Middle East

Debate between David Lammy and John Cooper

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my dear friend for what he has said. He knows that this is extremely frustrating. I have spoken to envoy Steve Witkoff in the last 24 hours to be updated on the situation in terms of the ceasefire and the gaps that still exist between the two sides. There are still gaps, unfortunately. My hon. Friend knows that this will only come to an end with a ceasefire, so we continue to do everything we can. I sense that this month is an important month as we head towards UNGA, so let us see where we get to. The UN Assembly coming together is a big moment, and I am sure that the Israelis and Hamas recognise that.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

Many happy returns, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Druze in Syria are suffering nothing short of atrocities, and that situation continues. What practical help can the UK give as the Israelis try to set up safe zones and humanitarian corridors for them?

[Mr Lammy]

The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), was in Syria last week discussing these very issues, and of course we have made representations to the Israelis about our concerns that some of their activity is undermining the prospects of the new Government.

Iran-Israel Conflict

Debate between David Lammy and John Cooper

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend will know that recognition has certainly been an issue that many colleagues around the world have been speaking about just in the last few weeks. I reassure her that I was discussing the aid issues just today with a hostage family who are worried, of course, about the aid available to those who remain under the ground in Gaza.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

Israel is a democracy, a pluralistic society and an ally. In contrast, the unhappy and ignoble regime in Tehran is a theocracy that wants to wipe Israel from the map, that foments terrorism around the globe and that suppresses its own people to the extent that even dancing is a crime. Is not the best use of British military assets in the eastern Mediterranean to try to do something to stop the rain of hypersonic missiles and drones on civilian areas in Israel?

[Mr Lammy]

It is hugely important that we do all we can. I believe the best way forward is diplomatic, because attempting to do this militarily, I am afraid, cannot be achieved, and I think that is widely understood.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lammy and John Cooper

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady, and may I share my reflections over the last few days? We do need proper communication between India and Pakistan, and that must happen not just on military channels but on political channels. She will recognise that on this occasion, those communications are poor. We do need confidence-building measures and to ensure that we are dealing with terrorism where it acts, and of course the United Kingdom will lean in to that. Above all, we need dialogue. The international community can play a role, particularly where countries have relations with both countries. That is why we have been talking to the United States, that is why we have been talking to Saudi, and that is why we are working with the UAE.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

4. What discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the policy of the US Administration on Iran.

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[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

The UK is supportive of US efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. We have encouraged Iran to engage with President Trump’s efforts in good faith and to find a diplomatic solution. Since the beginning of May, I have raised Iran with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the special envoy to the middle east, Steve Witkoff. We have discussed the range of threats that Iran poses to the UK and our partners.

[John Cooper]

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the terrorism export wing of the despotic regime in Tehran. Why are we not joining the Americans in proscribing this organisation when we did proscribe the Wagner organisation in Russia? Is it possibly because the Americans are pressuring us to continue our tenuous diplomatic links with Tehran?

[Mr Lammy]

I remind the hon. Gentleman that on 4 March the UK specified Iran under the foreign influence registration scheme, which targets those who undertake malign activity in the UK. Of course we keep proscription under review. We are looking closely at the area of state threats; that is traditionally very different from the sorts of cells and terrorist communities that we do proscribe. That is why the Government continue to look at this area very carefully.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lammy and John Cooper

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Prime Minister wrote to President Sisi on 26 December and 8 January. The National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, was in Egypt on 2 January, and I met the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. This remains our No. 1 issue. We have raised it on every single occasion, and we continue to press for clemency, for understanding and for Alaa’s release.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

The official readout from “Operation kowtow”, the Chancellor’s mission to Beijing, says that she

“urged China to cease its support for Russia’s defence industrial base, which is enabling Russia to maintain its illegal war against Ukraine.”

Did the Chancellor elicit any such assurances, and if not, what does it mean for the Foreign Secretary’s supposed reset of relations with the people of the Great Hall?

[Mr Lammy]

Can I just remind the hon. Gentleman that it was our last Foreign Secretary who had a pint with President Xi? The Chancellor of the Exchequer, as she is able to outline, was able to raise all the issues—Jimmy Lai, the security law in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and a whole range of others—but we are only able to do that by engagement.