take his and other Members’ position on this seriously.

Clearly, we want to see Iran abandon its intentions to develop nuclear weapons, but we also want to see it act as a good neighbour and a responsible regional power. We want to see it end arbitrary detention and improve its domestic human rights record, and the United Kingdom Government will continue to engage with international partners and directly with the Government of Iran to bring that about.

We have to understand that our approach needs to be based on a number of elements, including engagement and incentives, but also pressure, delivered bilaterally, through partners, and multilaterally. The future relationship between the UK and Iran, and between Iran and its regional partners, could be infinitely better than what we see at the moment, but ultimately it is in the gift of the leadership in Tehran to make that happen. I urge them in the strongest terms to take the actions to do so.

International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Westminster Hall

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I apologise for being late to this debate; unfortunately, I was serving on a Delegated Legislation Committee at the same time. I thank the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) for bringing forward this incredibly important debate. I refer right hon. and hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, because earlier this year I went to Israel and the west bank on a fact-finding mission through Conservative Friends of Israel. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for the first time. He made some very poignant points. I think he must have read my speech, because I will echo some of therm.

I join colleagues from both sides of this Chamber in supporting the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and I echo calls for the Government to take up one of the available seats on the board. For many years, we have heard concerns raised by UK taxpayers that their aid is perpetuating the conflict rather than helping to resolve it. This year we have given £51 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which delivers aid to recipients who meet problematic criteria based on entitlement rather than humanitarian need. UNRWA uniquely extends refugee status beyond the UN’s 1951 refugee convention, to all descendants of Palestinian refugee males.

Although UNRWA carries out important work, including the provision of healthcare and education, defining its recipients as refugees sends a troubling message to Palestinians living in the west bank and Gaza that they have a right to relocate to Israel. This undermines the viability of a two-state solution and runs counter to our policy on the middle east peace process.

We fund the salaries of teachers who use the official Palestinian Authority curriculum, which teaches Palestinian children that Israel’s existence is merely temporary, and which promotes violence against Israelis and Jews. Our aid frees up funds for the Palestinian Authority to pay salaries to convicted terrorists, with higher salaries paid to those who have killed more Israelis. I could go on, but the points have been made time and again, and have been made already in the debate. The PA has not made the changes we have called for, and that leaves the international community with no choice but to rethink its strategy. Peace is essential to prosperity for both Israel and Palestine.

The international fund that is being discussed today would be a step in the right direction. Peaceful co-existence projects lay the foundations for a lasting two-state solution, making peace more likely. Yet in the past some Palestinian participants have been criticised, even by leaders in the Palestinian Authority, for taking part in activities that normalise relations with Israel. Does the Minister agree that that is counterproductive, and that we must urge the PA to facilitate such projects, not oppose them?

I visited Israel and the west bank in February, as I said earlier, and was stunned by the incredible entrepreneurship and ambition in the region, despite the challenges of the conflict. Meeting young Palestinian businesspeople at an intelligence start-up in Ramallah was an eye-opening experience. It was clear that, like many young people, they have ambition and strive for success and growth. They seek peace, recognising that conflict restrains expansion, but they have achieved what they have in spite of the political leadership, not because of it. We also made an inspiring visit to MATI, the Jerusalem Business Development Centre, in East Jerusalem. The centre helps Arab women to set up and expand their businesses, as well as providing mentoring and training for job interviews. The deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, is doing phenomenal work supporting job creation and organisation through the work of MATI.

We visited the Israeli charity Save a Child’s Heart, as the hon. Member for Strangford highlighted, and met many children from the west bank and Gaza, and the developing world, who have received life-saving heart surgery free of charge. Palestinian surgeons are trained to carry out life-saving heart surgery by Israeli doctors, so that they can save countless lives back home. Every Tuesday, Palestinian children from the west bank and Gaza travel to Israel for the weekly cardiology clinic with their parents. It is the first time that many of them have met an Israeli in a positive setting.

Not only is that experience of having surgery life-saving; it creates a bond between people that cannot be broken. “They fought for my son’s life. They gave us everything we needed. They are like family to me”. Those are the words of the mother of Mahmad, a two-year-old Palestinian boy from Gaza whose life was saved by the charity earlier this month in its 5,555th procedure. Does the Minister share my view that the UK should be supporting that incredible work? Will he join me in congratulating Save a Child’s Heart on reaching that epic milestone? Does he agree that such interactions truly lay the groundwork for future peace? Joining the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace as a board member will massively increase our capacity to support peacebuilding efforts such as Save a Child’s Heart, and I urge the Minister to consider doing so.

I conclude by pointing out that there have been many positives but also many negatives in relation to UNRWA, which have been discussed many times in this Chamber, including in today’s debate. We as a nation cannot fund antisemitism in a foreign nation while we try to stamp it out in our own society, so while we continue to fund UNRWA we need to make sure that it is reformed.

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[James Duddridge]

I will speak later about people-to-people programmes in general. I am not sure what the opportunities are, and there are real sensitivities in education and other matters that the House has discussed, but I will certainly take away that suggestion.

[Christian Wakeford]

I fully appreciate that £20 million is going to fund teachers and healthcare workers, but part of the problem is the curriculum that is being taught. If we are funding teachers to teach that curriculum, we perpetuate the problem. If we are funding it, can we do some meaningful work in reforming the curriculum so that we can truly bring about peace?

[James Duddridge]

I am conscious that this has been the subject of a number of debates. There is no funding of textbooks and there is careful selection of teachers. There is also a review, through our European partners, of some of these issues. I am happy to engage with the hon. Member in more detail outside this debate.

The UK is also a key supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in providing aid and development assistance to the Palestinian refugees.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

We regularly raise health and welfare concerns with the Iranian Government at the most senior levels. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise the UK’s concerns with his opposite number Foreign Minister Zarif. We will continue to raise such issues until these people are allowed home.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I, too, thank the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) for securing this important urgent question. I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat) in that Nazanin is not the only one who has fallen foul of a malign Iran’s attack on human rights.

The UN conventional arms embargo on Iran expired last month, in line with the 2015 nuclear deal, which failed to address Iran’s human rights abuses and detention of foreign citizens. The UK’s decision to abstain on the UN Security Council resolution to extend the embargo was regrettable. Will my right hon. Friend explain how the UK plans to address Iran’s regional aggressions, which represent one of the most pressing challenges to international peace and security and British foreign policy interests?

[James Cleverly]

We have long been clear about our concerns about Iran’s continued destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support for a number of militant and proscribed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. We will continue to work with international partners to promote stability and security in the region and to do everything we can to ensure that that activity ceases.

Occupied Palestinian Territories

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

I agree that opportunities have been missed on all sides—there is no doubt about that —but the reality is that the constant feature of everything that has happened since 1993 has been the expansion of the settlements, which are a flagrant breach of international law. Once we start to erode the foundations of international law on which all the negotiations are based, they are rendered effectively meaningless. We need to bear that in mind as we look back on what has happened since 1993, but it is also vital that we look to the future with hope and optimism.

It is against that backdrop that President Trump and the Prime Minister Netanyahu have come forward with their so-called deal of the century. This is not a deal. It is not a plan. It is not even a starting point for talks. It is a proposal that is fundamentally flawed because it has no basis in law. It is a land and power grab that would mean Israel seizing around 40% of the west bank, with full military and security control over the Palestinian people and their resources. Which Government, in their right mind, would ever agree to such terms? Why would the Palestinian Authority ever enter into talks on the basis of a document that effectively legitimises attempts to destroy any chance of an independent sovereign Palestine?

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

Does the hon. Gentleman not think that the deal of the century could well have been the starting point for a conversation? Yes, there is a lot that is disagreed with on both sides, but there are also elements that could be agreed on. It is those levels where agreement could be sought that could be moved forward to deliver the two-state solution that everyone—on both sides of this House—ultimately wants.

[Stephen Kinnock]

But if one is seeking to restart negotiations, one needs to do so on the basis of a plan that has legitimacy. It is not possible to move forward if the plan is actually based on breaking the law. Countless UN resolutions have pointed out that the settlements, as they stand, are illegal, so that has to be taken off the table before there is even a basis for starting to talk. That is why it is perfectly understandable why the Palestinian Authority is refusing to engage on that basis.

The Foreign Secretary and his Ministers continue to present the Trump-Netanyahu plan as a basis for talks. They ask the Palestinians to compromise, yet the Palestinians have already ceded 78% of their land to Israel. How much more can they be asked to compromise?

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[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to be called to speak in this debate. I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) on securing time for this discussion. As other Members have pointed out, events have moved on considerably since the application for this debate was initially submitted. We stand here this afternoon still taking stock of and reflecting on some enormous changes that have happened in recent weeks.

Even though some Members have sought to downplay it, make no mistake that the signing of peace agreements between the Governments of Bahrain and the UAE and Israel is an enormous step forward for peace for the whole region—Gulf Arab states taking steps to recognise that what is good for their own peace, security and prosperity aligns pretty closely with what is good for the peace, prosperity and security of Israel; Gulf states recognising that, because of geography and history, and because in the 21st century the world is so much smaller than ever before, their future is more entwined than ever before with that of Israel.

The point that I would like to make this afternoon is that what is good for peace, prosperity and security for the UAE, Bahrain and Israel is exactly the same thing that holds out the promise of a better future—a peaceful future, a just future—for the people of Palestine. I do not believe that there is a single person in the Chamber who genuinely does not want to see peace, prosperity and security for Israel and Palestine alike.

Anybody who has visited that part of the world, as I have on many occasions in my role as parliamentary chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel, will have seen the enormous potential and opportunity there. They will also have seen the scars and shadows of warfare and conflict, and felt the threat of violence and conflict that still hangs heavy across the region.

[Christian Wakeford]

During our trip in February, we went to Ramallah and saw high-tech companies thriving, in spite of the political leadership in Palestine. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is the leadership of Palestine that is not only holding its people back but holding the region back?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is exactly right: it is about leadership. If the history of this region teaches us anything, it is that peace comes about not through fine words alone, but through courageous action. That has been underlined again in the last few weeks by those decisions by Bahrain and the UAE.

I referred to our trip to Israel and the west bank in February, just before lockdown. We sat with Dr Saeb Erekat, who still holds the title of official chief negotiator on the part of the PLO, and discussed prospects for peace with him. When the hon. Member for Aberavon talked about the Trump deal being no basis for negotiation and not a starting point for any kind of discussion, I closed my eyes and heard the words of Dr Saeb Erekat, because that is exactly what he said to us then. The point we made to him was that it requires the Palestinian leadership not to continue missing opportunities, as they have done in the past, but to seize an opportunity for a basis of discussion and step out of old ways of thinking and old paths that lead time and again to a block.

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[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I refer hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Interests in relation to my trip to Israel and the west bank on a fact-finding mission in February of this year.

It is impossible to overstate the significance of the events of recent weeks for the prospect of Israeli-Palestine peace. The Arab League of 2020, which has refused to condemn Israel’s peace agreement with the UAE, is a very different organisation from that of 1967. After gaining control of East Jerusalem and the west bank from Jordan, Gaza from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria in the six-day war, Israel offered to return most of the territories it had occupied in exchange for peace treaties with its neighbours. In response, the Arab League issued the infamous three noes—no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel. The Arab-Israeli conflict, as it was then known, was born out of the refusal of those Arab states to accept Israel’s existence in any borders.

The conflict is no longer one between Israel and the entire Arab world, with Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain having now officially recognised Israel in landmark peace deals. Those agreements have included land swaps and concessions, with Israel prioritising the principle of land for peace over territorial gain.

We must not forget that Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, uprooting thousands of Israeli Jews who lived there, in order to advance peace with the Palestinians. It is regrettable that, instead of seizing that opportunity, Hamas murdered its Fatah opponents and turned the Gaza strip into a launch pad for terrorism.

Israel’s occupation of the west bank cannot be understood without considering that, before Jordan seized control of east Jerusalem and the west bank in 1948 and ethnically cleansed the territory of Jews, there had been a continuous Jewish presence in the area for four millennia. Many of Judaism’s holy sites, including the Cave of the Patriarchs, are located in the west bank. More than 10,000 Jews living in the old city of Jerusalem, the west bank and Gaza were driven out or killed in the 1948 war of independence. Today the territories are designated by the international community as illegally occupied Palestinian territories, a definition that Israel and the United States contest. The implication that Jews praying at their holiest sites are doing so illegally is deeply troubling to me and to the Jewish community.

Land borders can only be resolved in direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, with difficult compromises needed from both sides. I ask my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa what steps he is taking with international partners, including Israel’s new partners in the Gulf, to make the resumption of direct talks a reality.

The state of Israel is a beacon of freedom and democracy, developing solutions to global problems, including coronavirus, and sharing expertise worldwide. I welcome the remarks by the Minister last week that:

“The UK’s commitment to Israel is unwavering.”

With that in mind, does he share the Foreign Secretary’s view that now annexation is off the table, the Palestinians should re-engage with Israel on finance and security co-operation as a confidence-building measure? Does he agree that until the Palestinian leadership embraces co-existence with Israel and stops teaching Palestinian children that Israel’s presence is temporary, the prospects for peace remain bleak? As our close ally, Israel further develops ties with the Arab world, let us ensure that the Palestinian people are not left behind, by telling the Palestinian leadership the hard truths needed to achieve a lasting peace and providing the support needed to reinvigorate the peace process.

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[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. There is an organisation in Europe that could help with this issue: the Council of Europe. I mention it because both the Israelis and the Palestinians are associate members, yet not once has it been involved in this discussion or reached out to try to get them together. I hope the Minister will support my efforts in the Council of Europe to try to get it to do that sort of thing and play a role in taking that forward.

I am not going to underplay the role of the recent agreements. Israel signing deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was a seismic moment of historic proportions. To many casual observers, they have appeared as almost incomprehensible, given the historical enmity of the Arab states towards the Jewish state. Conversely, the region has been changing before our eyes in recent decades, and the landmark deals are the most significant manifestations of that new reality. Despite the recent Israel-UAE deal taking annexation off the table, the Palestinian leadership is yet to recognise the good-will gesture. Land swaps have been part of the agreed framework for a two-state solution for decades, and settlements, although unhelpful, cannot be seen as a permanent obstacle to peace.

I read in an article in The Guardian, which typified the attitude of Palestinians. Rather than seeing such deals as an opportunity to engage and get lasting peace, they fell back on the same arguments about settlements and on attacking the Arab nations that had signed the agreements as simply betraying their cause. The article went on to blame the Israelis for violence, which is ironic, given the extent of Palestinian violence, for example in the ramming of cars, which makes the settlements necessary in the first place. I am afraid that Arab leaders have just grown frustrated at Palestinian intransigence. Does that mean that Arab states are simply going to forget the settlements?

[Christian Wakeford]

What are my hon. Friend’s thoughts on whether or not new elections in Palestine are needed? Would new leadership bring not only an impetus for negotiation, but hope for the Palestinian people to move forward and find peace in the middle east?

[John Howell]

The question of elections among the Palestinian people is interesting. I attended a presentation by pollsters in the Palestinian territories that put as at-risk the continuation of the current Administration in the Palestinian territories. That throws up a difficult area.

As I was saying, does the Arab leaders’ frustration mean that Arab states are simply going to forget the settlements? Or are they, as we have seen, putting pressure on Israel not to go ahead with new settlement building, which was talked about in the election but for which I do not believe there is a genuine appetite. As the so-called Arab spring swept through the region, citizens were not protesting about the Israeli-Palestinian dispute on settlements. Those brave citizens passionately demanded the exact same rights and social securities as we take for granted in the UK. It is my great hope that the peace agreements between Israel and her neighbours, and the additional ones that are expected soon, will offer a new and overdue route to a lasting two-state solution. I am sure that colleagues in all parties in this House will share my hope that the Palestinian leadership will embrace this new forward-looking dynamic, rather than continue its rejection.

In closing, let me say some words that have stuck in my mind. They are from Theodor Herzl, who said:

“If you will it, it is no dream.”

That is the truth of the matter.

Belarus: Presidential Elections

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

We are shocked, as the hon. Gentleman is, by the severity and brazenness of the violence that has been carried out in front of the media, and the reports that we have seen are as bad as he suggests. Right now, we need a dual effort: we need to reach out and support those who find themselves under attack, particularly the journalists and those in the media who are trying to shine a light on this horrific abuse; and, ultimately, with our European, American, Canadian and other partners, we need to hold to account those who commit these appalling abuses of human rights.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for making this statement. There is little doubt that the elections in Belarus were neither fair nor free, and the response of the authorities has been absolutely abhorrent, with threats of torture, rape and the presence of the military on the streets. Can he confirm that the UK does not, and will not, accept the result of this election, and that we will consider the most appropriate sanctions against Lukashenko and his regime?

[Dominic Raab]

That is exactly what we will do. We want to get to the bottom of it, which is why we have triggered the OSCE’s Moscow mechanism. We want to hold those responsible to account, and that is why we will, at speed, look at Magnitsky sanctions as well as supporting the EU track. We need to continue to shine a light on the abuses, which is why we are supporting journalists doing their job.

Oral Answers to Questions

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

What diplomatic steps the Government are taking to support the development of a covid-19 vaccine (a) in the UK and (b) throughout the world.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

What diplomatic steps the Government are taking to support the development of a covid-19 vaccine (a) in the UK and (b) throughout the world.

[Jo Gideon (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Con)]

What diplomatic steps the Government are taking to support the development of a covid-19 vaccine (a) in the UK and (b) throughout the world.

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[Wendy Morton]

Yes, our overseas network is working actively around the globe, particularly through our world-leading science and innovation network. The Vaccine Taskforce is also ensuring that work being done to find a vaccine in the UK complements and supports global efforts, including by providing industry and research institutions with resources and support. We welcome the announcement on 4 June of the innovative collaborations between AstraZeneca, CEPI, Gavi and the Serum Institute of India to support the production of 1.3 billion doses for global access to a potential covid-19 vaccine.

[Christian Wakeford]

Israel is at the forefront of MedTech innovation, which presents many opportunities for the UK’s healthcare system, such as the use of AI technology in diagnostics and screening. Can my hon. Friend tell me what the Government’s plans are to strengthen partnerships between Israeli MedTech companies and UK researchers, particularly in the north-west, to help them not only develop a vaccine but better prepare for the potentiality of any future pandemic?

[Wendy Morton]

International collaboration is absolutely vital as we search for a vaccine, and finding a vaccine for covid-19 is a top priority for the Government. The Prime Minister has made it clear that we see vaccines as a global challenge and that no one country can do this alone. That is why the UK has called for clear global commitments from international partners to tackle the pandemic, including through the G7, the G20 and other international forums. The Prime Minister hosted a global vaccine summit on 4 June, which brought together more than 60 countries, including 44 Heads of State and Government, and raised an incredible $8.8 billion to support immunisation of more than 300 million children against vaccine preventable diseases.

Oral Answers to Questions

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

What assessment he has made of the role of the Union in tackling the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Simon Hart) [V]]

Good morning, and welcome to Wales, Mr Speaker. Before I answer that question and the one grouped with it, let me thank you for all the work you and the staff of the House have done in making these proceedings possible—it is a remarkable achievement.

I welcome wholeheartedly the cross-government and cross-party work that has taken place to respond to the covid-19 outbreak, including through regular meetings of Cobr(M) and the ministerial implementation groups.

[Simon Hart]

I join you, Mr Speaker, in congratulating my hon. Friend on his birthday. It is clear that the four-nation approach to covid-19 is not only the preferred option, but the only option in dealing with this extraordinary set of circumstances. The level of collaboration between the UK Government and the Welsh Government—in our instance—is an indication of that. So I can reassure him that that is definitely the case.

[Christian Wakeford [V]]

May I also wish my colleague a very happy birthday from Radcliffe? I also wish to thank my right hon. Friend for the statement he has just made, which I hope will reassure my constituents, some of whom have contacted with me concerns about the lockdown extension and its economic impact, and the supply of personal protective equipment. Will he continue to keep the House updated, particularly as economic support measures and infection control are rolled out?

[Simon Hart]

I can definitely offer that assurance, and add to it by saying that I hold regular meetings, by Zoom, not only with my colleagues in Parliament, but with Opposition colleagues, to achieve exactly those aims.

Palestinian School Curriculum: Radicalisation

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2020 Westminster Hall

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing this debate, and I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (James Cleverly) on his new role. I, too, refer hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, because I also went to Israel and the west bank on a fact-finding mission last month.

Hon. Members have highlighted the truly appalling content of Palestinian textbooks in Gaza and the west bank, where textbooks on radical Islamism are being used that are more extreme than previous versions. My hon. Friends have cited extracts that are certainly damning in their divisive nature. However, reform is possible. For instance, Jordan comprehensively reviewed its curriculum in 2015 in response to concerns about radicalisation in the country, and terrorism is now depicted as killing innocent people and having devastating consequences. That is not the case in the textbooks that we are discussing, however. Although it is not perfect, Jordan’s curriculum can generally be seen as an indication that reform is possible. I wholeheartedly hope that the Palestinian Authority review the textbooks and reflect on their own curriculum to try to encourage future peace with the state of Israel.

Does my right hon. Friend the Minister agree that Jordan’s education reforms show that an alternative approach is achievable and desirable? Is the Minister aware of any ongoing discussions between Jordan and the Palestinian Authority about the content of their respective curriculums? We should not lose hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. There is already extensive security co-operation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and there are some fantastic NGOs on the ground in Israel and the west bank laying the groundwork for peace. My right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) has already referred to the fantastic work that Fleur Hassan, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, is undertaking on the ground in the east of the city.

I will skip forward in the speech that I prepared and ask the Minister a few questions. I hope he will agree that a new approach will empower those who support peace and the two-state solution, rather than the radical voices that benefit from the status quo and continued resentment. That will allow us to support the moving forward of the peace deal. Ultimately, we are not, and nor should we be, in a position to dictate how the Palestinians can and cannot educate their children. Can the Government truly be committed to stamping out antisemitism in our own country when they fund it in a foreign nation? Is it right that we fund divisive, antisemitic, anti-Israeli propaganda?

Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action

Christian Wakeford Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right, first, about the importance of having that sanctions capacity. As we leave the EU we will have more autonomy to do that. We are looking forward to bringing that forward. It was mentioned in the Queen’s Speech. He also made the point—I think we have always agreed about this since the campaign for a Magnitsky regime in this country—that such capacity certainly should not just apply to Russia, or to one country, but should be universal in geographic scope, and the approach that we are taking will be.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

Last year an archive of documents relating to Iran’s nuclear programme was unearthed in a Tehran warehouse by Israel’s intelligence agencies. The documents revealed the extent of Iran’s deception to the IAEA and the world powers about its historical work to develop nuclear weapons and its ongoing efforts to circumvent the JCPOA. Is my right hon. Friend able to confirm whether the UK has seen these documents and whether he shares Israel’s concerns about their contents?

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend makes some interesting points. I am not going to comment on intelligence matters or operational matters, but I can say that of course we share Israel’s concern not just about Iran’s nuclear ambitions but about the wider activities in the region. The point that I think we and all our partners agree on is that ultimately Tehran should give up those ambitions and negotiate a way out of economic and political isolation, which will only deepen, and live up to the responsibilities that it has to its own people. There is a better path for the people of Iran, but it has to be a choice that is taken by the regime in Iran.