Oral Answers to Questions

Fabian Hamilton Excerpts

Tuesday 17th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

As I have been saying, the key thing is to bring together all the sides in Libya—the two halves of the country, Mr Swehli, Mr Saleh, Prime Minister al-Sarraj and of course General Haftar—to change the Skhirat agreement of 2014 to get a new political settlement and then to have elections, and through those elections to produce a unified Government that we believe offer the prospect of peace and security in Libya.

My hon. Friend also raises the problem of illegal immigration, which the UK is of course doing a great deal to combat.

[Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) (Lab)]

When challenged about his recent “clear the dead bodies” remarks, the Foreign Secretary said that his only critics were those with

“no knowledge or understanding of Libya.”

Can he therefore respond to Guma el-Gamaty, the head of the Libyan Taghyeer party, who said:

“Libyans fought and died fighting Islamic State in Sirte…Many remain where they fell…It is insensitive to talk about those bodies as if they are some obstacle to British businessmen enjoying beer and sunbathing. The very least he should do is apologise to the families of the young men who died”?

Will the Foreign Secretary now directly apologise to those families today?

[Boris Johnson]

By far the best thing this Government and this House can do is to get behind the plan this Government are promoting to bring security to Libya and to Sirte, which would do honour to all those who fell fighting Daesh in Libya. That is the way forward for that country, and that is the course we are promoting.