Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Dominic Raab)]

We have introduced the Bill of Rights and look forward to bringing it forward for Second Reading shortly so that we can strengthen quintessential UK rights such as freedom of speech, as well as deporting more foreign national offenders and restoring some common sense to our justice system.

[Gavin Newlands]

Given his last stint in the role, the entire legal sector was—how should I put this?—rather surprised when the Secretary of State was reappointed, and they are not alone. The former Lord Chancellor, the right hon. and learned Member for South Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland) called his Bill of Rights “worse than useless”. The former Northern Ireland Secretary, the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) called it “wrong headed and regressive”. Other Ministers described it as “a complete mess”. If that is what his friends think, the House can only imagine what we in the Scottish National party think about this measure. Can the Secretary of State tell us why his own colleagues do not think his pet project is required or desirable?

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Gentleman is wrong on all counts. I am confident that—[Interruption.] He can quote anonymous sources, and there are some well-known differences of opinion, but I can confidently predict that on Second Reading, the Bill of Rights will have overwhelming support in this House. He cited academics, but I point to Lord Faulks KC, Oliver Sells KC, Jonathan Fisher KC, Steven Barrett KC and John Larkin KC, former Attorney General for Northern Ireland, all of whom have very much welcomed the proposals.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I was up at Glen Parva recently to look at one of the new state-of-the-art prisons. There, and across the prison estate, we are introducing improved cell windows, netting and other physical upgrades, as well as technology, to counter the threat of drones.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

4. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reforming the UK’s human rights framework.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Dominic Raab)]

Under this Prime Minister and before the next election, we will overhaul the Human Rights Act to end its abuse by dangerous criminals and to restore some common sense to our justice system.

[Gavin Newlands]

Does the Secretary of State believe that the UK should remain a signatory to the European convention on human rights, or does he plan to join such liberal luminaries as Belarus outside the convention? Yes or no?

[Dominic Raab]

Yes.

Afghanistan: FCDO Update

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Monday 6th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

British aid allowed 10 million more children to get access to a decent education over that last 20 years. Four out of 10 of them were young girls, who would have never seen a school otherwise. I think that is absolutely one of the crucial social gains that we need to try to consolidate and avoid being rolled back. Whenever I have spoken to any of my G7 partners, or partners in the region, there has been clarity that we need to work together to exercise the maximum moderating influence that we possibly can to make sure that those gains are not lost.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

In the last quarter of 2020, the Home Office was rejecting more than half of all asylum applications from Afghan nationals. Will the Foreign Secretary back up some of the language that he has used today and urge his colleague the Home Secretary to ensure that all Afghan appeals under review are assessed for suitability for a grant of asylum before they are listed and heard in court?

[Dominic Raab]

I would just say to the hon. Gentleman that I understand the passion with which he speaks. We have taken more than 17,000 people. Many of those are British nationals, but there are also Afghan nationals. We have allocated over the next few years that we will take 20,000, but we cannot take all of them, which is why it is right to check eligibility and to work with partners in the region and across the world to make sure that they can also bear the burden.

Hong Kong National Security Legislation

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the challenges for us as China exerts all its economic and diplomatic leverage to sway countries either to support it or to stay quiet on these issues is to make sure that people and other countries understand what is at stake. That is why it is important that in framing this issue, we talk not just about the human rights and autonomy of the people of Hong Kong, but about the quintessential issue of trust—trust in China’s ability to keep its word, freely given as in the joint declaration.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Before the handover, John Major said that if there were any suggestion of a breach of the joint declaration, we would have a duty to pursue every legal and other avenue available to us. What avenues are the Government pursuing to respond to the national security law, which dismantles the one country, two systems law. Will the Foreign Secretary consider lodging a case as a signatory to the Sino-British declaration with the International Court of Justice?

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Gentleman is not the first person to raise the question of the ICJ, but as hon. Members may know, unless it is under the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court, we cannot submit a case to the Court without the consent of the other side, and it is very clear that China would not accept that. I did raise the question of third-party adjudication with my Chinese opposite number, but it is clear that the Chinese will not accept that. There is no easy adjudicative route, but I hope that I have reassured the hon. Gentleman that we have already looked at that very carefully.

British Citizens Abroad: FCO Help to Return Home

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Tuesday 24th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that. He is absolutely right in what he says. I can reassure him that every one of our networks takes this incredibly seriously. The ambassadors and high commissioners are apprised of their leadership role in securing the return of UK nationals or otherwise protecting them as best we can. I say honestly to the House that there has been a challenge because of the spike in calls—I have been absolutely straightforward with the House on that—and we have doubled the capacity and we are looking to double it again. We want to make sure that that first point of contact—the pastoral care that the consular officers provide—is there, and then further detail, the technical advice, can be provided. He mentioned Peru and I can tell him that the first flight has capacity for about 200 passengers. Obviously we would want to prioritise the most vulnerable. He mentioned his constituents. We will have a final manifest shortly, before the flight departs tomorrow. Given the numbers in Peru and, as I mentioned, the issue of the remoteness of some of them from Lima, the capital, and the airport, we are, of course, going to have more flights. We hope to confirm the details of all that in due course. I can also tell him that 1,000 UK nationals have registered with our embassy in Lima, so although there is this idea that we have not got a system in place in Peru, we have actually responded very swiftly.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Since the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) left Government, I find myself agreeing with her on a regular basis, and I commend her for securing this urgent question.

As with everything else at the moment, I appreciate that this is a challenging and fast-moving situation, but we all have constituents stranded abroad who are worried sick about being able to get home, many of whom have no further funds to support their continued stay if that were to prove impossible. Many of us have constituents stranded in Peru, and I am grateful for the Government’s commitment on that. I have constituents stranded in Australia and New Zealand who have made every effort, as the Foreign Secretary has asked, to get home but have been blocked by cancelled flights, internal travel restrictions and international travel bans. Two of them are NHS doctors, and some of them have health issues, including asthma and a chronic respiratory condition, and are running low on medicines. I am sorry to say this, because I know that the service is hard-pressed, as the Foreign Secretary outlined, but they have all been particularly scathing about the lack of consular support available.

Can the FCO commit to providing clarity about the situation directly to UK citizens abroad who are worried and isolated, and about support for returning home, or support from UK embassies to get accommodation and access to healthcare that they need, should that not be possible? I strongly urge the Foreign Secretary to support citizens to get home, whatever it takes. In addition to our own citizens, will he commit to ensuring that all foreign nationals living in the UK will be treated with compassion and flexibility should they find themselves in need of essential treatment and care in this country, particularly if they are not able to imminently return home? Will he pass on the Government’s support to concerned embassies that are trying to look out for their citizens?

[Dominic Raab]

The first thing to say is that we have all had constituents contact us to say that they feel vulnerable or are stranded, and I think we all understand how anxious people are in that situation. The No. 1 thing we want to do is provide some certainty. That starts with the point of contact, which is why I mentioned the call centre. It also relates to the missions. There have been some mistaken, if not outright flawed, suggestions that embassies or high commissions have closed. The buildings may have been restricted because of the measures taken by domestic Governments and local authorities, but those embassies and missions—with a very small number of exceptions, all of which are subsidiary missions —are all open for business, with people having to work remotely.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the cost of flights. We are working closely with airlines and travel companies to ensure that as many people as possible can get commercial flights home in a rapidly changing and fluid situation, and we are encouraging airlines to be as flexible as possible when people have to change their return flight.

The hon. Gentleman asked about Australia and New Zealand. I have set out in some detail the support that is being provided, but given the new restrictions that the Governments have introduced and the question hanging over transit hubs, I appreciate that there is acute concern for people there. We have had to rapidly respond to that. I have given information to the House on what Australia is doing. The high commission is open. UK nationals abroad can call the embassy or register their details. I have an email here about how that can be done, which I can give to Members on both sides of the House. I can tell the House that more than 1,700 British nationals have registered their interest. In relation to New Zealand, in addition to the work being done, we are—as I think I mentioned in my opening remarks—working to find accommodation for those who want to know that they at least have a place to stay, if they cannot get a commercial flight out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my hon. Friend, who is playing to all my prejudices with his question. We are absolutely committed to ratification of CPTPP, the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership. We are also committed to joining ASEAN formally with dialogue partner status. In the context of that, he raises an interesting idea. It is obviously difficult to host conferences at the moment, but that is certainly something we should keep under review.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

On Saturday morning, I was advising constituents, on the basis of Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice, that they had until midnight to leave Poland. Later that day, Jet2 advised them that their flights for the following two days would be going ahead and leaving Poland. Will the Minister therefore tell me why the advice was incomplete and what they are to do if any travel insurance claim they make is now invalid?

Covid-19

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

We take very seriously the security and protection of all UK personnel in the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Department for International Development, both in the UK and across the network. We will do everything we can to ensure that they are able do the heroic job that they are doing right now in safe and secure conditions.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

This measure is entirely commensurate with the situation we face, and I support it. However, as the Member of Parliament for Glasgow airport, and the thousands of jobs that it supports, may I ask what assessment the Government have made of the impact of covid-19 measures on the industry, by which I mean airlines, airports, baggage handlers and so on—the list could go on? What will the Government do to support that industry?

[Dominic Raab]

The Government are very conscious of the challenge facing the airline industry and its related sectors, and the Foreign Office must ensure that it takes what I think the hon. Gentleman described as a commensurate policy approach, given the knock-on effects that that will have. As well as speaking with the Prime Minister, I talk regularly, as I did this morning, with the Secretary of State for Transport, and he liaises directly with airports and airlines. We are ensuring that we take the most proportionate approach possible. Ultimately, we must ensure that we protect UK nationals based abroad, but also that we protect the industry that will help them get home.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Gavin Newlands

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

3. What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the protection of human rights of UK citizens of the UK leaving the EU.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Dominic Raab)]

The Government’s assessment of fundamental rights is set out in their policy paper, “Rights and obligations of European Union membership”, which was published on 14 April.

[Gavin Newlands]

I thank the Minister for his answer, but his Secretary of State wants to leave the EU and the Home Secretary wants to leave the European convention on human rights, so should we take it that when this Government are finished, the UK will no longer be party to any international human rights treaties? Is that really the message that the UK Government want to send to the rest of the world?

[Mr Raab]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, but I think he probably knows by now that, in regard to the plans being worked up for the Bill of Rights, it is not the Government’s policy to withdraw from the convention. We have said that we cannot rule that out for ever and a day, but that is not our proposal now, and it is absolutely not the case that we would withdraw from a whole range of other international human rights treaties if we left the EU.