Paris Terrorist Attacks

Emily Thornberry Excerpts

Monday 16th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Sometimes people talk about security and liberty as if it was a zero-sum game. Actually, you can enjoy your liberty only if you have security.

[Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)]

I spent this morning with one of my constituents who spent Friday night just yards from the Bataclan. Despite the trauma he had been through, he wanted to speak to me about his concerns about the Syrian community, especially in the light of the passport that was found. His view was that those who run away from Islamic State in Syria do so because—like us—they do not share its values. It is important that we continue to make it clear that Europe—and Britain—welcome refugees.

[Mrs May]

Indeed and, as the hon. Lady knows, we are committed to welcoming 1,000 Syrian refugees before Christmas and 20,000 over the course of this Parliament. She is right: those fleeing Syria are fleeing from the barbarism of ISIL and, in many cases, from attacks on the Syrian people by their own Government. That is why it is so important that we ensure that we find a political resolution to what is happening in Syria, so that those many hundreds of thousands—millions—who have had to flee can go back to their homes where they want to be.