Ukraine

David Taylor Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

It is an honour to speak in this debate, and I associate myself with the remarks of everyone who has spoken in the Chamber so far, not least in making the point that there continues to be cross-party agreement for resolute support behind Ukraine, and there is still, I believe, resolute support for the Ukrainian people from the British people.

I join the right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) in paying tribute to Ukrainians in our communities who have come over from Ukraine, including those in the Hemel Hempstead branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, who marched through the town centre at the weekend to mark the fourth anniversary of the war and who continue to contribute outstandingly to our town.

But I want to focus my remarks on some specific points about an area of work that I am trying to get colleagues to support: increasing the amount of small vehicles and drones and supplies going out to help the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military; and the work being done by a number of UK charities and individuals in this endeavour. As Members will have heard me say before, I went out in the spring of 2024, driving with a convoy of vehicles with an Estonian-based charity, but with vehicles joining from the UK, all the way through the channel tunnel and Germany to the Polish border and then overnight to Kyiv. It was an incredible honour to be part of that, because I come from a humanitarian background—I have worked for charities including Oxfam in the past—and I support the need for the vital work that humanitarian aid organisations do day in, day out. But I have also always believed, back from when I first had the opportunity to go to Kosovo, that we should not be shy about the need for military support as well, and I felt that I personally wanted to contribute to that by being part of this convoy.

The organisation involved in that convoy was Help99. It is one of a number around Europe that contributes in this way. Some of them deliver purely humanitarian aid, such as delivering fire trucks. Fire Aid, an organisation supported by the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), is doing brilliant work. There is an organisation taking out former ambulances to be used out there. Other organisations working there include Pick Ups For Peace, UK4UA.org, and Surrey Stands With Ukraine. I will not list them all, but I had the opportunity to invite a number of them to Parliament last year for an event, with about 60 individuals representing 30 such organisations. I pay tribute to the incredible work they are doing day in, day out. They are putting their own lives at risk to go not just to the Polish border, but, as I said, into Ukraine—often beyond Kyiv and into the west of the country.

There are a couple of points I want to make about how we might be able to support those efforts more, first on what the UK Government could be doing to supply more vehicles that are on the Government estate but are reaching their end of life and could be used with relatively little cost to the UK taxpayer. I will just take a moment to step back and say why these vehicles matter. The £4.5 billion we will providing this year alone is testament to the fact that we need hard power going into Ukraine—no one is arguing otherwise—but small vehicles have an important contribution to make. They help soldiers to go from A to B with ease, and they help to get supplies in. Some have been turned into makeshift ambulances, because of course the Russians would target anything that was white with a red cross on it. They are vital things that soldiers need.

Network Rail may have vehicles such as Land Rovers on its estate that could easily be written off and donated. To that end, I have written to a number of Departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Transport to ask if surplus and end-of-life vehicles could be donated. With the police’s new powers to seize off-road vehicles driven in an antisocial way, instead of those vehicles being crushed—as satisfying as that is to a lot of us, I am sure—I have also argued that they could instead be donated. We have quad bikes, dirt bikes and scramblers that Ukrainian soldiers could find quite helpful in the forests.

Unfortunately, some of the responses to my letters have shown that there is perhaps a need for a single accountable body that could better co-ordinate this effort. I do not count the MOD in that regard. It has set out some of the excellent work it is already doing, but maybe some of the other Departments could work better together to get some vehicles donated. That includes His Majesty’s Treasury. These are public assets and there is a decision that needs to be made to write them off. That is creating some of the bottlenecks and delays that I have encountered. As I say, I think this is a relatively small cost to the taxpayer overall, so it is worth doing.

My second point is about support for the charities themselves. Ahead of this debate, I sent a message to the group I brought together last year to ask if they had specific suggestions that they would like me to raise today, so here are just a few. The organisation Surrey Stands With Ukraine asked whether there could be some form of list of recognised and approved UK humanitarian charities, which could then be used by those organisations to ask for donations from the public or private sector. For example, if there was a list that said, “These organisations have a track record of delivering to Ukraine in an effective way,” they might be able get some form of letter that they could then take to their local NHS trust to say, “We are a serious outfit, we have the right intentions, and we have approvals and checks. If you have old ambulances you don’t need, can we have them?” They could take it to food companies and supermarkets to help speed up the donation of food for humanitarian convoys and so on.

Another point related to travelling across the channel, whether by ferry or via the tunnel, and whether the Government could have discussions with the private operators of the channel tunnel and the ferry companies to encourage them to offer a discount or even waive the fee on the cost of getting vehicles over the channel. In a convoy of 20 vehicles the cost adds up to a not insignificant amount of money.

Related to that, the organisations have also asked if more can be done to remove customs red tape, not just at the UK border but all the way through to Ukraine. I have encountered this myself, with a ridiculous amount of time spent waiting at the Polish border because a minor piece of paperwork was missing. Really, the Polish authorities should be doing more to enable these vehicles to be driven over the border with more ease. I wonder whether there is more we can do to have some of those discussions.

The final point I will make on this front is around drone nets. As we know, drones are a constant threat from the Russians. A number of organisations are bringing over old fishing nets—I pay cross-party tribute to the Scottish Government, who announced a few days ago a donation of upwards of 200,000 Scottish fishing nets—which is a small thing, but it helps to protect cities on the western front from Russian drone incursions. I have also seen pictures of nets over highways to protect convoys of vehicles.

Those are some practical suggestions. As I said earlier, no one—certainly not those organisations—is suggesting that these interventions alone will be enough to push the Russians back. In fact, it would be remiss of me not to say that the organisations have said almost the opposite: they wanted me to make the point that as vital as their work is, it is incredibly important that we continue to provide the hard power and military aid. I am proud that our Government are doing that, but it is really a message to the whole of the west. I want to reference the point that the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) made about the need for long-range missiles, too.

I hope that when the Minister winds up, he will reflect on some of the points I have covered. I will make one final plea on behalf of these organisations: they would love an opportunity to meet the Minister or his officials to discuss some of the challenges they are facing and the practical ways we can help to increase the support we are giving to Ukraine.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Doughty]

People from Ukraine are very welcome here, as has been shown by communities up and down the country, and indeed by many Members today, and I am glad that the hon. Gentleman acknowledged the important change that we made this week; it was a point raised by many in the debate.

[David Taylor]

The Minister noted the absence of Reform from this debate. I also note the absence of the Green party. Perhaps they are too busy spreading sectarian hate up in Gorton and Denton, or undermining NATO at every corner. Does he agree?

[Stephen Doughty]

It speaks volumes, and it is not the first time. Frankly, the Greens’ comments on defence and NATO in the last few weeks have been shocking, and I said the other day that they should make those comments to people in Ukraine or the Baltics. Those were absolutely extraordinary comments, but they speak for themselves.

I, too, have made a long journey to be here. I have come directly from the United Nations Security Council, where yesterday I had the honour of chairing the session on Ukraine, and of speaking to the United Nations General Assembly. We joined Ukraine and more than 107 countries in voting for a resolution reaffirming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. It was a powerful show of global support, but I also had to listen again and again to the abject lies of the Russian representatives. We all have a job to do in this place, in our communities and in international forums—whether the UN, the Council of Europe, which was mentioned, or the OSCE—to speak the truth and expose Russian lies, including in countries around the world where Russia is spreading disinformation and division.

Iran

David Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I can confirm that we are in regular contact with our US counterparts and others on all of those questions.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

I wish to associate myself with the remarks that have been made by a number of Members, particularly those of my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden). I continue to advocate for ways in which the west can degrade the ability of the IRGC to kill protesters, such as targeted strikes on arms depots. I wish though to turn my remarks to the matter of proscription.

I am grateful for the Government moving forward with ways to look at proscribing the IRGC, but there is also the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which is linked to the Iranian regime, according to The Times and others. Just this weekend, it was seen on the streets of London with placards and chants in support of the Ayatollah. Even more depressing than that, I have heard reports that Iranian freedom protesters, including women, have been beaten up when they have attempted to hold these people to account outside their own centre. When Ministers are considering this question of proscription, I ask them to look at other groups such as the HRC, which operates under the guise of standing up for human rights when they are doing anything but that.

[Mr Falconer]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his advocacy on Iran and for his question. We are aware of the reports of pro-regime protests in the UK. I cannot comment, as he would expect, on the process of sanction or proscription review, but I have taken his remarks to heart.

Oral Answers to Questions

David Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore]

I am pleased to say that the international development Minister in the other place, Baroness Chapman, is due to meet the group imminently. We will continue that work, including through my conversations with nations in the ODA context, on how we provide more support for business as one of the changes to ODA moving forward.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

I hate to disagree with the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell), who I respect greatly, but in an era when we have less money I wonder whether we should focus on reaching the poorest people the most. There are other models, including the International Finance Facility for Education and the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, that offer ways to leverage much more money. By putting in a small amount, we can leverage up to four times more. Will Ministers, including a Treasury Minister, meet me to discuss such proposals and consider innovative forms of development finance in an era of less ODA?

[Chris Elmore]

I am, of course, more than happy to meet my hon. Friend, as diaries allow.

Iran: Protests

David Taylor Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I am grateful for the opportunity to set out our position on the future of Iran, which is clearly a matter for the Iranian people. What we are pressing for and focused on is the Iranian authorities ensuring that their people can exercise their right to peaceful protest. What happens next is clearly a question not for London or Washington, but for the Iranian people themselves. That is a message we have delivered consistently to the Iranian regime, which is saying otherwise—publicly, particularly—so I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to set that out from the Dispatch Box so clearly.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

The Trump Administration initially indicated that they would protect protesters when they came out, which they have done in droves, but, as many Members have indicated, thousands upon thousands of them have now been killed. We worry about outside interference, but if we listen to a lot of the protesters, they are actually demanding help from outside. I do not, and I am sure other Members do not, want to be standing here in a few years’ time, looking back and thinking, “What if?” Given that half a million people died in the recent Syrian civil war when a straightforward no-fly zone could have protected them, I urge Ministers to keep everything on the table and to talk to partners about how we might be able to degrade the IRGC’s ability to kill thousands of protesters, because I do not think it is going to stop.

[Mr Falconer]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his continued commitment to these issues, and to those in Syria, which he has been engaged in for some time. As I said, we are deeply concerned about the use of violence against protesters and we strongly condemn the killings of protesters. People must be able to exercise their right to peaceful protest without fear of reprisal.

Ukraine

David Taylor Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

I shall try to follow your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Let me begin by paying tribute to what Members have said already, and also to the fact that a number of Members in all parties have contributed in many different ways in trying to stand up for the Ukrainian people, not only in speeches in the House but through the initiatives that they are taking.

I want to talk briefly about my own motivation, which starts in Syria. Here I should refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which includes a reference to my role in that regard. As Members will know, I have a deep-seated passion for seeing that the Syrian people have a proper free and inclusive future after years of brutal dictatorship from Assad, and, of course, Putin was central to that. Half a million people died in Syria because of the actions of Assad and Putin, and I question whether Putin would have felt emboldened to invade Ukraine—Crimea—in 2014 if our country and the United States had taken a stronger role back in 2013, when that red line was set.

I want to take a moment to reflect on what the Minister said about parties not being present, because another party is absent too: Your Party. Members of that party and of the hard left look at this conflict in Ukraine and blame the west. Hon. Members may remember the ridiculous statement that blamed NATO expansion for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Let us be absolutely clear: there was no excuse, and there never will be any excuse, for Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, if anybody has any doubt about Putin’s motives or morality, they should look at who his partners are in this war? Iran is a country that is killing its own people on the streets and is now executing them. Is it not the case that Putin is an absolute disgrace, and anybody who shows any sympathy for him really should look at who his friends are?

[David Taylor]

I think we know who Putin’s friends are, and that is a matter of public record. I completely agree, and if I had had time during my question on the Iran statement yesterday, I would have spoken about the role that Iran is playing in Ukraine. Shahed drones, which all of us who have been to Ukraine have had to cower from, are being provided by the Iranian regime, so the sooner it falls the better.

I want to praise Conservative Members for the role they played, alongside my own, in the lead-up to the conflict. In particular, I praise Ben Wallace for his role, especially in putting in place the next-generation light anti-tank weapons, because it was so crucial at the start of the conflict that Kyiv did not fall. Much as we may praise the actions of our Government or any other Government, we must of course praise the bravery of the Ukrainian people at the start of that conflict in stopping the tanks rolling into Kyiv.

I am very grateful for the work that Ministers and the Prime Minister are doing to support the Ukrainian people, and we have heard some of the figures about the billions going on defence spending. I am particularly grateful for the £3.5 billion that will be spent on hardware under the defence industry support treaty, and the continued support for Operation Interflex training and for the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which has over 50 partners, as well as for the British built octopus drones that will be so crucial.

I absolutely welcome the talks towards a ceasefire. Who would not want a ceasefire? I also welcome the commitment with France to deploy peacekeepers at some point in the future. However, we must continue to support the Ukrainian people, because I fear that the Russians will use any pause in fighting as an opportunity to re-group and go again. We cannot be under any illusion about the threat from Russia. Many of us have been part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme. I had an opportunity to visit our fantastic troops in the Tapa base in Estonia just before Christmas, which really brought home just how real the threat from Russia continues to be.

I have made a couple of trips to Ukraine since the conflict started. The most recent one, almost a year ago, focused on drone technology and the imperative of supporting the Ukrainians in defending themselves. I had some absolutely amazing meetings while I was there, including with Deputy Defence Minister Sergiy Boyev, as well as with Ukrainian MPs who many hon. Members will know, such as Dmytro Natalukha and Oleksander Marikovskyi, who are members of the Economic Affairs Committee. Dmytro referred to the vital importance of drones and the need for what he called the Kalashnikovs of the sky. A Kalashnikov is of course a very durable weapon, and if it does break in any way it is very easy to repair. As well as the most important high tech, the Ukrainians continue to need the everyday drones that can help on the frontline to do reconnaissance, so that they know the Russian positions, and help them as they try to advance. Yes, we need investments in advanced technology, but we also need the Kalashnikovs of the sky—weapons for which parts are easy to come by and that are easy to repair.

On drones, I echo a point made by the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell). I agree that we need to look at how we can get more UK finance into Ukraine through joint ventures that can help with the production of drones. If we can work with the City of London to look at ways in which we can unlock any barriers that may exist, that would be a worthwhile venture, because we need to get more capital into the country to help Ukrainian companies, as well as our own, to build drones. The Octopus drone scheme is a brilliant example of our trying to work with the Ukrainians. There is a real opportunity here. The Ukrainians have the data, and the lived experience that can help us to build drones together. That will help us, and will help them in this war. I hope that, in the wind-ups, the Minister can talk about how we can work with the City of London to unlock more capital that will go into the country.

I want to talk briefly about a second trip I made, way back in 2024, when I was but a humble candidate. There are a number of organisations up and down the UK involving ordinary people who are trying to help in a grassroots way, in any way that they can. At a time when there is so much talk about charity beginning at home, and about problems here, it is remarkable that so many ordinary people have stepped up to help people they will probably never meet. Some have gone to Ukraine, and I want to pay tribute to them. I went there with an organisation called Help99. It delivers pick-up trucks that farmers do not need any more. Soldiers use them on the frontline to get from A to B. To go back to an earlier point, long-range missiles and expensive technology are really important, but we also need the things that will help soldiers on the ground. I pay tribute to those organisations. I had the privilege of hosting an event on this subject in Parliament last year, at which over 60 individuals and over 30 organisations from around the country came together.

I encourage the Government to look at ways that any excess vehicles on the Government estate, be they at the Home Office or at Network Rail, can be donated cheaply. Let us get the Treasury to write off these vehicles. It would not cost that much money, and it would make a difference to ordinary soldiers on the frontline.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Father of the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alex Sobel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It has taken too long to see that Chelsea money. My hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor) talked about the aid convoys. Imagine what they could do to support Ukraine, the generators we could buy and the energy infrastructure we could build with the billions from the Chelsea sale.

[David Taylor]

I hope that if that money is unlocked, we look at ways to compensate for the money that is going into Ukraine by freeing up money that might be able to go to other conflicts around the world, where we have sadly made some reductions due to the cut to the aid budget.

[Alex Sobel]

My hon. Friend is inviting me to comment on our official development assistance cuts, on which we probably share the same opinion. There is a principle here about reparations, whether they are from the Russian state, from individuals who have benefited from this war or from the gangster kleptocracy that runs Russia. We need to do both those things. There is a wider discussion to be had about how we can support Ukraine and retrench some of the money for other areas, particularly Syria and, hopefully, Iran, that need ODA money from the UK now and in the near future.

As my time is nearly up, I will ask a couple of questions that the Minister can answer at the end of the debate. On the much-vexed question of our deployment of troops to Ukraine, it is very early. I want to counsel some Members that when they are talking about this, their language and approach is very reminiscent of the run-up to the second world war and Lord Halifax’s approach. There was an agreement in Munich, Chamberlain said that it would be a peace in our time, and then the war started—it came to us. Russia’s territorial ambitions are not limited; they are unlimited. We need to be cognisant of that. We need to be on the front foot, not on the back foot. I understand all the concerns about our ability to deploy troops. What planning are we doing at this stage? What is the process? What can we do to reassure MPs and the public that we are making the right planning steps towards that?

On what we can do now, the plans announced to develop new tactical ballistic missiles with Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia are welcome. I am sure the Defence Minister will be able to answer this question: can the Government talk more about how and when we will do that and what the timelines are? Our own air defences are insufficient. We need to think about the future. If this war is protracted—if Putin does not settle and we do not get to a ceasefire—we ourselves could be threatened by drones, missiles and all the things we hear about every day in Ukraine. We need to be ready for our own defence, as well as the defence of Ukraine.

Iran

David Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

It is telling that, in the past few weeks, we have heard absolutely nothing from Your Party, the Greens, the Socialist Campaign Group or the “stop some wars” coalition. Where have been the marches in solidarity with the Iranian people? You cannot claim to be a progressive and to care about social justice if you do not want to see the total and immediate fall of this despotic, theocratic regime. Will the Foreign Secretary listen to the advice of the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat), who I think the whole House would agree is a fantastic advocate for the Iranian people, by talking with other partners and—I hope—with Iranian activists here in the UK, about what we can do, if the regime falls, to support the Iranian people immediately to build a better future, as we are trying to do in Syria?

[Yvette Cooper]

We want to see a better future for Iran and the Iranian people. We must be clear: it is the Iranian people who are expressing that urgent desire for a better future. The future of Iran must be in their hands. We will continue to work with international allies in support of action against the brutality we have seen. That is exactly why we are considering further sanctions measures.

Gaza and Sudan

David Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

The right hon. Member has been a champion of the people of Sudan in the face of the most intense suffering for a long time. I agree that there is simply not yet the kind of urgent plan for Sudan that we desperately need. Bluntly, for far too long, the international community has failed and turned its back. The UK put forward the resolution, which has now been fully agreed at the Human Rights Council; when we sought to put a resolution on similar issues to the Security Council a year ago, it was vetoed by Russia. We have sought to increase aid, but that is simply not sufficient if aid cannot get in because of the continuing conflict. When it comes to Sudan, we need the same sustained, intense effort across the international community that rightly went into securing peace in Gaza. It can at least start with a humanitarian truce. That is urgently needed. I can assure the right hon. Member that this is a topic in every phone call that I am having, not just with those in the Quad, but more widely.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

I associate myself with the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), the Chair of the Select Committee—of which I am a member—and the remarks of others who have spoken about the horrors unfolding in front of our eyes. We have heard reports that Tawila is next. There are 650,000 people there, including desperate civilians, and probably also aid workers who are British citizens. I also associate myself with the remarks made by the former International Development Secretary, the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell). What more can we do to help protect civilians from harm right now? I hope that the ceasefire negotiations that the Foreign Secretary is doing so much to try to bring about include us looking seriously at some kind of peacekeeping force to protect civilians from harm.

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend has championed this issue for a long time, and I thank him for his continuing work on the Select Committee. Like him, I am deeply worried that Tawila will be next if there is not concerted action to pull the warring parties back from the brink, halt the RSF advances, and ensure a humanitarian truce that is at least long enough to get humanitarian aid in and civilians out. Frankly, though, we need an end to this horrendous conflict. As we have seen in Gaza, it is only when a huge international effort comes together that we can make progress. We urgently need to ensure that happens.

Conflict in Sudan

David Taylor Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I take note of the hon. Gentleman’s suggestions. I am sure that he will be aware that six months ago, we did host a conference—I think it was in Lancaster House—for the whole world, in order to try to make progress on this question. We did so mostly privately, given the sensitivities for all involved. We will continue to do all we can diplomatically, both publicly at the UN and behind closed doors, as part of a concerted effort to bring this violence to an end.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

I associate myself with the remarks made by my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (John Slinger) yesterday. He noted that in previous conflicts, concerted efforts had been made to bring in some form of UN peacekeeping force, but unfortunately, that does not seem very popular in today’s world. I will forgive the Minister if he thinks this is a naive question, but in addition to the humanitarian aid we are providing and the diplomacy we are undertaking, what can we do to stop civilians from being killed right now? Are we looking at any form of peacekeeping force, be it UN, African Union or a coalition of the willing, to stop civilians being killed right now?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend asks the right set of questions. Of course, the first priority must be a ceasefire. As he knows, there have been peacekeeping forces in Darfur previously, and they have faced very considerable difficulties in exercising their mandate when the conflict parties are not prepared to take the vital first step, which is to hold a ceasefire.

Official Development Assistance Reductions

David Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Seema Malhotra]

I will go through how we will take some of the priorities forward and some of the changes that we are seeing through our strategy. I hope that helps answer my hon. Friend’s question. I want to make a point about our investment in Gavi, of which we were a founding member under the last Labour Government. It has generated £250 billion in economic benefits through reduced death and disability. It is a partnership based on the UK’s world-leading expertise in not just funding but research.

From grants to expertise, that partnership comes up in conversations that I have with countries that I work with as Minister with responsibility for the Indo-Pacific. It is important in terms of how we are working to increase the expertise of partners, including the Bank of England, the City of London and the University of Cambridge. We are helping to train financial regulators across countries, and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ partnership with the Ghana Revenue Authority used the UK’s expertise to increase Ghana’s tax revenue collection by £100 million last year—revenues that will help fund Ghana’s transition from aid.

I am conscious of time, but I will make a few further remarks. Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work that we do. But we are sharpening our focus on three priorities, which match partner needs and the long-term needs of people in the UK, and are also in areas where we can drive real change. These priorities have been highlighted in this debate—humanitarian, health, and climate and nature—and they are underpinned by economic development. They will help maximise our impact and focus our efforts where they matter most.

I reassure the House that the UK will continue to play a key humanitarian role, including responding to the most significant conflicts of our era, in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. We will not let Sudan be forgotten. We are the third-largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Sudan, and in April we announced £120 million to deliver lifesaving services to over 650,000 people affected by the conflict.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

On that point, will the Minister give way?

Middle East

David Taylor Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

The hon. Gentleman is a bright man. He knows that once a country has acquired the means to enrich to 60%, the expertise exists, and only a diplomatic solution can create the framework to eradicate and control that expertise. That is why, in the end, this can be dealt with only diplomatically. It is also why President Trump is urging Iran to return to the negotiating table.

[David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)]

As well as the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel, it has supported Assad to kill half a million people in Syria, including Palestinians, and it supplies Putin with the drones he is using to massacre people in Ukraine. We must also remember that the Iranian regime persecutes its own people, including human rights activists. Just as Ministers have, I am pleased to say, engaged with Syrian activists in the UK to hear their views on the future of their country, can I ask Ministers and the Foreign Secretary to assure me that they will engage with human rights activists and democracy activists here in Britain to help to guide their approach?

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend’s articulacy is spot on. I can give him that undertaking, between myself and the Minister for the Middle East.