Middle East
Debate between David Lammy and Clive Efford(1 month ago)
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Mr Lammy
I have a list of statements that have been made by Yair Lapid, by the leader of the Democrats, Yair Golan, and by the Israeli Mossad director, Tamir Pardo, all of whom call into question much of what they are seeing on the ground—some of them use phrases like “ethnic cleansing”—so of course I am aware of what is being said. In the end, we need a ceasefire. We need to bring this horror show to an end.
Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)
I have known my right hon. Friend for more than 25 years, and I know that if he was up here on the Back Benches, he would be as angry and frustrated as we are. It gets frustrating coming here and expressing our concerns when, with all due respect, he wrings his hands and says, “We are doing all we can,” then we go away and nothing moves on. What can my right hon. Friend say to us today to show that there is hope of something changing in the near future, because in the meantime it is the hostages and the people in Gaza who pay the heaviest price?
Syria
Debate between David Lammy and Clive Efford(9 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Mr Lammy
At the heart of what the right hon. Gentleman says is justice. He is absolutely right that the joy will quickly turn into accountability for what went before. We may see it coming out of the prisons, as people begin to interrogate what happened to the 100,000 who disappeared. People will want to hold those responsible accountable, and that is understandable. The right hon. Gentleman also raises important counter-terrorism issues. Daesh’s ability to direct, enable and inspire attacks within our country is significant; we have seen it behind a lot of global events. That is why we are proud of the part that we play in the global coalition against Daesh, and the work that we do in north-eastern Syria in particular.
Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)
What discussions are taking place with Turkey, because the SDF in the north and the east of Syria is doing an important job in containing Daesh fighters, and it is essential that it is able to continue to do that? Does the Foreign Secretary fear that Turkey’s actions may have a detrimental effect on the job that the SDF is doing?
Mr Lammy
I reassure my hon. Friend that I have a good working relationship with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan. I spoke to him yesterday, and last week in Malta. I fully expect Turkey, as a member of NATO and a close friend of our country, to continue to work with us on those pressing issues, recognising the threats to itself as well as to the United Kingdom.