Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

1. What assessment he has made of prospects for the future relationship between the UK and the US.

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

15. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the result of the US election on the UK’s bilateral relationship with that country.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson)]

Britain and America have an enduring and strong special relationship, and as the Prime Minister said during her call with President-elect Trump on 10 November, we look forward to working with his Administration to ensure the security and the prosperity of both our countries and the world in the years ahead.

[Boris Johnson]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the wisdom of his approach to this matter. The relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States was perhaps the single most important geopolitical fact of the last century, and I have no doubt that it will continue to prosper and thrive in the relationship we are building.

[Gavin Newlands]

Just as he has on Turkey, the Foreign Secretary has U-turned in his opinion of President-elect Trump. Given the openly racist and Islamophobic opinions expressed by some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, does the Foreign Secretary maintain his belief that there is a lot to be positive about in the new Administration, and how does he intend to work with his new counterpart to uphold universal human rights such as racial and gender equality?