UK Soft Power Council
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Latin America and Caribbean (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) has today made the following statement: Growth Dr Linda Yueh—University of Oxford; Royal Commonwealth Society Ewan Venters—CEO, Hauser & Wirth (former CEO, Fortnum & Mason) Roland Rudd—Global co-chair, FGS Global; Chair, Tate Security Glen Sir Nick Carter—Former Chief of the Defence Staff Dr Comfort Ero—International Crisis Group Europe Mark Leonard—European Council on Foreign Relations Dr Parag Khanna—AlphaGeo Climate Richard Deverell—Kew Gardens Dr Vijaya Ramachandran—Breakthrough Institute Development Dr Sara Pantuliano—Overseas Development Institute Culture Dr Tristram Hunt—Victoria and Albert Museum Lord Mendoza—Historic England Fran Hegyi—Edinburgh International Festival Scott McDonald—British Council Creative Tom Kiehl—UK Music Sir Peter Bazalgette—Royal College of Art Sport Dame Katherine Grainger—UK Sport; University of Glasgow Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson—Sport Wales; UK Active; Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Debbie Hewitt—Football Association Education Vivienne Stern—Universities UK Values and Institutions Patrick Stevens—Rule of Law Director, International Justice Development Anthony Smith—Westminster Foundation for Democracy Dame Linda Dobbs—Former UK High Court Judge Media Tom Fussell—BBC Studios Tourism Peter Gowers—European Former CEO, Travelodge Science and Technology Professor Helen McCarthy—Queens University Belfast; Chief Science & Technology Adviser, Northern Ireland
I would like to update Parliament on the UK Government approach to soft power. The global community faces some of the greatest challenges of our lifetime: conflict across multiple continents, the climate and nature emergency, the threat of harms flowing from unregulated emerging technologies and their use by hostile states. Our rules-based international order, historically used to tackle these issues, is under attack. To meet these challenges, the UK must collaborate and take action.
Our offer to the world is unique: we are a beacon of democracy underpinned by a talented and independent judiciary. We boast internationally recognised cultural, creative and sporting sectors, vibrant in all four corners of our country and around the world. We have a world-class education system, resilient and revered financial and legal sectors, and groundbreaking science, technology and research centres. The impact of the BBC World Service and British Council is unparalleled.
The spirit of the United Kingdom is built on tolerance, fairness, diversity and inclusivity, and we ground our approach on values. The UK does not sit still; rather, we continue to look at how we can do things differently and find innovative solutions to the problems we and the world face.
While others seek to weaponise their soft power, we seek to collaborate and forge partnerships. If we are to make progress on the challenges that we face, and create a world that is safer, fairer and more prosperous for all, we must engage the sectors, institutions and networks that together contribute to our success and best project those to the world.
It is no longer viable to rely solely on hard tools. A modern, dynamic, engaged Britain unlocks the power of our strongest assets. We must use soft power to deliver hard goals.
New Soft Power Council
Today, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and I are launching a new UK Soft Power Council and will convene its inaugural meeting on 15 January.
For the first time, we are bringing together some of the most influential figures across our world-leading sectors in soft power and foreign policy to steer and advise Government.
This council reflects the depth and breadth of our culture, creative, sports, education and science and technology sectors, and will tap into UK expertise on security, climate and nature and development, and our values and institutions.
This is not just an advisory group. The Soft Power Council will enable us to build stronger partnerships with external organisations at home and abroad, identify opportunities to strengthen our reach and reputation and shore up our influence for a generation.
Core to the Council’s mission is the pursuit of economic growth, ensuring a coherent, strategic, approach to soft power that brings tangible economic benefits to citizens across the UK.
Together the Soft Power Council will help the UK Government shape and drive a new UK soft power strategy that will deliver on our foreign policy priorities, bring momentum to campaigns that deploy our soft power and broaden the reach of the major soft power and foreign policy moments in the global calendar. We look forward to inviting contributions from the full range of Parliamentarians to support this initiative.
Co-chaired by us as Secretaries of State, the members of the Soft Power Council are:
Foreign policy
Soft power
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Oral Answers to Questions
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 week, 1 day ago)
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Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
We unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks on Israel in April and October 2024. These attacks, and Iran’s ongoing support for its proxies and partners, have destabilised the region and fuelled escalation. Alongside our allies and partners, we will continue to hold Iran to account for this behaviour, including through sanctions, addressing Iranian weapons proliferation, and maintaining our permanent defence presence in the region.
Bob Blackman
I thank the Minister for that answer. Clearly, we all hope that there will be a deal to release the hostages held illegally in Gaza. Given that Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, the proxies of Iran, are on the brink of defeat, the risk to the region now is that Iran takes direct action. As we want to see the end of the despotic regime that brutalises the people of Iran, now is the time for sanctions and the proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps once and for all. Will the Minister take the necessary action to bring that regime to its knees, so that democracy can be restored to Iran?
Mr Falconer
I recognise that the hon. Member has asked questions about proscribing the IRGC a number of times in this Chamber, and I can assure him that we are working urgently on measures to take the necessary action to deter the Iranian state from posing a threat to this country and the region. We will continue to update the House in due course.
Peter Fortune
With the re-election of President Trump in the US, we are likely to see a return to his policy of maximum pressure to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. What is the Secretary of State’s view on that approach? Will the Government support our allies in the United States of America?
Mr Falconer
We continue to work closely with the American Administration, and we look forward to doing so with the new Administration. It is regrettably true that Iran’s nuclear programme has never been more advanced, and it threatens international peace and security. We remain determined that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon, and we remain committed to a diplomatic solution to achieve that.
Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
May I pay tribute to the hon. Member for her overseas work as the British Council’s former director of communications? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] I understand that she was posted in London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai. I am jealous, as my assignments in my overseas postings were rather different.
The British Council’s board of trustees is responsible for the organisation’s financial sustainability. As an FCDO arm’s length body, the British Council received £162.5 million of grant in aid funding in 2024-25. My noble Friend, Baroness Chapman, oversees this as the Minister responsible. This contribution supports the British Council’s role as a soft power asset, promoting UK arts and culture, education, and the English language.
Monica Harding
Mr Speaker, may I declare another interest as the officer of the British Council all-party parliamentary group?
The British Council delivers more than £1 billion-worth of global impact for the UK every year. During the pandemic, it was forced to close 18 country operations, none of which has since reopened. The then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab gave it an emergency loan, but set it out on commercial terms. The interest on this loan is costing the British Council £14 million a year. Will the Minister help the British Council keep delivering on the Government’s growth, security and soft power objectives and consider reviewing the terms of the council’s loan, extending the date for beginning repayments, reducing the commercial rate of interest, or redesignating the loan—
Mr Falconer
Ministers are aware of the issues in relation to the £200 million. As the hon. Member said, the loan was made on commercial terms in order to be compliant with the UK subsidy control regime. On 6 January, my ministerial colleagues the Foreign Secretary and Baroness Chapman met the chief executive officer of the British Council to discuss these issues.
Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) (Lab)
As we have already heard, the British Council is vital to the UK’s soft power across the world. At such an important time for the promotion of our values of democracy, freedom and human rights, reports that the British Council may have to close 30 to 40 operations is deeply worrying. What steps is the Minister taking to secure the future of the British Council’s existing programmes?
Mr Falconer
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his long-held commitment on these issues. Soft power is an issue of the most vital importance, particularly in this contested world. I am very pleased to confirm, as the Foreign Secretary already has, that we are establishing a soft power council in the coming days. That is an important initiative and the British Council will be an important part of that work. In relation to country offices, the British Council retains a significant physical presence in more than 100 countries, which is welcome, and has a growing presence online, which is to be encouraged.
David Smith (North Northumberland) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
I welcome the appointment of my hon. Friend as the new UK special envoy for freedom of religion or belief.
As part of our intensive diplomatic engagement with international partners, and indeed with the interim Syrian authorities, we have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
David Smith
I thank my hon. Friend for welcoming me and for his commitment and that of the Department to work with the nascent Syrian Government as they seek to protect and respect religious minorities. However, I am sure that he is aware that over Christmas there were attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters on the Christian-majority town of Maaloula, and some reports of attacks on Alawite communities. What more can he and his Department do to work with the Syrian Government as they seek to build a society in which all religious communities can take part without fear of religious persecution?
Mr Falconer
As the House would expect, we follow reports of such incidents in Syria very closely. I was discussing some of those incidents with members of Syrian civil society just last night, and the Foreign Secretary has raised those questions directly with the interim Foreign Minister of the Syrian authorities. We will continue to call for all parties in Syria, in this moment of transition, to do the utmost to respect the rights of all religious minorities across the country.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
Minorities can be protected only if there is stable and representative government in Syria. This morning I met some members of the Syrian Democratic Council who are concerned that the call for dialogue is not inclusive and that minorities are not being protected. What steps can the Government take to ensure that that does not happen and that there is inclusive dialogue? Will the Government, for example, link the lifting of sanctions against Syria to the actions to protect minorities and to the inclusion of the Syrian Democratic Council in future constitutional arrangements?
Mr Falconer
It is vital that the new Syria includes representation of all its people and that all Syrians can see themselves represented in the Government that will follow. We are supporting an inclusive political process that must respect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and we will continue in our efforts.
Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)
David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
I thank my hon. Friend for the question and for his long-standing work on Syria issues. I was very glad to join him and so many inspiring members of Syrian civil society who are keen to make a contribution. We will do what we can to enable the new Syria to be a success and to enable Syrian civil society here and across the world to play their full role in that.
Chris Ward (Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven) (Lab)
Mr Falconer
The UK Government consistently urge Pakistani authorities to act in line with their international obligations and respect fundamental freedoms and human rights. I raised these issues during my visit to Pakistan in November and in my statement to the House on 28 November. We issued a further statement on 23 December about the role of military courts. We have made it clear that the UK supports individuals’ rights to freedom of assembly and expression, and we will continue to do so.
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
Will Ministers update the House on the implementation of the advisory opinion from the ICJ on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, particularly in relation to the consequences for the UK and other nation states?
Mr Falconer
We continue to consider the advisory opinion of the ICJ carefully. It is a far-reaching opinion that took months in the production, and we hope to be able to report back soon.
Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
Following up on the case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah in Egypt, will the Secretary of State say when he expects a substantial response to his engagement with the Egyptian Government? Will he confirm that he will not travel to Egypt unless he is confident that he can return with Alaa?
Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)
We have millions shoehorned into a confined prison, hundreds of communities destroyed, thousands of people indiscriminately killed and lifesaving humanitarian aid being blocked. Will the Foreign Secretary show consistency, judge Israel on its actions and at last define what Netanyahu’s apartheid regime is doing to Palestinians as a genocide?
Mr Falconer
We have set out our position on the designation of genocide, so I will not enter into that discussion again, but I will respond to my hon. Friend on the questions of aid access, on which a ministerial colleague has spoken already and on which we have been consistent. We are clear that not enough aid is getting into Gaza, and we have been clear with the Israeli Government on our difference on the conduct of hostilities and of aid access.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Do the Government deny that incoming President Trump is deeply hostile to the proposed Chagos Islands giveaway?
Northern Gaza
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in northern Gaza.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
The situation in northern Gaza is dire. The UK condemns Israel’s restrictions on aid in the strongest terms. The scale of human suffering is unimaginable. We have been clear that this is a man-made crisis and Israel must act immediately to address it.
The need for humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza is greater than ever before. Close to 46,000 people have now been killed. All of Gaza’s population is reported to face the risk of famine. Air strikes within the designated humanitarian zone show there are no safe spaces left for civilians. Reports of up to eight children having died from the cold weather conditions are unconscionable.
It is unacceptable that many medical facilities are no longer in use or are inaccessible to humanitarian actors, and we remain deeply concerned by reports of medics being killed or injured. I have raised this, and will continue to raise this, with both the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. I have also specifically raised the detention of Kamal Adwan Hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya with both the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and Israel’s ambassador to the UK. We urge Israel to urgently clarify the reasons for his detention, as well as for the detention of paediatrician Mohammed Hamouda and all the other health workers detained in Gaza.
The UK is doing all we can to alleviate this suffering. We have provided £112 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories this financial year, including £41 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, providing vital services to civilians in Gaza and the west bank, and to Palestinians across the region, delivered through partner agencies.
The UK is also supporting the provision of essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including support to UK-Med for operating its field hospitals, and we have provided £1 million to the Egyptian Ministry of Health to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza.
The Foreign Secretary, working with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Government of Israel in November to press them to ensure adequate preparations for winter. Make no mistake: in lockstep with our partners, we are continuing to exert pressure to make sure that northern Gaza is not cut off from the south, that Gazans are not forcibly transferred from or within Gaza, and that there is no reduction in the territory of the Gaza strip.
We need a ceasefire, we need hostages to be released, we need much more aid into Gaza, and we need civilians to be protected.
Layla Moran
Over 450 days on, we all know the statistics—45,000 Palestinians killed, 100 hostages missing, 2.3 million people desperate—but I want to tell a single human story. I have previously spoken about my friend, consultant surgeon Mohamed, who operated on me when I had sepsis. His family are trapped in the Jabalia refugee camp. They are elderly and sick. One is a three-year-old girl. He has described how there are bodies strewn in the street.
I am sorry to report that death did not come knocking this weekend. Rather, it was dropped by a precision drone as Mohamed’s brother and his son walked 10 metres to get aid. The son died of a brain injury, two 13-year-old girls and their mother have shrapnel wounds, and Mohamed’s elderly father, who was already ill, is in hospital. A three-year-old, her mother and Mohamed’s mother are alone in a house with no one to help them get food.
These were obviously not militants—they were sick. They are not legitimate targets of war. There is no excuse for this. Mohamed told me it feels like they are living in “The Hunger Games,” dodging drones and scavenging for the basics. Even if they wanted to leave, how can they?
What part of international law makes any of this okay? Where is the accountability? Where is the justice? What does the Minister have to say to Mohamed, who spends his days saving lives here in the UK while his family are slaughtered overnight?
And it is not just Mohamed. People in Gaza are trapped in a doom loop of hell—hospitals decimated, and ceasefires promised and never delivered. So I press the Government again: is this really everything the UK has got? Have we deployed everything to make this stop? When will we recognise Palestine? Why have we not stopped the arms trade to Israel? And when will the Government ban trading with illegal settlements?
The frustration is palpable. Our grief is fathomless. People across the UK are looking on in horror, and the horror in Gaza must stop now.
Mr Falconer
The hon. Member speaks passionately about a situation that so few in this House could even imagine. My thoughts are with Mohamed’s family and the many, many other women, children and civilians who are caught up in this war.
I have seen for myself the injured children across the border in Sinai. They are the lucky ones who have been able to leave the strip to access medical assistance. The whole Foreign Office ministerial team has these people in our minds each and every day. I have been engaged through the break, as many others have, recognising that for most people in Palestine there is no break from a truly dreadful situation.
The hon. Member asks what I have to say to Mohamed, and I am incredibly sorry for the loss that people are suffering in Palestine. I am incredibly sorry that we continue to assess that there is a serious risk of breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. We are doing everything we can to try to prevent and reduce them in relation to the arms that she mentioned. We have taken decisive action to reduce the sale of weapons being used in the conduct of the hostilities in Gaza, the west bank and Lebanon, and will continue to keep the matters under review. I can only join with the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon in reaching out to those in Palestine in this situation. We have done much; we recognise there is much more to do. My heart goes out to those people.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
May I begin by paying tribute to the bravery of the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) in continuing to fight for the population in Gaza, even as her own family and friends are suffering?
My Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into the Israel-Palestine conflict, and we have heard again and again from witnesses, including both Israeli and Palestinian voices, that the UK could, in fact, be doing more to bring the conflict to an end. We have also heard from witnesses, including the former Member for North East Bedfordshire, who is also the very respected former Minister for the middle east, that where UK action has come, it has been too little and too late. While I know that the Minister is unable to comment on any ongoing negotiations, I would like to know this: what role is the UK playing in convening post-conflict discussions and what does he see as a viable, long-term resolution for Gaza?
Mr Falconer
This Government have taken a very different approach from the one that came before us. We have taken immediate, rapid action, calling for a ceasefire, making decisions on arms, which have already been mentioned, increasing the amount of aid available to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, being absolutely steadfast in our support to UNWRA and restoring funding that had been cut. Let us not think that there is no difference between the policy position taken by the Ministers here on the Front Bench and those that came before us. My predecessor, mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), is a good and wise man who has done much in the service of his country. Yet let us not have any illusion; there is a difference between what a Labour Government have done in relation to the middle east and what our predecessors did.
I reassure my right hon. Friend that we are very engaged in the questions about what must happen next in Gaza. Clearly, Gaza needs a solution that works for its people, where Gaza is governed by the Palestinians under their own legitimate authority, in safety and security. There are a wide range of international views about how we might get to that objective, and we are playing our full part diplomatically to try and ensure that there is consensus.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
I thank the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for securing this urgent question. Innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering and the situation is desperate; everyone in the House recognises that and we all want aid and support to reach them. Does the Minister also recognise that innocent civilians are being used continuously as human shields by Hamas, which has no regard for their safety or welfare? There are no excuses for the current situation. [Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) can listen to my comments and then he can comment afterwards.
Getting aid over the border is absolutely critical. In the light of the Minister’s words, he will also recognise, notwithstanding his comments about the previous Conservative Government, that that Government actively identified different ways to get aid into Gaza and secure food aid in particular. A special representative for humanitarian affairs was appointed, who was on the ground with a clear remit to address bottlenecks and those issues. There were clear proposals put to the Government of Israel to increase the delivery of aid and support. There was active dialogue and Israel made a number of significant and welcome commitments. Will the Minister give details of the recent engagement on fulfilling those vital commitments, how those responsible are being held to account and whether the Foreign Office, under his Government, has identified and proposed new and alternative routes for aid delivery in recent weeks?
Importantly, the only other way to bring this appalling humanitarian conflict and suffering to a sustainable end in Gaza is for Hamas to release all the hostages. I appreciate that we have debated this difficult matter previously, but may I ask the Minister what discussions are currently taking place? The onus, as we know, is on Hamas, but what steps are the Government taking right now? There are many hostages that we know of, including Emily Damari whom we have spoken about before. All our thoughts are with those hostages and their families. We must know what the UK’s position is, especially in relation to calling out Hamas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was right to say at the weekend that we have not seen a great deal of condemnation. May I conclude by asking the Minister what points of influence we have with Israel in particular and what his Government are doing to address this conflict?
Mr Falconer
The shadow Foreign Secretary rightly raises the important role of the special representative for humanitarian affairs. He remains in post and continues to have dialogue with the Israelis and others about what can be done to ensure that adequate aid gets into Gaza. There has been a great deal of discussion about different routes. I have been to North Sinai to see the routes in through al-Arish, and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Development has been in Jordan to see the routes there. The most fundamental of all of these questions is who controls the crossings. In most cases, that is the Israeli Government and the steps that need to be taken sit most acutely with them.
There are, of course, other questions that are important and relevant, not least those to do with law and order in the Gaza strip, where there are serious and concerning reports of looting. None the less, getting the aid in is vital, and that is through the crossings. We have been raising these points forcefully with the Israeli Government, and it has been disappointing to see with my own eyes British aid piling up in al-Arish, despite the good efforts of the special envoy and others to encourage the Israelis to make progress in delivering the flood of aid into Gaza that they promised.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Falconer
Sorry, I was just taking a breath. On the vital question about hostages, we are continuing to use all of our influence to try to ensure an early resolution to the crisis, which has been going on for far, far too long. We must work each and every day to try to advance that situation. Clearly, given the degree of tactical leaking to the press about the latest talks, I do not want to comment on press reports.
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this question. I also thank the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for all the work that she has done trying to highlight the horrors that are going on in the region.
What assessment have the Government made of Israel’s action in the Netzarim corridor, which Israel has cleared of Palestinian civilians in order to construct military roads and positions. One senior Israeli official told Haaretz that the area had been designated as a “kill zone”, with anyone who enters being shot. The same officer told Haaretz that civilians were knowingly killed and later designated as terrorists. With competitions between military units regarding who can cause the most casualties, what assessment has the Minister made of these alleged war crimes, and can he tell me what we are doing to document and to stop them?
Mr Falconer
Mr Speaker, as you would expect, my Department takes careful stock of all reports, including those that my hon. Friend mentions, and we include them as part of our regular assessments. We have concluded one of those assessments recently, and I have already updated the House on that.
Mr Falconer
Let me take the hon. Member’s questions in turn. On arms sales, we have been clear, and I am pleased to reiterate that clarity today, that we have taken steps in relation to the weapons at issue in Gaza. We keep that under regular review, but we have taken clear, principled steps. If the question relates to the F-35 programme, I am happy to reiterate that we carved out that provision because there was no other way to meet our obligations in relation to international peace and security, and that remains the position.
On the matter of a ceasefire, efforts are ongoing. We hope to see an early resolution, but I am afraid that we have been here many times before. These are incredibly fraught talks. Flexibility needs to be shown on all sides. The violence has gone on for far too long. We want an immediate ceasefire, which we have called for since we came into Government.
I have raised the situation in Kamal Adwan and the wider matter about the provision of healthcare in northern Gaza. I have been clear with the Israeli Government about their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure that proper medical assistance is available to Gazan people. They are entitled to that and those obligations are clear in international law. I have made that clear to the Israelis, as well as what the consequences will be internationally if those obligations are not met.
The hon. Member also raised a question about illegal settlements. I am pleased to repeat our position: we do not support the annexation of Gaza; we support the 1967 boundaries; and we deplore illegal settlements, which is why we took sanctions against them late last year.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for securing this urgent question; it is indeed urgent. At the UN, the UK called for Israel to abide by UNSC resolution 2286 on the protection of civilians and healthcare. It is clear that Israel is not abiding by that resolution, so with the words having been uttered and ignored, what will the Government now do to ensure that Israel is held to account for its actions?
Mr Falconer
We could not be clearer, either publicly or privately, about what expectations fall on Israel in relation to health provision. I have raised these issues, the Foreign Secretary has raised these issues, and my ministerial colleagues have raised these issues. It is a source of enormous frustration to the ministerial team that, this far into the conflict, we are still having to raise these issues, and we will continue to do so until there is some resolution. And that resolution must enable greater healthcare for the Palestinians of Gaza and the wider region.
Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire) (Con)
Mr Speaker, you and I have been through this rigmarole many times over the past 14 months. I was going to ask today about the fate of Dr Abu Safiya, but I think we all know what will happen to him. I was going to ask about the babies who are freezing to death while blankets are being denied entry into Gaza, but I do not think we will be able to do much about that. The same applies to the denial of access for cancer medication, anaesthetic, or crutches or, indeed, the bombing of every single hospital.
The Minister said that he and his team are frustrated, but given the partial application of international law and the Government’s unwillingness to take any significant steps to either compel the imposition of a ceasefire or compliance with international law, rather than being frustrated, is he not ashamed that millions of people in this country and around the world believe that there is an inherent racism at the heart of British foreign policy in this regard that says that Palestinian lives matter much less than any other lives, or indeed than Israeli lives? And if he and the Minister for Development, who has answered these statements before, are ashamed, why are they hanging on to their red folders? Why are they not standing down and compelling the Government actually to do something active and physical to save these lives?
Mr Falconer
There are places where I will take lessons about shame, but it is not from the Conservative Benches, and particularly not on this issue. If they want to give me a hard time about what is being done in relation to the people in Gaza, they should turn to their own record, whether that is on aid into Gaza, the ICC or the ICJ. These are sober issues and we deal with them with the sobriety they require, and I would appreciate, particularly from the Conservative Benches, questions of that tone.
Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
In November, the Israel Defence Forces made an official statement that they are getting closer to the complete evacuation of northern Gaza and that Palestinians will not be permitted to return home. In December, Doctors Without Borders reported on the clear signs of ethnic cleansing in the north of Gaza. Only last week, the residents of Beit Hanan were ordered to leave the area. Ethnic cleansing is taking place before our very eyes, and the world remains silent. Will the Minister confirm that Israel must allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza and that any settlements there would be illegal?
Mr Falconer
I can confirm that it is the view of the Government that Palestinians must be able to travel freely between north and south Gaza, that there can be no further illegal settlements, and that we will continue to condemn that in the way we do in the west bank. There must be no annexation of Gaza.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
Do the Government acknowledge that what is happening in northern Gaza is a campaign of ethnic cleansing? If the Minister does not, what would he call it?
Mr Falconer
We have been incredibly clear about the position in northern Gaza and about our deep concerns in relation to healthcare provision, aid going into the area, the targeting of healthcare professionals, the detentions, the importance of transparency where people have been taken, ensuring that they have adequate rights to see their lawyers, and that the ICRC can see people. The situation in northern Gaza is close to our minds. We have commented extensively throughout the winter period, and we will continue to do so.
Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
Having listened to evidence on Gaza as a member of the International Development Committee, it is clear to me that there have been egregious breaches of international law. While I do not doubt the integrity and sincerity of my hon. Friend, it is clear that the actions taken so far by the Government have either not shifted the dial an inch or make me question how much worse it would be. Besides rhetorically supporting an international court, what will the Government do to help gather evidence to protect witnesses and ensure that there is justice and accountability?
Mr Falconer
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, although I take issue with it. This Government have done more than rhetoric, whether it is the £13 million of funding we announced in December; the £112 million of funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories; the quite different position we have taken on questions of international justice, compared with our predecessors; or the extensive funding we provide to the ICC each year to ensure that it can do its work. I want to be clear that we do not specify that the funding is in relation to Gaza; we give it so that the ICC can pursue its work without fear or favour globally, and we will continue to do so.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
The aggressors in this situation are the terrorists in Hamas. The ones who took and continue to hold hostages are the terrorists in Hamas. Does the Minister therefore agree that the only concrete way to end this horror is for those terrorists in Hamas to release the remaining hostages, and that talk of an unconditional ceasefire gives those terrorists no incentive to free those innocent people?
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with more than 180 births taking place every day. None of us can imagine the hell of Gaza, let alone being pregnant in it. Ultimately, we need a ceasefire, but the health system is on its knees. Will the Minister expand on whether he has specifically raised the issue of women and girls and how our aid is being targeted to support access to sexual and reproductive health services?
Mr Falconer
We have raised those issues specifically, but I want to be straightforward with the House: we are clear that insufficient aid of all kinds is getting into Gaza. On almost any question that the House might put to me, there is insufficient aid, insufficient equipment and insufficient provisions for people to be existing in Gaza under those conditions, and we will continue to raise that with force with the Israelis for as long as that situation remains.
Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)
Exactly a year ago, Lord Cameron, when talking about the situation in northern Gaza, told the Foreign Affairs Committee that
“the conflict is now effectively over there”.
Unfortunately, no one seems to have told Tel Aviv, because babies are still freezing to death and the last hospital has been destroyed. In that year, while the faces on the Government Benches might have changed, the UK’s complicity in the mass killing of Palestinians remains as it has been. Given that nothing has changed, does the Minister genuinely believe that in another year from now he will be able to say that continuing to arm the IDF was moral and legal?
Mr Falconer
If words are to have meaning, clearly our policy is different from that of those on the Opposition Benches, as I think they would accept. I do not want to see this conflict continuing for another year. The Palestinians cannot wait. We are doing everything we can. We have been calling for an immediate ceasefire since we came into government. We will continue to take steps to try to advance that call.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
I was left numb by the words a doctor wrote on a whiteboard in the Al-Awda hospital in Gaza before he was killed by an Israeli air strike, which said:
“Whoever stays until the end will tell the story. We did what we could. Please remember us.”
We need to know that we did all we could. I know the Minister and his Department are pulling every lever available, but please can we have an extra push to get the ceasefire deal over the line? We need to put an end to this horror.
Mr Falconer
I remember those words from the whiteboard, and we must and will spare no effort and will strain every sinew to try to do what we can to advance the ceasefire as quickly as possible. It is already far too late.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
I am pleased that the Prime Minister recently met UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Lazzarini and pledged further funding, but in three weeks legislation to ban UNRWA will come into force. Lazzarini has said that
“dismantling UNRWA will collapse the United Nations’ humanitarian response”
in Gaza and that the
“entire population…fears that their only remaining lifeline will be cut.”
He also commented that:
“Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Israeli officials have described dismantling UNRWA as a war goal.”
Will the Minister set out what consequential steps the UK will take if that comes into effect?
Mr Falconer
The Prime Minister was the first Prime Minister to meet the Commissioner-General of UNRWA. He did so in a week when we had announced further funding for UNRWA. We have raised those vital questions with the Israeli Government. We did so over the course of the break. I myself have met Commissioner-General Lazzarini, and I will be saying more about UNRWA in the coming weeks if we are not in a position to see that the Israelis have taken the action necessary to ensure the sustained and continued support that Palestinians require and which only UNRWA can provide.
Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)
Not one single hospital now operates in northern Gaza. Healthcare staff continue to be targeted, resulting in the death of even more innocent civilians. We have heard the Minister, but surely what we are doing is not enough. What can we do to stop the systemic dismantling of the hospitals in Gaza?
Mr Falconer
My hon. Friend is right that what we have done is not enough, and we know it is not enough because the provision is so poor in northern Gaza. We are distressed by the scenes in northern Gaza and by the circumstances that hon. Members have described. We will continue to work as hard as we can, both in relation to UNRWA and directly with the Israeli Government, to try to ensure that the aid provision, including medical provision, is provided with urgency. The current situation is not good enough.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
Of course Israel has the right to defend itself, but surely the life of a Palestinian child is as precious as the life of an Israeli child, and it is a breach of international humanitarian law for fuel, food and energy to be cut off from ordinary Palestinians. Will the Minister confirm to the House that the UK Government have an independent foreign policy on Israel and Gaza, and that it is set in Whitehall, not in Washington?
Mr Falconer
Britain has an independent foreign policy set by the Foreign Office Ministers and the Prime Minister—I am happy to confirm that to the House. Of course, for this Government the value of a Palestinian life is exactly the same as that of an Israeli life, and we deplore all the civilian suffering that we have seen in this conflict, which, as I say, has gone on for far too long.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
Thank you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. One of the most appalling aspects of this conflict has been Israel’s reckless disregard not just for civilian life but for that of medical practitioners and patients. Kamal Adwan hospital, the last major facility in northern Gaza, is now out of service, as Members have said. Patients have been moved to the nearby but non-functional and partially destroyed Indonesian hospital, and are unable to receive care because of a lack of necessary equipment and supplies. Will the Minister confirm that Israel’s actions have clearly breached international law, and that a consequence of that will be the continued suspension of weapons sales to Israel when it comes to Gaza?
Mr Falconer
We are following the situation closely. I raised the circumstances of those hospitals with the Deputy Foreign Minister on 23 December. I confirm that all the developments in the conflict are considered as part of the regular assessment process and contribute to the assessments that we make.
Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)
Report after report from reputable organisations—the most recent being Amnesty International—have concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza are genocidal in nature. The scale of destruction in northern Gaza has now been described as much worse than that in the aftermath of Hiroshima. Will the Government change their position and identify that Israel’s actions in Gaza are indeed genocidal in nature, and what action will be taken given the grave nature of those facts?
Mr Falconer
Determinations of genocide and war crimes are properly matters for international courts and, as the House knows, there is an international court process on that question, so I will not comment further on determination questions. The Member asks about what we are doing, so let me recap again. We have taken action in relation to arms, aid and diplomatic pressure on the Israelis, and we will continue to do so. The situation in Gaza is intolerable, and we will continue to take steps to try to reduce the suffering.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
I appreciate the difficult position that the Minister is in. He has spoken a number of times in the House about this issue. However, I have significant sympathy for the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) and others who have expressed frustration. Now is the time for action. I appreciate that we as a Government have done a lot and are significantly different from the previous Government, but that is a very, very low bar. It is important that this House has its view expressed through Ministers. Have the Government finally accepted the ICJ’s advisory opinion, which is absolutely crucial to the delivery of a two-state solution and a peace process?
Mr Falconer
I am always happy to hear the House’s view on these issues, which I have heard and will continue to hear extensively, and I know the strength of feeling across the House. On the ICJ advisory opinion, we are still considering what was a complex and far-reaching judgment with significant horizontal legal implications as well as in relation specifically to the conflict. At the heart of that advisory opinion is a concern about the status of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I am pleased to confirm that we continue to consider Palestinian territory to be occupied, we continue to take a position consistent with international law, and we continue to condemn illegal settlements. That is why we took tangible—not just rhetorical—steps against violent and illegal settlements in the west bank.
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
The Minister must be aware that there are hon. Members on both sides of the House who were equally as frustrated with the form of the previous Administration as they are with this one. He says that he has brought pressure to bear on the Israeli authorities. When that pressure manifestly fails to deliver, is there a plan?
Mr Falconer
I pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman, who was also a Foreign Office Minister. I once hosted him in Afghanistan, which I am sure he will not remember. [Interruption.] I am sure that he remembers Afghanistan and has vivid memories of Kabul at that time—I meant that he might not remember me. We raise those issues with force. There are consequences for sustained breaches of international humanitarian law, but it would be inappropriate for me to comment in too much detail on how we conduct diplomatic relations on those questions.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question, and I thank my hon. Friend for all his hard work in these difficult situations. Eight members of the Knesset have penned a letter to the Israeli Defence Minister demanding that Israel destroy all sources of water, food and energy for Palestinians in Gaza. They argue that Israel should do to the rest of Gaza what it has been doing to the north. Will the Government ban entry of those eight Knesset members, who are openly calling for the extermination of Palestinians in Gaza?
Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and her kind words. The House will be bored of hearing me say it, but we do not comment on sanctions measures in advance of taking them, as doing so would reduce their impact, but I welcome the opportunity to make a brief comment on the proceedings of the Knesset. There is much said in other Parliaments with which we do not agree. We are clear that obligations under international humanitarian law, and diplomatic obligations, fall on the Israeli Government. We are clear with the Israeli Government on their obligations under international humanitarian law, and we are clear about our policy position. I will refrain from providing detailed commentary on the proceedings of another Parliament.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
It is quite clear that Israel’s ability to destroy life in Gaza—killing 45,000 people—and to destroy medical facilities is possible only because of the supply of weapons, principally from the United States. I ask the Minister to be very clear. Will Britain continue supplying weapons, including parts for jet planes, and allowing the use of RAF Akrotiri as a route for weapons to go to Israel to be used to destroy life in Gaza?
Mr Falconer
The right hon. Gentleman asks about fighter jets. In relation to the F-35 supply chain, where it is not possible to disentangle components that might eventually end up in Israel, we have made a carve-out for the arms suspension. Where we have been directly selling fighter jet parts to Israel—whether for F-35s or other fighter jets—those licences have been suspended. We will continue to have the same position on the F-35 supply chain—we have discussed that at length in this House since it was announced in September—but in relation to other fighter jets we will take steps in accordance with wider policy.
Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South and Walkden) (Lab)
Aid access is non-existent for Palestinians in north Gaza. Over the past two months, the UN has made over 160 attempts to reach the civilians in north Gaza, with almost zero access, and we have heard that babies have frozen to death. In October, the Prime Minister said that
“the world will not tolerate any more excuses on humanitarian assistance”,
so what further action have we taken to ensure that the assistance gets to the people who need it?
Mr Falconer
As I have set out this afternoon, we have taken further action, including further funding in December for UNRWA. However, to be straightforward with my hon. Friend and with the House, the further action we have taken has not had the effect we would wish, which is clearly that greater aid reaches the Palestinians. Until we see greater aid going into the Gaza strip, we will continue to make those efforts, however frustrating it may be.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
Many of my constituents are deeply worried about the intolerable suffering of the people in Gaza, but at this moment they are particularly worried about the ban on UNRWA, which will come into force at the end of the month. The Minister’s previous answer on UNRWA was simply not good enough. Where is the urgency to do something about this, making an assessment of what it means if no more humanitarian aid is being delivered through UNRWA?
Mr Falconer
I am sorry that my answers were not to the hon. Member’s taste. To repeat, this Prime Minister is the first Prime Minister ever to meet the commissioner-general of UNRWA, and in December we announced further aid. We have repeatedly been clear with the Israelis, UNRWA and the wider UN system, privately and publicly, about the vital role of UNRWA. We are doing everything that could be hoped for to try and ensure that aid continues. Clearly, there is no alternative to UNRWA at the scale at which it operates—it is not possible to substitute for its function quickly or easily, and indeed, it is mandated by the UN to perform that function. This is not a welcome situation, and if we find ourselves this month in a situation where UNRWA cannot function, I will say more to this House at that point. However, I can reassure you, Mr Speaker, and the rest of the House that we are treating this issue with the full seriousness it deserves.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)
The Minister has expressed his frustration and distress. I think he shares the depth of anger that most of us in this House feel. Over the Christmas period, while we have been celebrating with our families, we have witnessed scenes of children starving and freezing to death as a result of Israeli actions. The actions that have been taken up until now clearly have not had the effect we have wanted. The only solution we have seen in the past is a total isolation of a country, economically and militarily, to prevent it from performing war crimes in the way that Israel has. This Government could take a leading role in that isolation of Israel to bring it to some form of negotiated settlement, but one thing that grates with me in particular is that we have an Israeli ambassador who is an advocate of a greater Israel, refuses to recognise the Palestinian state and defies all the UN resolutions that have been passed about how we can secure peace, and who still remains in this country. Why are we not expelling the Israeli ambassador?
Mr Falconer
I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and recognise the anguish in his voice about the scenes coming out of Gaza over the winter period. He is right that I feel that anguish as well—I think this whole House feels it when we see pictures of civilians in terrible distress.
My right hon. Friend asks me about the Israeli ambassador. It is tempting to think that, if only we had representatives who were more to our taste politically, things would be easier. There is a clear disagreement between the British and Israeli Governments about the conduct of the war in Gaza and the humanitarian implications that flow from it. We will continue to make that disagreement clear through all channels, both through the Israeli ambassador and directly to the Israeli Government through the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Strategic Affairs and the deputy Foreign Minister. We will continue to talk to the Israeli Government about these issues—indeed, that is the only direct route to secure the changes in the situation that we want to see.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
The UN says that the healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of collapse, and the International Committee of the Red Cross says that it is being obliterated in besieged northern Gaza. The World Health Organisation says that hospitals have become battlegrounds, and we have all seen the terrible scenes of patients and medics being forcibly removed from Kamal Adwan, the only remaining functioning health facility at that time. What further evidence does the Minister need to conclude that war crimes are being committed in Gaza and that a genocide is taking place, and how can he continue to justify the export of any arms to Israel, given that it risks making us complicit in the systematic destruction of healthcare in Gaza?
Mr Falconer
I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer on the question of legal determinations about genocide. That is a question for international courts, and international courts are considering it.
In relation to arms, I want once again to reassure the House that the measures we have taken regarding arms licences are far-reaching. I have already discussed this afternoon the carve-out for F-35 parts, which will remain the position. As for the remaining arms licences, it is important to say that many of them are not in fact for arms, but for dual-use equipment that requires licensing even if it is not for military use. Even where they are military components, very few of the remaining licences are going to the IDF; for example, they are for body armour and helmets that non-governmental organisations use when they visit Gaza. We have taken far-reaching action in relation to the concerns we have about the breaching of international humanitarian law in Gaza, and we keep that under regular review.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
UNICEF reports that at least 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied, some so young that they do not even know their names. Continual bombardment from Israeli forces makes family reunification impossible. The brutal reality of injured children in Gaza is that thousands of child amputees have been operated on without any pain relief or any chance of recovery, including a 10-year-old left for four hours with rocket shrapnel in his leg in an overcrowded hospital that is now running out of fuel. Will the Minister commit to insisting that the Israeli Government honour a ceasefire and allow full access to aid and supplies? If not, why are we not considering an arms ban and further sanctions to end this violence before there are no more vulnerable people left to protect?
Mr Falconer
We are pressing the Israeli Government on a ceasefire, to show the flexibility and take the urgent action required in order to ensure that hostages are released, violence stops and Palestinians can return to some form of dignity and security.
My hon. Friend raises the vital question of injured children in Gaza. There is not enough medical provision—it is of neither the sophistication nor the scale required to deal with the very many children who have been affected by this war, some of whom I met in north Sinai. As I said earlier, those children are the lucky ones: they were able to get to what is admittedly an overstretched medical system, but it is a functional one. As we have heard movingly from the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) and from many other colleagues this afternoon, that is not the case elsewhere. The Government are keeping these issues under review, and when I visited Egypt and north Sinai, I was pleased to announce £1 million of UK aid to try to ensure that the Egyptian healthcare system can help Palestinian children under those circumstances.
Regrettably, since that period, too few people with medical emergencies—both children and adults—have been able to leave Gaza. We continue to raise these issues, and my Department was working on them through the Christmas break. I do not want to talk about specific cases; we have had some success, but limited success, in ensuring that children and adults who either require urgent medical assistance or family reunification are able to leave the Gaza strip. I hope to say a little more about that in the coming weeks.
Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)
Last Saturday morning, a constituent came to my surgery to discuss the situation in Gaza. She reminded me that she had previously visited my surgery exactly a year ago to discuss the situation. I recognise that the Minister was critical of the previous Administration; to some extent, that is justified, but the reality is that the situation remains the same. We can all agree that Hamas should release the hostages immediately, but does the Minister agree that the continued bombardment of Gaza by the Israelis is not of itself going to deliver that? If he agrees, has he made that very clear to the Israelis?
Mr Falconer
I regret that the situation does not remain the same a year on. As we have heard, the situation in Gaza, northern Gaza, Lebanon and the west bank is far, far worse. There have been material changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the wider region, and with the suffering of the Palestinians, the Israeli hostage families and Lebanese civilians, there has been considerable further suffering over the course of the past year. It is clear that the only way to get a lasting, safer, more secure region for Palestinians, Israelis, Lebanese, Yemenis and many others is a proper diplomatic solution, with a resolution in the immediate term through a ceasefire and the release of hostages, but also moving back towards a two-state solution that provides dignity and sovereignty for the Palestinian people. We make that point with force to the Israelis regularly.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
Reportedly, six babies have so far frozen to death in Gaza, largely as a result of a denial of fuel, heating, shelter and medical care. People’s tents are being flooded in the winter rains, diseases are spreading, aid access is virtually non-existent and there is not one single operational hospital in northern Gaza, with healthcare staff continually being targeted. What are the UK Government doing to ensure that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately stops such atrocities and allows proper aid access into Gaza, and that we finally get an end to the bloodshed in Palestine?
Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I have spoken a little bit about some of the direct advocacy with the Israeli Government conducted by Ministers. That advocacy is also conducted by the special envoy, to whom the shadow Foreign Secretary referred. We are clear at every level of the urgency of the situation in northern Gaza, and we will continue to have it in our minds each and every day until the situation stabilises. It must stabilise both with adequate aid and medical assistance, and with dignity and sovereignty for the Palestinians.
Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) (LD)
The case for further British action to protect Gazan civilians is unanswerable. Is the Government’s moral integrity being damaged by their inaction?
Mr Falconer
Perhaps the hon. Member could be a bit clearer about what further action this Government could be taking to try to protect Palestinian civilians. We are raising these issues—
Mr Falconer
The hon. Member mentioned sanctions, and we put in place extensive sanctions at the end of last year. I will not comment on further sanctions—to do so might undermine their impact—but we keep these issues under close review. I have discussed the recognition of a Palestinian state and arms. I recognise the strength of feeling in the House, I recognise how desperately people in this Chamber and across the world want to see an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, and that is the zeal with which the Foreign Office ministerial team approach this.
Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Ind)
Recently, a surgeon broke down as he told the International Development Committee of drones descending after a bomb strike to shoot children, with wounds that he believed reflected some form of artificial intelligence. I understand that the Government are saying that, since September 2024, UK-made arms are currently suspended where they may be used against civilians. Notwithstanding what exactly that entails—the various details, caveats and definitions—can the Minister confirm and clarify today whether UK-made drones that were exported to Israel before September 2024 are being used to shoot civilians, including children, in the manner described by the surgeon?
Mr Falconer
I am familiar with the testimony of Professor Nizam Mamode, and I saw his videos from when he was in Gaza. He is an impressive surgeon and a friend to many in this Chamber, and his testimony is harrowing. On the drones, I want to be clear that the suspension of arms licences would cover exactly that activity.
Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)
It has been estimated that over 650 attacks have been launched on healthcare facilities in Gaza and more than 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed, injured or detained since October 2023. I recognise that the Minister has raised his concerns with his Israeli counterpart, but could he perhaps explain what the consequences will be if the Israeli Government fail to listen?
Mr Falconer
Ensuring adequate provision of medical assistance is an obligation that falls on the Israeli Government. We are clear about the status of these facilities under international humanitarian law, and we continue to raise these issues with force.
Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
I am sorry that the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith) is no longer here because he is right that Hamas are terrorists, but we need to be clear in this House that this is not being done in the name of the hostage families. The hostages’ families do not want to see babies freezing to death in Gaza, and they know this will not bring their loved ones home.
The Minister was clear with us earlier that he had seen aid piling up at the borders and that Israel controls the borders. Impeding access to humanitarian aid is a direct breach of international humanitarian law, so for the avoidance of doubt, is it his testimony that Israel is impeding access at the borders by the way in which it is controlling them? I think he needs to be clear on this point, because it does have ramifications for us.
Mr Falconer
I know many others in this House have done so as well, but I saw the hostage families in December, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right. They are desperate for the safe return of their loved ones, and we hold them in our hearts as their agony continues yet further.
On aid access, my hon. Friend is of course right that these questions are relevant to determinations of international humanitarian law. When we set out the assessment that underlined our action on the arms suspensions, we made particular reference to the provision of aid into the occupied territories in Gaza, and I refer her to that statement. We tried to provide as much detail in it as possible, and it remains the clearest articulation of our view about international humanitarian law and aid provision into Gaza.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
It is quite clear that the Minister is frustrated, but thoughts and prayers are just not enough. What is the Minister doing to progress the Palestinian statehood that Norway, Spain, Ireland and more than 100 other countries have all confirmed? The Foreign Secretary confirmed it would happen. What is stopping that happening now?
Mr Falconer
I am a Foreign Office Minister and I do not treat in thoughts and prayers—this House of course feels united in our anguish about what we are seeing in Gaza—but what we do in the Foreign Office is seek diplomatically to advance a political solution, with an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and, of course, a two-state solution. That two-state solution must include a sovereign, viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel, and the routes to get there will be diplomatic. It is on those questions that we base our assessment of when would be the moment to recognise a Palestinian state. I recognise that close allies have made different judgments than the UK about when to recognise a Palestinian state. This is not just a question of recognition; it is about a viable state that exists and functions next to a safe and secure Israel, and that is the objective of this Government.
Jon Pearce (High Peak) (Lab)
In recent weeks we have seen the distressing footage of Israeli hostage Liri Albag, who has been held captive by Hamas for over 14 months. The hostage families, including Mandy Damari, the mother of British national Emily Damari, are campaigning day and night for the ICRC and other humanitarian organisations to have access to the remaining hostages, but Hamas are refusing. Will the Minister condemn Hamas’s refusal to secure humanitarian access to the remaining hostages and set out what steps he is taking to return those hostages to their families?
Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for his question and I know how much time he has spent with hostage families over recent months. I do condemn both Hamas’s refusal to release the hostages, with British nationals and UK-linked persons among them, and the lack of access for the ICRC and other medical agencies. I am consistent on this point: whether it is Israeli hostages or Palestinians in Israeli detention, the ICRC provides vital work and a lifesaving function, and access should be provided to it in times of conflict on both sides. That is an essential humanitarian step. It has long been a principle of international law, and I am deeply distressed to see that norm being undermined by Hamas and others.
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
The Minister’s statement about this man-made humanitarian disaster is one of the bleakest I have heard. It is a man-made humanitarian disaster and the Minister was good enough to set that out. In the short term, it is a humanitarian catastrophe. In the medium to long term, a brutalised population makes us all less secure and disrespect for international law makes us all less secure.
The Minister asked what else can be done and talked about disagreements. It is not a disagreement if someone advocates for the breaking of international law. Will he look at other measures such as targeted sanctions in order to bring this forward? When I was first elected, I got in touch with the Government straightaway about a Fire Brigades Union donation, and I got many of the same words then as I do now. It is months on. Targeted sanctions, stopping arms sales—the Minster wants to know what else can be done; plenty more can be done.
Mr Falconer
The hon. Member mentions a fire engine that the FBU has generously donated to try to contribute to relief efforts in Palestine. That issue had been raised by my own colleagues in advance of his doing so. I am frustrated that I have not been able to secure that fire engine for use in Gaza, alongside the many other pieces of aid and vital equipment that so many in this House know is not going to the Palestinian people. I would not want the hon. Member to think that I ignored his entreaties in relation to the FBU donation, just as I would not want any Member who has asked me to try and secure aid access into Gaza, and where I have been unable to do so, to think that these issues are not raised regularly. I am a Labour politician and am particularly responsive to the requests of our trade union partners. I wish that I had been able to secure that fire engine into Palestine, just as I wish I had been able to secure the neonatal support we have discussed, the medical support that has been raised or the many other items of international aid which I have seen with my own eyes in al-Arish that have not crossed through the Rafah crossing or anywhere else into Gaza. These are frustrating issues. I will continue, as will the rest of the ministerial team, to press for more aid to go into Gaza. Insufficient aid is going in and we will continue to raise these issues.
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)
I want to return to the issue of the recognition of an independent Palestinian state. As I understand it, the Government’s position is that Israel has no veto on the creation of a Palestinian state. The Minister just said in response to a previous question that recognition has to come through diplomatic efforts. Do those diplomatic efforts have to involve Israel? If so, and Israel refuses to co-operate in them, does that not effectively give Israel a veto over the creation of a Palestinian state?
Mr Falconer
We have to be straightforward about the situation in Israel and Palestine at the moment. There are Occupied Palestinian Territories that have illegal settlements and an IDF presence. To get to a viable two-state solution, we are going to need agreement on both sides. The two states would need to live side by side with arrangements in place to ensure that both were safe, secure and sovereign, so I cannot see a route to a two-state solution that does not involve serious negotiations with the Israeli Government in order to reach a lasting settlement. That is a statement of the diplomatically essential. That is not to say that the Israelis can veto whether or not the Palestinians are entitled to a state, but it is a fact of reality that both states would need to work side by side to ensure each other’s safety and security.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
The Netanyahu regime continues to seek to justify its cold-blooded slaughter of Palestinian people behind the dishonest façade of self-defence. While the Minister asserts that the Government are taking an even-handed approach in this regard, he will remember that only two months ago the UK military intervened to protect innocent life in Israel by intercepting bombs. Taking on board the passions in the Chamber, the question is about equivalence. What actions have the Government taken to do the same for Palestinian people in Gaza?
Mr Falconer
The hon. Member refers to missiles sent by the Iranians to strike Israel, and we will act in Israel’s legitimate self-defence in accordance with international humanitarian law. We do not want to see Iranian missiles rain down on Israeli civilians. The military scenario here is totally different: Israeli troops are inside Gaza. This is not a question of missiles crossing international borders, or going overseas. On a number of occasions, there have been risks of direct exchange between Iran and Israel. As many in the House will know, the military questions about whether the UK could act to take down missiles would be dependent on the circumstances. At the heart of the question the hon. Member poses is whether we are even-handed on issues of international humanitarian law, and we are. It is a great regret that our close partner Israel is acting in a way that causes us concern about serious risks to international humanitarian law, and we have said so as clearly and explicitly as we can.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
May I return to the issue of UNRWA? Philippe Lazzarini, its head, visited Parliament just before Christmas and was very clear about the consequences if its operations are banned. There will be an impact on the provision of schools and primary healthcare, as well as on a number of municipal services that it delivers in Gaza. May I urge the Minister to continue to take action on this matter, and to be clear that there will be consequences for the Israeli Government if they carry out this ban?
Mr Falconer
I, too, have met with commissioner-general Lazzarini and discussed the implications of the Knesset votes. We are clear with the Israelis about the role that UNRWA plays, both practically at the volume that it operates and also its role as mandated by the UN, and we will continue to be so.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
Women who can get access to hospital provision in northern Gaza are undergoing C-sections without any anaesthetic, and new mothers—180 every day—are struggling to find clean water to provide formula for their new babies or continue to breastfeed, but Israel continues to restrict aid. The United Nations has made three attempts in the last three days to reach Gaza, and has been refused every time. The Minister has mentioned political solutions but seems to be avoiding consequences so I will ask the question again: what consequences can Israel expect from this Government if it continues to ignore international law and the urgent requirement to get the care that is needed for women and children in Gaza?
Mr Falconer
As I said earlier, the situation for new mothers, for expectant mothers and, indeed, for the majority of vulnerable Palestinians is appalling and needs to change urgently. The obligations on the Israeli state under international humanitarian law are clear. We raise these points with Israel publicly and privately, and we will continue to do so directly and in multilateral forums until the situation is resolved to the satisfaction of international bodies.
Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
Israel’s conduct in this war is not just an attack on the people of Palestine; it is an attack on the international rules-based approach, the international community and the United Nations. Although I accept that the Minister is right to say that this Government are doing more than their predecessor, can he specify why the UK Government’s current policy is not to have sanctions, even against occupied territory products? Even if that is under review, why is that the Government’s policy at this moment? Does he agree that it is an attack on all those institutions, and not just the people of Palestine?
Mr Falconer
First, on the question of international law, this Government have been clear that we stand for a rules-based international order. Where anyone, whatever our relationship with them, takes steps that undermine that order, they undermine the safety and security of British nationals and many others. We are clear, with the Israelis and others, where we are concerned that there are breaches of international humanitarian law. I reiterate our position on the status of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which is consistent with UN Security Council resolutions. We have put sanctions on those operating in those territories, both where they are conducting illegal settlements and where they are perpetuating horrific violence against Palestinians in the OPTs. We will continue to keep these measures under review.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
The Minister said at the outset,
“The UK is doing all we can to alleviate this suffering”
in Gaza. Does the Minister really think that? The Government are not even tracking British components for F-35 fighter jets, which are being used in northern Gaza.
Mr Falconer
On F-35s, where we are in a position to track components directly, we have suspended those arms licences. Where our components are part of a global supply chain and where measures to restrict their onward sale would bring down the overall F-35 function, we have done a carve-out. That carve-out is done clearly on the basis of concerns about international peace and security. The F-35 programme is an important contributor to British national security and the national security of many of our allies. If we were to bring down the F-35 programme, that would have relevance to allies not just here in Europe, but elsewhere. We have taken proportionate measures to ensure that we are clear in our position on international humanitarian law and that we abide by our obligations to international peace and security and our allies.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
The new year has seen an intensification of attacks on civilians, including medical staff, in northern Gaza. The UK Government’s response does not appear to have changed. The Minister is frustrated, because he is saying the same things to the same people and getting stonewalled every time. Do we not need to raise our game, and should recognition not be the first step in that? Will he clarify what he said a few moments ago about Israelis not having a veto over whether we recognise Palestine or when we recognise Palestine, which should be now?
Mr Falconer
In relation to recognition, I am happy to clarify the position. The Israeli Government have no veto over whether we recognise a Palestinian state, or when we recognise a Palestinian state. The point I was making in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) is that talks with Israel about a two-state solution will be a necessary part of a sustainable solution in the region. We therefore need to be clear that it is not possible to reach the outcomes we want in the middle east without diplomatic talks, including with the Israeli Government. That does not mean they have a veto on British Government decisions—
Mr Falconer
Perhaps the right hon. Member has a solution for ensuring a Palestinian state without talking to the Israeli Government, but I think he would be outwith the view of most international scholars on that question.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his patient answers to everyone in the Chamber. Does he agree that the only way to preserve peace and stability in north Gaza is to ensure the complete dismantling and destruction of the Hamas terrorist network, which is a threat to Israeli and Palestinian civilians. The principal way to achieve that is through robust international co-operation and targeted action. Furthermore, what measures will the UK Government put in place to support a sustainable peace framework that prioritises security for Israel while addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of the Gaza civilian population?
Mr Falconer
Hamas are a terrorist group, and I hope they will have no future role in Gaza or any of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They are a threat not just to Israel, and they hold British nationals and UK-linked people in horrific conditions. We have heard little from them in months and months. We have no access. I know the hon. Member will share the Government’s outrage about that situation. We are in talks with our counterparts about how we might reach a future Gaza that provides for the safety and security of Israel, but also, vitally, the questions of humanitarian access, dignity and sovereignty that have been discussed this afternoon.
Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Ind)
Israel is ignoring international law, ignoring the world’s top court’s rulings and ignoring the United Nations. Let us be totally frank: Israel is ignoring everything that the Government say. If the Minister is serious about getting Israel to stop its genocidal war, the Government must act and that must mean widespread sanctions. That means ending all arms exports, including the parts for the jets bombing Gaza, and it means sanctions on trade with Israel. The Minister says that we are even-handed when it comes to international humanitarian law and international law. I ask the Minister a specific question: the Government have imposed widespread sanctions on Russia for its war crimes, so why will they not do the same for Israel’s war crimes?
Mr Falconer
I will not comment on forthcoming sanctions, but I confirm that this Government remain opposed to war crimes anywhere that they occur. Where we feel in a position to put in sanctions to prevent war crimes, we will do so.
Several hon. Members rose—
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I listened to what the Minister said about the recognition of a viable Palestine, as opposed to the recognition of Palestine. As that could happen in a number of steps, will he take the first step in recognising the state of Palestine, before moving to a full viable Palestine, as he describes?
Mr Falconer
Any state needs to be viable. We would want to create the conditions for a sovereign Palestinian state that could perform the basic functions of a state, so it would need to be viable. As I am sure the House can tell, I am keen to remain focused on the necessary diplomatic steps to make that happen.
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)
The Minister is a good and knowledgeable man, and his frustration with the process is palpable. For many of us, although we see the steps taken by the UK Government—which should be acknowledged, as they have been different from those under their predecessor—they have been completely and utterly ineffective. The continued repetition of the call for a review and keeping matters under review does not move the dial one jot. Israel is just laughing at the UK. It has no regard for the position here. While we have been home at Christmas celebrating with our children and grandchildren, in Gaza children are being burnt to death as bombs rain down upon them, buildings crush their little bones and six babies die of hypothermia. I am afraid that the Government’s position just does not cut it. I say to my hon. Friend with all sincerity that this continued dancing around and avoiding of clear legal definitions of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes of extermination is just prevarication. We need to make the position clear. More important than anything, what is now required, and what the British people are asking the Government to do, is to visit sanctions and consequences on the Israeli Government for their flagrant disregard of basic humanitarian law. If we do not, the entire world system will collapse.
Mr Falconer
I know how diligent, attentive and moved by these issues my hon. Friend has been over a long period. The force of his question is obviously right. We have taken far-reaching steps, yet we are all still seeing images on our televisions and hearing about them on our radio; they remain deeply distressing. We will continue to do everything that we can about a situation that is distressing for the civilians affected and for the region, and in which there are questions about adherence to international humanitarian law.
I say to my hon. Friend that there are a number of other places in my ministerial portfolio where the situation has also remained stuck for a long time, with terrible consequences for civilians, and they need to continue to have our focus as well. The situation in Palestine is appalling, as it has been for a long time in Yemen, Syria and a range of other places. We will continue to make serious efforts. That our efforts do not secure the progress that we want does not mean that we are not making them. We will remain committed to a more safe, more secure middle east and wider region in which the horrific imagery that he described is not burnishing our minds as it is at the moment. We will continue to act.
The fact that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Chiswick (Andy Slaughter) said, I am answering so many hon. Members’ questions with similar answers over a course of weeks and months is of huge frustration to me. I would want to be making more progress on some of these questions, whether they are on aid access—[Interruption.]. The fact that I have not been able to make progress does not mean that the UK Government are not taking every action we can to try to bring about the ceasefire that we have been calling for since July.
Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)
The situation in northern Gaza is grave, with no functioning hospitals, medical centres destroyed and more than 1,000 medical personnel killed, injured or detained. The UK representative to the UN made it clear that that is unacceptable. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that Israel abides by its responsibility under international law to protect medical staff and access to healthcare?
Mr Falconer
I reiterate, to reassure the House about some of the steps that we are taking, that I have raised with the Israeli Government the hospitals and the people mentioned in many of the questions this afternoon, and I will continue to do so.
Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)
Only 16 of the region’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, with a collective capacity of barely 1,800 beds to serve a population of millions in dire need. Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza should be a crucial lifeline for countless civilians, but the IDF have forcibly evacuated the hospital, detained its medical staff and disrupted its vital services. What consequences on Israel will there be for that action to safeguard those medical institutions and ensure the uninterrupted flow of medical aid?
Mr Falconer
As I have said over the course of the afternoon, we are raising those hospitals and the overall question of medical provision with the Israelis, and we will continue to do so.
Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
May I put on record my thanks to the Minister for the care and concern about the situation that he shows Members? Yet every time we meet, the situation seems to have become more desperate, even in recent weeks, with babies freezing, the continued bombing of hospitals and real concerns about the annexation of Gaza. Over Christmas, I met constituents with friends and family in Gaza. Those people are increasingly despondent about whether the killing will ever stop, whether hostages will ever get to see their loved ones again and whether international law matters at all. With the change in world leadership in the coming weeks, what reassurances can the Minister give the House that the UK will continue to lead the world community for peace, an immediate ceasefire and, most importantly, getting aid in where it is needed now?
Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for his commitment to these issues. I confirm that the UK will continue to press with our allies for proper aid access and for an immediate ceasefire, and we will take that position regardless of the views of others. This is an important question for my constituents in Lincoln, for constituents in Peterborough and for constituents of hon. Members right across the House. I know the force of feeling from Lincoln and from the whole United Kingdom on these questions. They will remain important to the UK, and we will continue to show the leadership that we have sought to since July.
Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)
I recently met medics from the Royal Berkshire hospital as well as other constituents from Earley and Woodley who described the atrocious conditions in which their Palestinian colleagues and relatives continue to operate in the medical facilities that remain in Gaza. I am thankful that the Minister has raised detained medical professionals with the Israeli authorities, and I thank him for all the work that he has done to ensure that our Government are leading on international humanitarian law. However, as I am sure he has heard from many Labour Members, we would like more action; we do not think that the current action is enough. I remind him of the comments made by the Prime Minister on looking into sanctions against Minister Ben-Gvir and Minister Smotrich for their comments supporting the illegal resettlement of northern Gaza. When may he be able to give us an update on that?
Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for the question but will not provide a further update on the individuals that she raised. As I have said, we try not to trail sanctions decisions before they are taken. I recognise the strength of feeling and reassure her and the whole House that we want to see no further illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; that includes both the west bank and, of course, the Gaza strip, north and south.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
I recognise the work that the Minister is doing on this intractable issue and the frustration that we all share at the lack of progress, but the fact remains that not one hospital operates in northern Gaza, healthcare workers have been detained and targeted, and medical aid is blocked. So many of my constituents have written to me expressing their outrage about that. The systematic destruction of a healthcare system is a crime against international humanitarian law. What steps can the Government take to try to protect what remains of Gaza’s healthcare system?
Mr Falconer
I know the concern that is felt in Edinburgh, as it is elsewhere. We have to be honest about the medical system in Gaza, which is insufficient on almost any of the points raised this afternoon. Of course, there is still provision—I think my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) mentioned the Indonesian hospital, where we believe patients are sheltering in facilities that are not properly functional and unable to provide the quality of care that anyone should reasonably expect at a hospital. I fear that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray) already knows, there is not a sufficient medical system in Gaza to protect, but we will continue to raise these issues and do all that we can to ensure that that situation changes rapidly.
Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)
Today we have rightly heard a lot from Members in all parts of the House about the desperate need to get more aid into Gaza—an issue that many of our constituents are concerned about and that the Government are rightly working very hard to address.
One of the most disturbing trends in this conflict is the huge number of aid workers who have lost their lives—over 300 humanitarian workers to date. As the Minister knows, one of the most basic fundamentals of international humanitarian law is that aid workers must be protected. In the recess, we saw an air strike on Sana’a airport, when a plane operated by UNHAS—the UN Humanitarian Air service, which our Government proudly contribute to—was on the runway. The head of the UN World Food Programme was also in the airport at that time. I have travelled to that airport as an aid worker, and I took that UN house flight. I can only imagine the impact on aid operations in the region when such incidents occur and UN colleagues are on the runway.
Will the Minister join me in reiterating our call as a country that aid workers must never be targets? Will he outline what is being done to ensure accountability in instances where aid workers are killed? What steps is the UK is taking to ensure the protection of aid workers and humanitarians?
Mr Falconer
My hon. Friend is right to flag the more than 300 aid workers killed since 7 October. We have many former aid workers on the Government Benches; they perform a vital function for the provision of international humanitarian assistance. British nationals are among those killed since 7 October. Particularly close to my heart are the families of the British aid workers who were part of the World Central Kitchen convoy killed on 1 April. Most particularly in relation to the death of British nationals, but also in relation to all such incidents, we continue to press for a proper legal process in Israel to ensure that where aid workers are killed, there are proper investigations and full legal consequences where that is appropriate.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call Dr Scott Arthur—sorry, Brian Leishman.
Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)
Thank you very much for that upgrade, Madam Deputy Speaker.
In my opinion, there is no grey area to be had here: to sell arms is to be complicit. How can the Government realistically and honestly say that Britain is doing everything it can for a ceasefire and for peace when we continue to sell any arms to Israel?
Mr Falconer
I have been clear about the position in relation to F-35s. I have a responsibility, as do the rest of the Government, to try to ensure Britain’s national security. That includes, where we have entered into multi-nation, complex programmes such as the F-35, not bringing those programmes down where that would undermine international peace and security. That is our judgment in relation to the F-35 components, which I have discussed already.
On other arms that are not suspended, I think that this House would be much reassured to see the detail of those licences. I am sure that everybody wants body armour and helmets on aid workers going into dangerous areas. I am sure that everybody would want us to focus on the arms that could be used in breaches of international humanitarian law, not other arms.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
This year has started with a horrific intensification of Israeli air strikes raining down on civilians and children. Israel has intensified its assault on the already decimated healthcare services in Gaza, to the extent that there are no fully functioning hospitals remaining in Gaza. It is a humanitarian crisis, so I am afraid I have to ask the Minister the question that he has been asked repeatedly this afternoon: have we not reached the stage where the UK should immediately end all arms trade and exports with Israel?
Mr Falconer
As I set out in my previous answer, we have sought to focus on those weapons that could be used for a serious breach of international humanitarian law. We have taken far-reaching action. We have sought to safeguard Britain’s national security in relation to the F-35 programme and exclude licenses that we judge do not contribute to a risk of breach of international humanitarian law. This is far-reaching action focused on weapons that could be used in breaches. I remain of the view that it is the correct judgment.
Israel and Palestine
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I am grateful to the Petitions Committee for securing this debate, and to the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for leading it. I thank hon. Members for their contributions. They have represented their views and those of their constituents, many of whom I know have signed these petitions with sincerity. With your forbearance, Mr Pritchard, and recognising the many pages of questions I have received over the course of the afternoon, I will try to make progress with my speech before taking interventions.
I recognise the tone both of the petitions and of the questions and contributions this afternoon. I think the House is united in wanting to end the agonies in Gaza, return the hostages, end the violent expansion of settlements, and secure a two-state solution. That is my work and the work of this Government, and I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) for highlighting how different our approach is from that of the Government who preceded us. When we became the Government, we called for an immediate ceasefire. On my first day as a Minister, we restored funding to UNRWA. We have now provided £41 million to UNRWA, recognising its vital work.
We have taken a different approach on questions of international law in relation to the ICC and the ICJ, and in our votes in the UN Security Council. Even when resolutions have been defeated, we have been clear on our commitment to international humanitarian law and the need for a two-state solution. In relation to sanctions on settlers and settlements, we have taken far-reaching action, which I shall cover briefly in my speech.
I would like to say something, given how strongly many of our constituents feel about the issues. I am a Labour Member and Minister, and other Labour MPs send me the videos the photos and the many reports that I know constituents see every day, as so many people have referred to. I see them too. As a Labour Member and Minister, I am never far from the reality of the situation. I am grateful to my colleagues for helping to ensure that that is the case.
I will turn briefly to the petitions that we are debating, trying to give substantive answers to both, then I will take interventions. First, on the call for immediate recognition, I want to I want to make it clear that this Government are unequivocal in their support for recognition and of a two-state solution. Palestinian statehood, as my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) said, is the right of the Palestinian people; it is not in the gift of any neighbour, and it is vital, as was set out, that the people of the west bank and Gaza are given the political perspective of a credible route to a Palestinian state.
We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state, and we will do so at the time most conducive to the long-term prospects for peace. We must take that step when we think that it will make the greatest contribution to bringing about the reality of a sovereign Palestinian state, alongside a secure Israel, which I know is the end goal we all agree on.
Many Members have referenced the decisions of allies. We watch those carefully and discuss the issues diplomatically, as one might expect. Simply saying a thing does not make it so, however, and this Government are driving their efforts towards the practical questions: creating the conditions necessary for a two-state solution to become a reality. The Prime Minister reiterated that commitment and his support for reforms to the Palestinian Authority—mentioned by a number of Members—when he met President Abbas in September.
The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) asked about our support for Israel’s security. Of course, that remains steadfast, as it does for Israel’s right to self-defence against terrorism and state threats. However, as we have said repeatedly, Israel must do that in accordance with international law. We have taken decisive action against extremist Israeli settlers who undermine the viability of a two-state solution and we have called out the unacceptable rhetoric of some Israeli Ministers.
As Members have said, settlement expansion and violence have reached record levels. The Israeli Government seized more of the west bank in 2024 than in the past 20 years; that is completely unacceptable. We recently sanctioned three illegal outposts and four organisations that have supported and sponsored violence against communities in the west bank. Those sanctions are focused not just on the violence, but on the settlements themselves, which are contrary to international law. We will continue to take action necessary to challenge those who undermine a two-state solution. On the questions asked about sanctions, I am afraid that I will not provide—in a way that Members will be familiar with—a commentary on whom we may target with sanctions, but I reassure the Chamber that we will continue to take the action necessary.
Let me turn to the call in the second petition to revoke all licences for arms exports to Israel. I recognise the strength of feeling. It is why on day one, we commissioned a review into Israel’s commitment to and compliance with international humanitarian law and we took decisive action where the review found possible breaches. On 2 September, the Foreign Secretary announced that decision to Parliament, and it followed a conclusion of the clear risk of items being used in violation of IHL. Let me be clear: that is not a partial suspension; it is a full suspension of all licences for equipment for use in military operations in Gaza.
I will come to the F-35 points shortly, but on the remaining licences that are not in relation to the F-35s, they are for body armour for journalists and NGOs; equipment for re-export to close allies; and items utilised for training and never intended to see conflict. Those are the remaining military licences to Israel. In my view, it is not right to suspend those when there is no clear risk that they could be used in the ongoing conflict. The majority of licences to Israel are not to the Israel Defence Forces and not for military equipment. Under this Government’s watch, there are no extant licences that could be used by Israel to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict. All of this is subject to the measures set out in Parliament excluding exports to the global F-35 programme from the scope of the suspension. Some Members have questioned that, but let me be clear about the Government’s view: suspending F-35 licences could not be done without prejudicing the F-35 programme.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne) asked how that is consistent with the law and referred to some of the opening speeches in the ongoing judicial review. I will not comment in great detail on the judicial review, which is considering these legal questions in greater detail. The section of the arms trade treaty to which he referred asks us to tend to questions of international peace and security. We have been clear in the House, and I am clear again today, that to bring down the F-35 programme would have significance to international peace and security and to our broader strategic role in NATO, and would affect western equipment support for Ukraine. This is not an arbitrary decision that we have taken. We will keep this and all aspects of our policy under close review.
Andy McDonald
Will my hon. Friend please accept from the people who make this argument that there is strength in it? The issue is the end user of the F-35 programme. There is no suggestion that the UK should withdraw from the programme entirely, only that there be a block on the end user. Those F-35s are delivering the 2,000-pound bombs that are rending asunder civilian communities in Gaza and we must play our part in making sure that does not happen any longer. Will he please accept that?
Mr Falconer
I want to be clear to my hon. Friend and to everybody here that the direct selling of F-35 parts to Israel has now been suspended; it is indirectly that we are not in a position to determine the end user. Members are saying that we could determine the end user. I reiterate the Government’s position that the global supply chain is critical to the operation of the F-35 programme and that we cannot suspend licences to end users in the way that my hon. Friend would like without imperilling that.
Liam Byrne
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way; he is being characteristically generous. As I understand it, we cannot track F-35 parts because we have signed a contract that basically renders us blind when they leave our borders. Technically, it is possible; the Ministry of Defence has said that. The issue the Minister has to address is that article 7 of the arms trade treaty is very clear that if there is an overriding risk of a breach of IHL, exports should not be made. His Government’s own submission to the courts is that that risk exists. We cannot have it both ways.
Mr Falconer
My right hon. Friend is making two distinct arguments. One is that we know who the end user is but cannot practically stop it, but we can also maintain the F-35 programme. The Government’s position is that we cannot take action on the global spares pool without bringing the F-35 programme into peril, which would have implications for international peace and security. That is the position of the Government. On the article of the arms trade treaty to which he refers, it is clear that consideration needs to be given to international peace and security. It is on that basis that we have set out our position.
Another Member asked me about the legal advice. We have set out the legal position as clearly as we possibly can—more clearly than any previous Government has on such a decision. It is being tested in the courts. We are proceeding with the utmost transparency on these questions.
Layla Moran
Is it not the case that the review itself was drawn very narrowly, focusing just on Gaza, and did not look at the west bank? We know that there are violations and other issues in the west bank, and that they are getting worse and worse. Will the Government consider increasing the scope of their review to include the west bank, and perhaps conducting it again, given that everything is under review? I rather suspect that more than 30 export licences might be suspended if the west bank were included.
Mr Falconer
I can confirm to the hon. Member that, with the exception of the position with F-35 that we have just discussed, I have satisfied myself that the review conducted in relation to Gaza also covers the licences for arms that could be used both in the west bank and in the conflict in Lebanon. I have satisfied myself that the suspension announced on 2 September would cover the—
Mr Falconer
I am conscious that I have hardly a minute left, so I will wrap up and try to provide some time—
Mark Pritchard (in the Chair)
Order. At the discretion of the Chair, if the Minister is so minded, he can continue to talk for beyond 10 minutes, given that we have time because some colleagues have left. However, I am aware of his busy schedule, so it is entirely in his hands.
Richard Burgon
The United States has confirmed that all F-35 parts in the global spares pool are tracked by the US Government. Our Government have admitted that, too. Do the UK Government have access to that information? If not, why not, and have they asked for it? Do they know what proportion of the F-35 parts that the UK has exported to the global spares pool have ended up in Israel since October 2023?
Mr Falconer
I am happy to reply to my hon. Friend in writing on some of these questions of detail. On the F-35s, the Government’s position is that we cannot suspend sales to the global spares pool without bringing down the overall programme, and so the international peace and security elements to which I have referred are very much in scope.
Andy Slaughter
I am most grateful to the Minister for giving way. May I return to recognition for a moment? The previous Government said that they would recognise Palestine when doing so best serves the object of peace. The current Government say they will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process. I am struggling a little to see the difference between those positions.
There was a certain amount of sophistry in what the Opposition spokesperson, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) said, which was that we cannot recognise Palestine when the hostilities are continuing. We do not recognise states based on which Government they have or what is happening there at the moment; we recognise states on the basis of the right to sovereignty, which Palestine clearly has. What is stopping the Government from recognising Palestine now, particularly given the Commons vote 10 years ago?
Mr Falconer
I recognise my hon. Friend’s long commitment to these issues. We are committed to recognising the state of Palestine at a point where we think it will make a contribution. I expect that he and many other Members will continue to press me on these issues for as long as this Parliament goes on.
We want to make a contribution to an advance of the position towards a two-state solution. As so many Members have said this afternoon, that feels horribly and dangerously distant at this time, but we think that the recognition of the state of Palestine can make a contribution to that process, and we want to see it on a more stable footing than we are at the current time.
Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire) (Lab)
Will the Minister give way?
Mr Falconer
I will not. I will try to conclude my remarks and give the hon. Member for South Cotswolds, who secured this debate, a chance to wrap it up.
I hope that Members will see that this Government have taken meaningful action to try to alleviate the suffering. I hear the strength of feeling from both the public and the Members in this Chamber. We will continue to do more. We are deeply conscious of both the agonies in Gaza and the coming of winter, and all the pressures that will bring.
Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)
On that point, will the Minister give way?
Mr Falconer
I will try to push on, if that is okay.
We have announced £112 million for the occupied Palestinian territories this year. We will continue to press for the vital services that civilians in Gaza and the west bank desperately need. That includes £13 million that the Prime Minister announced as our commitment to UNRWA when he met Commissioner-General Lazzarini on 11 December. As I understand it, he is the first ever Prime Minister to meet an UNRWA Commissioner-General.
We have continually supported hostage talks, and I welcome the reference that fellow Members have made to the British national who is still being detained by Hamas. We will continue to work alongside our allies and partners in the region, exercising every possible diplomatic lever to see the hostages immediately and unconditionally released.
As I said, we have imposed sanctions against those perpetrating and inciting human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the west bank, and since July we have sanctioned three illegal outposts and four organisations. I welcome the comments from hon. Members about the importance of peace-building efforts.
Andy McDonald
The Minister has mentioned several times the three illegal outposts and four organisations. All outposts in the west bank are illegal. As a nation, why are we not taking much more strenuous action against all illegal occupation of the west bank and the occupied territories?
Mr Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for the opportunity to reiterate this Government’s policy towards the west bank. It is occupied Palestinian territory: that is clear in international law, and there is no dispute about that. The sanctions that we imposed had quite far-reaching implications, including for organisations that are involved on a broad and structural basis in helping to construct settlements. I hope that there is no ambiguity about our position.
Mr Falconer
I am going to push through to the end now.
Just last month, the Foreign Secretary chaired a UN Security Council ministerial meeting to focus international attention on the urgent need for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. On 20 November, we voted in favour of the draft UN Security Council resolution on Gaza proposed by the 10 countries elected to the council. We reiterated our unwavering commitment to the vision of the two- state solution, in which two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace. That is what we, with our international partners, will continue to press for at every opportunity.
Detention of Alaa Abd el-Fattah
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
I acknowledge Alaa’s family, who are in the Public Gallery. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) for securing this debate, and I pay tribute to him for his tireless support for Mr el-Fattah and his family. I am also grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions in this and the earlier debate.
I re-emphasise, both to Alaa’s family and to the House, that his release remains a priority for the UK Government. I recognise the profound impact that his imprisonment has had on him and his family. The Government, and I as the Minister responsible, are doing all we can to find a resolution. Our priority remains to reunite him with his family, and until that happens, we are working to ensure that he is allowed consular access and support. As I said earlier, supporting British nationals overseas is at the heart of our work at the Foreign Office. That includes dual nationals and more recent British nationals such as Alaa.
I have met Mr el-Fattah’s family on a number of occasions, including his incredibly impressive mother, Laila, who was in the Chamber last week and whom I also saw in Cairo. I share my the concern of my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington about her wellbeing, as she is deep into a hunger strike. As he rightly said, the health implications of that are obviously serious. I am sure that the whole House shares the Government’s concern about her welfare. We will continue to be in regular contact with Mr el-Fattah’s family to discuss his case. The Foreign Secretary recently met the family, including Laila, last week. I met her last month during my visit to Cairo and when she was in the House more recently.
Our consular officials and our ambassador in Cairo work around the clock on this case. At the same time, we know from listening to the family that they feel that more support is required. That feeling is shared in other cases, and as I said to the House earlier, that is why we are looking to strengthen our approach through the appointment of a special envoy to work with families on the most complex detention cases, of which Mr el-Fattah’s case is clearly one.
Let me turn to the question of Mr el-Fattah’s nationality, which is contested. The UK has consistently and unambiguously maintained that he is a British national, and that remains the position of the new Labour Government. He became a British citizen in December 2021, while he was in detention but shortly before being sentenced. I stress that the timing of his citizenship, in the same month as his sentencing, was in no way connected to the UK Government’s position on his case. As the Foreign Secretary said in the House last week, there is no conspiracy behind this. We have always been clear with Egypt that Mr el-Fattah was granted nationality in the normal way. He is a British national, and is therefore entitled to consular access under the Vienna convention. We disagree with the Egyptian view that he is an Egyptian mono-national and that the process for conferring nationality was in any way irregular. We continue to urge the Egyptians to grant us consular access under the Vienna convention on consular relations, as they have done in other cases of detained dual nationals.
In response to my right hon. Friend’s comments, let me say a little about how we have been engaging with Egypt. Across all our engagements, we have been clear that this case will be resolved only by Mr el-Fattah’s release. That was the message that I delivered when I saw Foreign Minister Abdelatty and the Egyptian ambassador on what was the first visit by a Minister of the new Government to Egypt. The Foreign Secretary has also raised this case directly with the Foreign Minister, as has the Minister for Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), just this week. I can also confirm to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington that the Prime Minister did discuss the case with President Sisi in August. I would like to reassure Alaa’s family and this House that we will continue to press the Egyptians until Mr el-Fattah is free and reunited with his family.
I am aware, of course, of the understandable frustration that Members feel at Alaa’s situation, and the desire that the UK Government roll back our relationship with Egypt or drop all economic support. However, our partnership with Egypt is crucial to alleviating suffering in the region and for our push for wider peace and security in the region. While I was in Egypt, I announced further assistance for the Egyptian healthcare system in order to support Palestinians who have crossed from Gaza and are in need of urgent medical care. I also signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting the Egyptians’ efforts on food security.
I know that my right hon. Friend and many other Members of the House are aware of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and the many pressures on Egypt, where poverty is also very high. As such, while Mr el-Fattah remains at the forefront of my mind, the Foreign Secretary’s mind and the minds of the whole Government, we will continue to try to ensure that our relationship with Egypt is positive and productive where those efforts are necessary to protect other British nationals and try to deal with questions of international peace and security.
John McDonnell
I want to make it explicit that nobody who has raised this case wants to prevent the UK Government from providing aid and assistance, particularly given the issues that are happening to the Palestinians in Gaza—we are certainly not asking for that. What we are asking for relates to the relationship on trade and on arms sales. I believe there is potential leverage in those areas to enable us to secure Alaa’s release. In addition, the relationship with the Egyptian ambassador also gives us the opportunity to exercise some leverage. Those are the activities that we would like the Government to pursue.
Hamish Falconer
I will come back to those points in a little while, if I may.
At the heart of our general approach is the firm belief that through continued engagement, we can encourage the Egyptians to improve their human rights record, and that a stronger relationship than the one we inherited would allow us to have frank and open discussions with key decision makers—as my colleagues and I have recently done—so that we can see improvements, both in Alaa’s case and in relation to the wider human rights and social situation in Egypt. I reassure my right hon. Friend that in my engagements with both the Egyptian ambassador and Egyptian Ministers, we are clear at all times about the importance of this case, including its importance to the very many international observers whom my right hon. Friend ran through so articulately. This case is important to Egypt’s international reputation, and it will of course shape the views of investors and others when they think about their engagements.
In conclusion, the UK remains firmly committed to securing Mr el-Fattah’s release and reuniting him with his family. We will continue to push Egypt towards a resolution, making clear that the only way to resolve this case is by releasing him.
John McDonnell
The Minister is coming to a conclusion. Can we have an assurance that we will receive a report to the House in the coming month about the effectiveness of the actions the Government have taken in securing Alaa’s release?
Hamish Falconer
Having been pressed on this case twice in a day, I am more than happy to commit to return to the House within a month to give a further update.
We will continue to push Egypt for a resolution and I thank my right hon. Friend for his interest in the case, and many others in this House for their interest. I have no doubt that I will be regularly coming to the House to update Members on our efforts in relation to Mr el-Fattah, and I know that the whole House is thinking of his mother and the rest of his family during this incredibly difficult time.
Question put and agreed to.
Detained British Nationals Abroad
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
I start by paying tribute to the families who are in the Gallery and to those who are not. As the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) said, I have some personal experience in these matters, and I know just how painful it is to have a loved one detained overseas, often for long periods and with great uncertainty about next steps. I have met many of those who are in the Public Gallery. They are a tribute to their families, and I am endlessly in awe of the bravery, commitment and determination that they show.
As the right hon. Gentleman mentioned, many of these cases have been going on for some time. I will start by providing context on the general situation. Several Members have made comments about trend lines; I will offer data on the Foreign Office’s response, as has been requested. I will set out Labour’s position, and then I will turn briefly to some of the cases that have been raised. However, as was said by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller), many families do not wish to have their case named in this House, and many of them are not represented in the Public Gallery. That does not make them any less of a priority for me, the rest of the ministerial team, or the Foreign Office.
I join the shadow Minister—the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton)—and many other right hon. and hon. Members in paying tribute to consular teams for their work. The right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) said that many Foreign Office staff are the best and brightest, and that is certainly true for consular teams, who I am very happy to represent as the consular Minister, and to visit everywhere I go. The week before last, I was in Pakistan, where our staff deal with some of the most complex consular cases, as the House will know. They work 24/7 to ensure that people have what is often their only contact with the outside world once they have been detained, as many Members have said.
I would not claim to be one of the best or brightest, but I am what the right hon. Member for New Forest East would probably call a specialist unit, given that during my time in the Foreign Office, I dealt with many such cases. Indeed, I worked with other nations, as many Members have encouraged the Government to do. It is of course desirable to look at other countries’ systems. My right hon. Friend the Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) mentioned the SPEHA system, with which I worked extensively. I can assure her that I talk to my American counterparts, including the special envoy, who I will see this weekend.
Members seek consistency in our response to consular cases. They will recognise that what governs our ability to provide consular assistance is the Vienna convention, which mandates that we cannot interfere in foreign legal systems; we can only ensure that proper consular assistance is offered. Many Members have rightly highlighted the difficulties in identifying whether British nationals have had proper recourse to due process and their full rights. The Foreign Office remains focused on that question.
We are assisting 1,400 British nationals overseas. Some of those cases are more straightforward; some are considerably more complex. We provide assistance, both directly and through a partnership with Prisoners Abroad—a highly valued charity with which many Members will be familiar. It works to ensure not only that British nationals overseas are visited by the Foreign Office, but that they have access to essentials such as food and medication. Prisoners Abroad also supports the families of those detained abroad, a vital service that we will continue to support. We have long-running partnerships with non-governmental organisations such as Reprieve and the Death Penalty Project, which provide expertise in complex cases.
I know that right hon. and hon. Members are familiar with the Foreign Office arrangements, so I will not dwell on them too much, but let me be clear about what a Labour Government will do differently and why. We will introduce a special envoy for complex consular cases, in part because we have heard from families, including those in the Public Gallery, about their experience of seeking Foreign Office support. We will introduce that envoy so that there is, as many Members have requested, a part of the Foreign Office with a particular focus on complex consular cases. We will also introduce a new right to consular assistance. I hope to return to the House shortly to set out more details on both provisions.
The right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) rightly highlighted that we should be uneasy about the increasing global trend of trying to use British and other foreign nationals as diplomatic leverage. It is important to repeat that we will never accept British nationals being used as pawns or diplomatic leverage. We take a strong position on that, and will continue to do so. We will not haggle for British nationals, but will ensure that they have their proper rights, in accordance with the Vienna convention, and will do everything we can to support their family.
I turn briefly to some of the cases that have been raised. I reiterate that I will not mention every case. There are many names that are burned into my mind, as Members would expect, and cases that we work on regularly that I will not mention now, but I will address those on which I have been particularly pressed for answers. I begin with the cases of Mr Cornelius and Mr Ridley. The family are above me in the Gallery. We will continue to provide support to them, but I reassure the House that I have now raised with the ruler of Dubai the request for clemency, and outlined the British Government’s support for Mr Cornelius’ pardon application. The previous Foreign Secretary did so, as was alluded to by the shadow Minister; I thought it was important to provide clarification on that. I recognise that there has been unwelcome news in this case; I will not go into further detail about that in this place, but we will continue to work on the case. I met Mr Cornelius’s family recently, and I reassure the House that I have committed to continuing to meet them for as long as the two cases remain ongoing.
Mr Lai’s case, which was also raised, remains a priority for the British Government. We are closely monitoring his trial, and I can reassure the House that diplomats from our consulate general will continue to attend his court proceedings. As this House is aware, the Prime Minister raised the matter of Mr Lai with President Xi at the G20 summit, and the Foreign Secretary has raised it with his equivalent. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific has also raised this case with both the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. We continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Mr Lai.
I pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss), and for West Dunbartonshire (Douglas McAllister), for raising the case of Mr Johal. We continue to press the Government of India for faster progress to resolve this matter. I recognise the diligent efforts of his brother, who I understand is in the Gallery, and the deep and profound frustration about this case. It must be resolved, and that resolution must include an investigation into Mr Johal’s allegations of torture.
I will return to this House later today to talk further about Mr el-Fattah’s case. That case remains at the front of my mind and that of the Foreign Secretary. He met the family, who I understand are behind me in the Gallery, last week. The Prime Minister has raised the case with President Sisi; the Foreign Secretary and I have both raised it with the Egyptian Foreign Minister; and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Development raised it just this week, again with the Egyptian Foreign Minister. Mr el-Fattah’s case is tragic. I am very mindful of the hunger strike of his mother, who I have met, and whose efforts have been mentioned by many hon. Members. We will continue to focus on Mr el-Fattah, and I look forward to returning to the House this afternoon to discuss his case further.
On Emily Damari, a hostage held by Hamas and a British national, she and all the other UK nationals and people with UK links held by Hamas are very much on our mind. We continue to press for their immediate release, for humanitarian access to them, and for the medical assistance that we are sure they will require. I met their families this week, and they will remain a steadfast focus. I would also like to comment briefly on the case of Dr Ibadoghlu; we have indeed raised this case with the authorities, including recently at the end of October.
As the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green suggested, these are not easy cases. Many of them have been going on for some time, and the appointment of an envoy is important, but I reassure this House that I am the Minister responsible for consular affairs. It is not for officials to own these cases; as the shadow Minister has made clear, that is for Ministers. That is very much the view that I and the Foreign Secretary take. I look forward to returning to the House to discuss some of these cases in more detail, and to tell Members about the measures that we will take. I regret that in our few months in Government, we have not yet seen positive progress on all these cases, and I note that many Members have referred to the negative trend in some of these areas. I reassure the House that we will continue to focus on this issue above all. As was said by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock, the first duty of Government is to look after their people. There is no higher responsibility for me than serving British nationals, whatever corner of the world they are in.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith
Before the Minister concludes, there is something that many Members have called for that he has not touched on. We passed an Act on Magnitsky sanctions some time ago. Should those sanctions not be part of our attack on hostage-taking and on people being detained abroad for no reason? Why are those involved not being threatened with sanctions, and not having sanctions applied to them? Why are the Government—all Governments—so reluctant to use this tool?
Hamish Falconer
I am afraid that, as the right hon. Gentleman might expect, I will not provide a detailed commentary on whether we are considering sanctions in any of these cases. Our position has been that we do not like to discuss sanctions in the House before we implement them, but I recognise the thrust of what he says. I think he is asking me to ensure that there is no diplomatic lever that we would not consider pulling to ensure the safety of our nationals, and I can confirm that.
Emily Thornberry
I thank my hon. Friend for being so clear, but can he say whether the criteria for deciding whether a British national has been arbitrarily detained will be published?
Hamish Falconer
I recognise the work of my right hon. Friend and her Committee, the detailed report on this subject that the Foreign Affairs Committee published during the previous Parliament, as well as the work of the APPG on these matters. As she said about the American experience, it is important for an envoy to be appropriately focused, and to have a limited number of cases. We are keen to engage with the House on how to ensure that the envoy is focused on a limited number of cases, and on what criteria are most appropriate. My view is that the process will continue to require ministerial discretion, as the shadow Minister said, but I look forward to talking to both my right hon. Friend’s Committee and the House again in more detail once we are in a position to bring forward more concrete proposals.
Unless any other Members wish to intervene on me, I will conclude. These are some of the most difficult issues that the Government and Members of the House face. I pay tribute not only to the families in the Gallery and beyond, but to right hon. and hon. Members. During this debate, there have been allusions to the historical preference of the British Government for not discussing consular cases in public in any great detail. In some cases, as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson said, that is for reasons of safety or judgment, the Foreign Office having assessed what is most likely to assist the British national in question. However, I recognise that as hon. Members have said, this issue is of real importance to many Members of the House, and I will make myself available to all Members who have complex consular cases that they wish to discuss with me.
North-West Syria
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
Last week, we witnessed a major new offensive by opposition groups in north-west Syria. On Wednesday 27 November, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham—HTS—along with several other opposition forces started to move towards Aleppo. By late Friday night, they were in control of the majority of Aleppo city. They had also captured Saraqeb, which intersects Syria’s most strategic motorways. As I stand here, we do not know if HTS will succeed in pushing further south towards the city of Hama, which sits approximately 100 km south of Aleppo. What we do know is that these developments mark the biggest shake-up of the conflict lines in Syria since 2020.
In response, Russian airstrikes have increased on Idlib province—HTS’s heartland—and on Aleppo. There have also been reports of Iranian-aligned groups moving into Syria to back up the Assad regime. Events are moving quickly, and the trajectory is unclear. My primary concern, in the immediate term, is the impact on civilians and, of course, the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It will be particularly worrying if we see more large-scale attacks against civilians by the regime or Russia. I call directly on all actors involved, including Iran and Russia, to act in accordance with international humanitarian law, and not to target civilians or civilian infrastructure, including health facilities. Humanitarian actors should be granted full humanitarian access on the ground.
In response to recent developments, we have been rapidly engaging key partners and interlocutors to assess the situation and co-ordinate responses. I spoke earlier to my Turkish counterpart, and I reiterated my concern about the potential for new escalation and the impact on civilians. I will be travelling to the region this weekend, where I plan to engage with a range of partners on the latest developments, and on Wednesday I will be speaking to the UK-funded White Helmets, a Syrian organisation operating in north-west Syria, to better understand how it and other non-governmental organisations are responding to the situation and supporting people on the ground.
The UK issued two statements over the weekend, including one with the US, Germany and France calling for de-escalation and the protection of civilians to prevent further displacement and disruption of humanitarian access. This is the right focus as the situation develops, but the current fighting underscores that the situation in Syria is not sustainable.
Thirteen years into the conflict, no side has won or can decisively win on the battlefield, including Assad. A frozen conflict is not the same as peace. Syrians continue to flee the country, drugs and arms smuggled from Syria threaten the region, and Iran and Russia continue to exert influence, propping up the Syrian regime. The underlying reasons for this conflict remain unaddressed.
Recent developments in the north-west only underscore the urgent need for a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict in Syria, in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254. We urge all parties to re-engage with this process and the efforts of UN Special Envoy Pedersen.
I recognise that this escalation raises other questions. First, on consular assistance. I make it clear that my Department’s long-standing advice is against all travel to Syria due to the ongoing conflict and unpredictable security conditions. Consular support is not available within Syria, and all British embassy services in Damascus are suspended. I reiterate our long-standing advice: any British nationals in Syria should leave the country by any practical means.
We are closely monitoring the wider humanitarian situation. In north-west Syria, 4.1 million people, 80% of whom are women or children, were already in need prior to this escalation. There is currently no humanitarian corridor for those fleeing, which increases terribly the risks to their safety.
The UK has spent over £4 billion since 2011, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. In October, we announced a further £3 million to provide lifesaving emergency assistance and healthcare to the most vulnerable citizens fleeing the Lebanon conflict into Syria. Many of them will be in north-west Syria.
Too many Syrians have tragically been displaced multiple times as a result of conflict. They bear the brunt of horrific violence. Sadly, more still will be displaced by this latest escalation, and I underline my concern about what we might see should Russia or the Assad regime start a campaign of bombardment on the area.
The UK has stood by the Syrian people, and we will continue to do so. Our assistance aims to improve humanitarian conditions for those in the direst need. We work with local and international NGOs and UN organisations to provide health, nutrition, child protection, water, sanitation and education services throughout Syria, including in the north-west.
As the situation develops, we are working closely with humanitarian actors on the ground to understand the impact and the need created by the latest escalation. We call on all parties to ensure full and unhindered humanitarian access throughout the affected areas and to protect civilians. For too long, the Syria conflict has been considered frozen. But if we have learned one thing in recent years, it is that there is no such thing. It is incumbent upon us to use this moment to find new momentum for the political track and to address the underlying causes of this conflict.
I commend this statement to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
I thank the Minister for his statement. These developments in Syria are deeply serious and threaten further brutality and terror in a region under enormous pressure and suffering. We have seen an extremist rebel group make rapid progress and take territory in Aleppo, and the first Russian airstrikes in Aleppo since 2016. We know that there has been fighting in Idlib and Hama too. Civilian lives continue to be lost and homes continue to be destroyed.
As the Minister says, there has been more than a decade of turmoil and tragedy for the innocent people of Syria, which is beyond disturbing. With the eyes of the world focused on other conflicts, we cannot forget the brutality, the loss of life and the destruction that has taken place in Syria, or its consequences. More than half a million people have already been killed, with millions injured or maimed, with some being victims of chemical weapons. How many more innocent lives must be sacrificed to a savage dictator’s thirst for power or at the whim of bloodthirsty terrorists?
The civil war in Syria was one of the most harrowing issues I had to deal with in government, and right hon. and hon. Members who have been in the House since 2011 will know from our debates how this conflict has disrupted the region and contributed to the global migration crisis. Like other Members, I have met Syrians in countries such as Jordan and Lebanon who spoke of their fear, concern and trauma. Both countries are under great pressure right now, particularly Lebanon.
People’s lives have been turned upside down by this conflict, with those caught on the berm between Jordan and Syria facing terrible atrocities. The calculated and cruel barbarism of the Assad regime and the brutality of the terrorist groups have been horrifying at every stage of this conflict. They have held our belief in tolerance and freedom in contempt, and we should never turn a blind eye.
I have been very clear that when red lines are crossed in this conflict, the UK must be part of a firm response. We are in a dangerous place once again, and the situation could become even more severe. I saw the statements issued by the Government and our partners in America, Germany and France over the weekend, and I hope the Minister can answer some of my questions, as we need an honest assessment of this conflict.
Can the Minister tell us his assessment of the real threat that Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham poses to our interests? In his statement, he commented on the drugs and arms smuggling through Syria, which we have known about for some time. Our dear friends and allies in Jordan have been raising this issue, so can he tell us what action he plans to take with international and neighbouring allies to address this?
With further instability and conflict in Syria, there is also a risk that criminal activities will proliferate. Instability also fuels extremism, and not just abroad but here at home too. Can the Minister therefore outline the risk that dangerous extremists in Syria pose to the security of prisons in the area? And can he confirm that there is cross-Government co-ordination to review the security and defence implications and the terrorism risks?
The House will know that the UK has been in the vanguard of the humanitarian response, of which we should all be proud. The previous Government invested £4 billion in support that has reached millions of people, saving lives with food, shelter, water, medicines, vaccinations and improved sanitation.
Can the Minister explain what this Government will do to ensure that aid gets into the hands of the right people, not the wrong people? I remember the day when we saw an aid convoy blown up, which disrupted aid when there was no humanitarian corridor. What is he doing to leverage our aid budget to respond to these new and recent developments? Can he also tell us whether aid is getting into the areas affected by the current surge in violence? How could this new escalation impact on the migratory pressures in Syria, and what will that mean for neighbouring areas?
We know that the Assad regime has been bailed out by the Russians, the Iranians and Hezbollah, but with Russia now focused on its illegal invasion of Ukraine, and with Iran’s presence in the region now depleted, what is the Minister’s assessment of how this will affect the dynamics of the current insurgency? Finally, does he have a vision for what future we should now be discussing with regard to Syria, and for how we can get there?
Hamish Falconer
I thank the right hon. Lady for her questions. She raised a lot of issues and I will endeavour to address as many as I can.
The right hon. Lady asked what regional co-ordination is under way. We are talking to partners in all the regional capitals, as she would expect, but let me be clear about who we are not talking to. We do not talk to HTS, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation—it is proscribed for a reason and remains proscribed, and we are concerned by many of the public statements it has made. We are not talking to the Assad regime; the right hon. Lady paints well the horrors that Assad and his regime have perpetrated across Syria. However, we are talking to all those with an interest. As I said, I will travel to the region at the weekend and undertake further consultations. I am talking to NGOs and other actors on the ground.
The right hon. Lady asked whether access is sufficient. As she will have seen, the frontlines are moving very quickly and we are concerned that practical access for aid agencies will be difficult to maintain. We are working with our partners to try to maintain access through established humanitarian corridors, and to ensure that a population that is already at great risk will be provided with the assistance it needs. At a moment of such quick changes, that is difficult, but we are working day and night to ensure that happens.
The right hon. Lady asked about cross-Government co-ordination. We are very alive to the terrorist threats that could emanate from Syria, not least from Daesh, which may be down but is not out. We continue to monitor those issues very closely, including the status of prisons, which she referred to.
On the dynamics in the region, clearly the region is in very significant flux. The position of Iran and Russia is in flux, which is why I call on them and say clearly that they must not conduct the large-scale attacks on civilians that I fear are their go-to in such a situation.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
During the Syrian civil war, millions of Syrians moved to Turkey and southern Lebanon, so they have already been displaced once. In Turkey, Erdoğan has been encouraging them to go home to Syria, and in southern Lebanon they have had to move back into Syria to flee from the invasion. Multiple traumas have been suffered by multiple innocent families, who have no guilt in any of this but are simply victims again and again. When families face such multiple traumas, what assistance are the British Government able to give them?
Hamish Falconer
It is incredibly difficult to provide appropriate and sustained care in north-west Syria. As my right hon. Friend says, many people have been displaced, not necessarily by the current conflict but by the Lebanon conflict, which we have discussed in the House recently. People who have been displaced on multiple occasions are in a situation of acute vulnerability. Whether they have been displaced by the Lebanon conflict or the conflict in north-west Syria, we are extremely concerned and we will do what we can. The assessments are ongoing.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. I join hon. Members across the House in expressing our deep concern at the toll of the latest outbreak of conflict on the innocent civilians of Syrian. They have borne the brunt of more than a decade of horrific conflict, and we should not forget the devastating impact of the 2023 earthquake on parts of the country as well. I offer my support to the Government in urging all parties to uphold international law. It is vital that the Government do all they can to prevent a deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria, and in the region more broadly.
I spoke this afternoon to the Jordanian ambassador to the UK. He underscored the potential impact of this conflict on his country, with its long and porous border with Syria. With an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon and another 1.3 million in Jordan, providing necessary support to neighbouring countries that host those refugees is crucial. Yet thanks to successive cuts to the international development budget, including by the new Government, too often we approach such crises with one hand tied behind our back. Will the Minister set out what new development assistance we are providing in response and whether he is seeking additional emergency funds from the Treasury?
It appears that the fighting reflects interference in Syria by both Iran and Russia, as the Minister has said, each seeking to serve their interests during a period of instability. There is a very real risk that this new conflict in the north-west of the country may create a vacuum in the south of Syria that allows terrorist groups such as al-Nusra, al-Qaeda and Daesh to re-establish. Does the Minister share that concern?
The UK must hold others to account and press for an end to the use of proxies that show no regard for the rights of civilian populations or the role of international law. Will the Minister say how the UK is using its influence in international organisations and with our allies to achieve that?
Hamish Falconer
We are conducting rapid assessments about where the needs will be, in a situation that is rapidly changing. As I mentioned, we announced further funding for north-west Syria in October. It is not yet clear what further allocations will be required. I will update the House when those assessments are complete and our plans are clearer.
On counter-terrorism, I agree with the hon. Member. As I mentioned in my response to the shadow Secretary of State, there remains an extant threat from Daesh and other groups from Syria. We will continue to monitor those issues very closely. Our first responsibility as a Government is the safety of British nationals; that will continue to be the case and we take our responsibility seriously.
Madam Deputy Speaker
I call the Chair of the International Development Committee.
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)
I cannot process that this conflict has been going on for 13 years. From where I am sitting, I have a direct line of sight to the memorial shield for our former colleague from Batley and Spen. When she came to the House, she did so much to draw hon. Members’ attention to the plight of civilians, but things have only got worse since then. It is already the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with nearly 17 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 90% of families living in poverty. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the most recent escalation on the levels of need of those in Syria and those who have fled? Will the UK urge the UN to activate its emergency response plans? And—this is the bottom line—are the Government prepared to increase official development assistance on humanitarian support?
Hamish Falconer
We are talking to the United Nations about its plans. I will not give undue comment on operational matters, but the UN’s system is under strain in north-west Syria, as my hon. Friend would expect. In the coming days I hope to be able to say more about what assessment we have made and what actions we will take about whether there will be an increase in ODA; that will be a question more properly for the Minister for Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), who is in the region now. I am conscious that there are significant needs across the middle east that we are trying to meet as best we can.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
Assad and his family have reportedly gone to Moscow, which is probably significant. Let us hope that he stays there; they deserve each other. However, HTS is very much worse. As HTS takes territory, people will be on the move in very large numbers. Historically, the United Nations has managed the situation in northern Syria and triaged those who are claiming asylum. This country has been generous in taking refugees, particularly from the most disadvantaged groups: old people, women and children. What discussion has the Minister had with the United Nations and will that process continue, because I feel sure that the British people will want to continue to be generous?
Hamish Falconer
The right hon. Gentleman raises an important point about minority groups. I underline to all parties to this conflict, whether they are proscribed in the UK or not, that minority groups across north Syria, of which there are many, deserve to be protected and have a right to exist. We are looking closely at the actions of all conflict parties, regardless of whether we have direct contact with them, and it is incredibly important that minority rights in northern Syria are protected.
On the right hon. Gentleman’s question about the United Nations, to be frank there is, at this moment, panicked movement across frontlines. It is probably too early to be able to address the kinds of questions he raises, but I am sure we will be talking about this in due course.
Blair McDougall (East Renfrewshire) (Lab)
My mind also turned to the former Member for Batley and Spen, my friend Jo, and the cry she made in this Chamber to do something to help the people of Syria. Back then, we saw the widespread use of chemical weapons in the last moment when Assad’s regime was under pressure. What steps are the Government taking to monitor any war crimes taking place in this moment? By way of deterrence now, will the Minister reaffirm that the British Government still believe there should be accountability for the use of chemical weapons a decade ago in Syria?
Hamish Falconer
I recognise the work of the former Member for Batley and Spen, our friend Jo Cox, and my hon. Friend himself, who has been involved in these issues, including accountability, for some time. I agree there must of course be accountability for the use of chemical weapons by Syria. I met as Minister the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to ensure that proper measures are in place and to assist it in its efforts to ensure that treaty conventions are upheld. In August, I instructed UK officials to join an expert-level working group convening a geographically diverse group of states, academics and technical experts to explore international legal mechanisms that could pursue individual criminal responsibility for chemical weapons use. I call on all parties in north-west Syria at the moment to be mindful that we are watching questions of chemical weapons use incredibly carefully.
Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)
The Syrian Democratic Forces have been an incredibly important ally to the United Kingdom and many other countries in pursuing and degrading Islamic State over a long period of time. Will the Minister assure the House that we will continue to give them as much support, including humanitarian support, as possible to establish and continue the stability that there has been in north-east Syria as a result of their work?
Hamish Falconer
The Syrian Democratic Forces are a member of the global coalition against Daesh, and they play an important role. We engage with them regularly—both the SDF themselves and the democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria—and we will continue to do so.
David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister’s statement and particularly the emphasis on protecting civilians. I associate myself with the remarks of my hon. Friends the Members for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) and for East Renfrewshire (Blair McDougall) in paying tribute to Jo. I am convinced that if she was still with us, British policy on Syria would have been markedly better than it unfortunately has been over the past few years.
A particular concern over that time is that debates in this Chamber and beyond have not had Syrian voices. I was grateful to hear that the Minister, and the International Development Committee, will meet the White Helmets, which is fantastic. Would he also agree to meet me and the Syrian British Consortium—a group of Syrian activists in the UK—to discuss our policy towards Syria and how their voices can shape the debate going forward?
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
I would like to build on the question posed by the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison). Between 2014 and 2020, almost all Syrians who were given asylum in the UK applied from the region. The vulnerable persons resettlement scheme did not require Syrians to make it to the UK before applying; the small numbers who were successful had to apply through Syria’s neighbours, such as Jordan. Does the Minister recognise that this safe and legal route encouraged asylum seekers to apply from the region, and it also deterred them from making their way across Europe to the UK?
Hamish Falconer
I am sorry; I am not sure I followed the question. Perhaps the Member can have another go.
Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
I would try to repeat the question, but I did not catch it myself.
I hope that it is recognised how interconnected the conflicts are in the region, which includes connections to Russia, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and even further afield. This escalation creates serious risks not only for the population of the immediate area, but for regional stability. How can we recognise that in our security and diplomatic policy? What measures are the Government taking to look at this collective series of risks that are increasingly interconnected?
Hamish Falconer
My hon. Friend is right that the security situation in the region is interlinked. Clearly, what is happening in Lebanon, in Iran and, indeed, in Moscow, as the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) mentioned, is having an effect in north-west Syria. I am concerned by reports of militia groups reinforcing the Syrian regime from Iraq and by reports of Hezbollah’s actions in Syria. I assure my hon. Friend that we take a regional approach to these issues. I am the Minister responsible for all these areas, and we view them in the round.
Madam Deputy Speaker
I call Stephen Gethins, whose question will no doubt be very clear.
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; hopefully I will be clear in my question.
I concur with the Minister’s reflection on the devastating humanitarian consequences over the past 13 years. On the interconnectivity of conflicts, he mentioned the Russian attacks, which he will agree are of a similar nature to those we have seen elsewhere targeting civilian infrastructure. As such, what discussions has he had with European partners in particular, given the lack of reliance we may soon have on the United States, when it comes to a common approach on any political process, the targeting of disinformation, such as that rightly highlighted by the White Helmets, and a humanitarian response to international agencies?
Hamish Falconer
We issued a statement jointly with the French and the Germans over the weekend. We remain in close co-ordination on humanitarian matters and, as I think the hon. Member was alluding to, on the importance of ensuring that the Russians understand that there is a common European position and that we are appalled by the kind of targeting of civilians we have seen in north-west Syria and in so many other places by Moscow.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
I spoke today to a contact in the moderate Syrian opposition. I would be grateful for the Minister’s view of my contact’s assessment that the Assad regime appears weak without its allies’ backing, that many malign actors have noticed that events in Aleppo indicate greater regime fragility than imagined, and that problems will continue while the regime persists. Though recent events are somewhat unexpected, could he expand on how the British Government, working with allies, can foster much-needed democratic transition for the Syrian people?
Hamish Falconer
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s work on issues in the region over many years. We are calling for a resolution of this conflict in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254. It is vital that there is a political resolution. Assad’s regime has been demonstrated on this day, as on many other days over the last 13 years, not to be the answer. It is not a sustainable position for the Syrians. We call on all parties to re-engage with the political process in line with the Security Council resolution.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
Once again, we find the people of Syria squeezed between two vicious regimes: the Assad regime and the terrorists. We know from what has happened in the past that they will again be subjected to barrel bombs and find themselves cowering in basements, that they will be denied basic medical facilities and so on, and that they will flee. Are we pre-empting where bases and camps might be set up based on what we know from the past about the kinds of routes that people are likely to take? More importantly, given that minorities have been persecuted in such camps, have we put in place arrangements to safeguard them, and, as was suggested earlier, to assess asylum claims in those camps, rather than forcing people to flee across Europe in the hope that they get asylum once they reach the coast?
Hamish Falconer
As the frontlines move in north-west Syria, it is hard to work out where vulnerable people will settle. We are worried that this latest round of conflict will drive further displacement, and that that displacement will head towards Europe. Earlier, the Home Secretary spoke a little about the measures that she is taking to ensure that those movements towards Europe are done in the most managed way as possible. I share the right hon. Member’s concern about the benighted people of Syria, particularly in north-west Syria, who are under the most extreme pressures. We are undertaking rapid assessments of how best to assist them.
Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)
This appears to be a completely intractable situation, but I wish the Minister well on his trip. As my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) made clear, Iran has its fingers in many of the conflicts and tensions right across the region. I am sure that we all stand in complete solidarity with the ordinary Iranian people. I can only conclude that sanctions are not working.
Hamish Falconer
Let me talk about two sets of sanctions—and I apologise to my hon. Friend if I talk about the wrong ones. First, we have extant sanctions on Syria. I was recently in the House to amend them so that they do not unduly press on humanitarian agencies. Let me take this opportunity to say that we are doing everything we can to ensure that our own sanctions regime—vital and important as it is to signal and take real action against the Assad regime—is sufficiently flexible to enable humanitarian work. Secondly, our sanctions on Iran continue to play an important role in responding to Iran’s malign actions across the region, including in Syria.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
This scenario is one in which we are considering the lesser of two evils in Syria, and I do not have enough information to gauge which that may be. However, as always, my concern is about what steps the Government are taking to secure food and water for 4 million women and children, and to provide freedom from sexual abuse and depravity. What more can we in this House do collectively to help those in need?
Hamish Falconer
I regret to tell the hon. Member that the Syrian people have to choose between more than two evils. There is a multiplicity of actors in the region, and that multiplicity makes humanitarian access particularly complex at the moment. We are focused on ensuring that there are routes for humanitarian aid into north-west Syria—that was one of the topics of my discussions with my Turkish equivalent earlier today—and we are keen to ensure that there are humanitarian routes out for those who might be affected, including the minorities who I know are on the minds of the hon. Member and others across the House.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
Christian minority families find themselves facing jihadist terrorists and Russian airstrikes. The family of my Acton constituent Waheba fled to Aleppo 10 years ago from their original city of Al-Tabqah. She wonders whether there could be some kind of Ukrainian-style resettlement scheme for Syrians with blood ties here.
Hamish Falconer
In these early days of the conflict, we are focused on events in Syria, but I am happy to write to my hon. Friend with details about what else we might do.
Pakistan: Freedom of Religion
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this important debate. I pay tribute to his work as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief. I know he has been engaged on these issues for some time. I note that the group visited Pakistan last year and published important recommendations for improving the state of freedom of religion. Its commitment to defending the rights of vulnerable communities across the globe does not go unnoticed. I am grateful, too, for the contributions of other hon. Members. I join the shadow Minister in paying tribute to the service of my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) in Pakistan. I will respond to the points raised and highlight what the UK is doing to help protect the rights of minorities in Pakistan.
I would like to reassure the House that I was in Pakistan last week. I was the first British Government Minister to visit for some years—more than two, I believe— and, as I understand it, I am the only G7 Minister to have visited Pakistan this year. As the House knows, and has been clear from the debate, Pakistan is an important country, a strategic country, and it is important that we stay engaged in the full range of issues going on in that country. On that note, Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope you will allow me to provide some brief comments on current events in Pakistan.
I am deeply concerned by the reports of loss of life arising from this week’s protests in Islamabad, which I know have been followed very closely in the House. The UK Government support individuals’ rights to protest, and urge the Pakistani authorities to respect those fundamental freedoms. We are closely monitoring the situation, including the potential impact on British nationals. We are concerned by reports that a number of journalists have gone missing following the protests, including Matiullah Jan, a respected Pakistani journalist and a Chevening scholar. The UK remains committed to media freedom and the protection of journalists. We will urge the authorities to ensure the safe return of all journalists.
I also want to express my sincere condolences to all those affected by the abhorrent violence in Kurram over the past week. My thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured. We hope that a peaceful resolution can be reached. We remain in contact with the relevant individuals.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) asked about the situation in relation to the Baloch, in particular the protests led by women in Balochistan. I am aware of reports of enforced disappearances. The UK strongly condemns any instances of extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances. We urge states to investigate any allegations fully, to prosecute those responsible and to provide justice to victims and their families. We continue to encourage progress towards the criminalisation of enforced disappearances in Pakistan.
Britain has a long relationship with Pakistan founded on our shared history and warm ties between our people. We have heard some of that today. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen, I served in Pakistan in 2010 when some of the incidents referred to this afternoon occurred, including the concerning incident with Asia Bibi. As I said, last week I had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful country. I met Ministers, businesses and religious leaders. I can reassure the House that in all my engagements I raised some of these important issues.
We know that many minorities in Pakistan face injustices, including structural discrimination, economic exclusion and wider social intolerance. I share Members’ concerns about the increasing misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Too often these laws are used to settle personal vendettas, with insufficient evidence or safeguards for those accused. Once an accusation is made, there is a high risk of vigilante violence. For example, in May an elderly Christian man died of his injuries following an assault by a large mob in Punjab. These abhorrent attacks form part of a wider pattern of discrimination and violence towards marginalised religious communities.
Jim Shannon
Frequently, when accusations are made—accusations that are often vexatious and malicious, with no evidential basis whatsoever—the police stand by and do nothing to control the mob violence. Could the Minister perhaps take that on board when he next has discussions with the Pakistani Government? We want a Pakistan police force that is independent and applies the same rule of law to everyone, but it is clear that that is not currently the case.
Hamish Falconer
I raised the specific question of how policing operates in relation to religious minorities with the Pakistani Minister for Law and Human Rights, the Minister for Interior, and personnel from Pakistan’s security establishment just last week.
Let me now turn to the subject of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, who, as many have pointed out this afternoon, continue to receive threats from extremist groups. Regrettably, a number have been murdered. The practices of forced marriage and conversion are devastating the lives of women and girls from minority religious communities. We in the House should welcome small positive steps, such as an amendment to the Christian Marriage Act 1872 to equalise the age of marriage between Christian boys and girls in Punjab, but more clearly needs to be done to protect the rights of both Muslim and religious minority girls across Pakistan.
Let me now say a little about what the UK is doing to help. This Government recognise the central importance of promoting a more open society in Pakistan. We regularly engage with its Government, with like-minded partners and with other stakeholders to raise concerns and discuss ways of protecting marginalised communities. Generally, our assessment is that private engagement with Pakistan’s authorities is the most effective way to get our messages across. My recent visit was an excellent opportunity to convey those messages to an array of senior Ministers. I met the Human Rights Minister to discuss the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony. I highlighted concerns about recent incidents of blasphemy-related violence and the misuse of blasphemy laws. I also raised the issues of forced marriage and conversion, and the Minister assured me that efforts were under way to pass new legislation to help address it. I met the Minister of Interior as well, alongside with the British high commissioner. We underlined concerns about threats of violence towards Ahmadi Muslims, and stressed the need for police protection. Again, we received assurances that the authorities would work harder to protect minority communities.
The hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor) expressed concern about his constituents in the UK. While policing is clearly a matter independent from the Government, this Government will do everything—as one would expect—to ensure the freedom of religious belief and ensure that religious minorities feel protected here.
Since my visit, the high commissioner has spoken to the Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs about some of the incidents that have been described this afternoon. She raised concerns regarding extremist threats made against minority groups, including Ahmadi Muslims, and pushed for more action on forced marriage and conversion.
To maximise the impact of our engagements, we co-ordinate closely with the wider international community and work alongside international organisations such as the International Labour Organisation in relation to the forced labour of children in brick kilns, which I even witnessed many years ago when I served in Pakistan.
Jim Shannon
Many people whose young female children have been abducted and kidnapped for the purpose of marriage are probably illiterate—I am just being observational here—and do not understand the paperwork in front of them. When our deputation was in Pakistan back in 2023, we suggested that a legal representative should be made available to each of those people to take their cases forward. It is a simple measure, but it would be incredibly effective.
Hamish Falconer
I thank the hon. Member for his consideration of these issues. I am happy to write to him in more detail about what we are doing in Pakistan to try to ensure that women and girls, both from minority communities and across the whole of Pakistan, are able to prosecute their rights. Questions about illiteracy are clearly relevant, but I am afraid that a far wider range of issues make it hard for women and girls across Pakistan to assert their full rights.
During my trip, I was pleased to visit Pakistan’s national mosque, the Faisal mosque. I met the Grand Imam, Dr Muhammad Ilyas, and we discussed the importance of promoting interfaith harmony and tolerance. Such engagements are a vital part of the UK’s approach to freedom of religion or belief, a principle that must be supported across all communities in Pakistan.
Members have posed questions about our aid programme, so I will briefly comment on that. Alongside our diplomatic engagement, I am glad that the UK’s targeted aid programmes are helping to protect human rights and boost inclusion. For example, our £47 million accountability and inclusion programme helps to change social behaviour and promote interfaith harmony by encouraging dialogue between influential community leaders. Following the Sargodha attacks in May, the programme prevented further violence by helping to engage with the police to identify tensions and resolve community disputes at the local level. We also raise awareness about the harms of early enforced marriages, and have reached over 35 million people with our messaging to date.
I note the comments from my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington about aid conditionality. We try to ensure that our aid is closely targeted. Where there are concerns, we raise them diplomatically, and our aid programme is an important component of our contribution towards trying to address these issues in Pakistan.
Members also raised the issue of modern slavery. I commend representatives of both Houses for raising awareness of this issue in Pakistan. I saw it with my own eyes during my service, and I know that many Members of the House have seen it too.
We are supporting Pakistan’s Government to improve laws and strengthen related systems in order to protect marginalised and vulnerable groups. We have supported the Pakistani authorities to undertake the first child labour surveys in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan. The data is being used to shape policies on child bonded labour, including forming systems to protect children. We have also helped set up eight child courts across Pakistan to provide justice for victims of child abuse, child trafficking and child marriage. As these examples show, we are determined to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most.
Let me turn to the points made about the special envoy. I understand that Ministers are considering the role, and we should be in a position to update the House soon. I pay tribute to the previous envoys. As I hope the House can see, this Government will remain focused on these issues, in Pakistan and elsewhere, with or without an envoy.
This Government place freedom of religion or belief at the heart of our work in Pakistan, and it was a major part of my visit last week. Pakistan must be open and tolerant, and we will continue to work with its Government and all key stakeholders, including this House, towards that end.
Oral Answers to Questions
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
As these are the first departmental questions since the appointment of the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), I welcome the shadow Front-Bench team to their place.
Alongside the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), the Foreign Secretary is establishing a new soft power council to advise Government and shape a new strategy to increase UK soft power and enhance it to deliver our foreign policy objectives. Promoting all our soft power assets, including the British Council, the BBC World Service, scholarships and values, is crucial if we are to generate growth, security and global impact for the UK.
Fabian Hamilton
The Government’s commitment to UK soft power was highlighted by the Chancellor’s additional funding for the BBC World Service in the recent Budget. Last week, I met Moldovan MPs, who are on the frontline of Russian aggression. They really valued the British Council’s presence, but it had to close owing to funding cuts. Does the Minister agree that it would be detrimental to Britain’s place on the world stage if the British Council was forced to close more offices, particularly where British values of freedom and democracy are needed most?
Hamish Falconer
The Foreign Secretary has made it clear that the UK is committed to supporting Moldova’s democratic choice to pursue a path of freedom, independence and European integration. The FCDO provided £511 million in grant in aid funding for the 2022 to 2025 spending review period. In an increasingly digital age, the British Council’s impact should be judged by operational, rather than physical, presence. The council retains a physical presence in over 100 countries. Those in other countries still access cultural engagements and teaching activities online.
Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)
May I wish the new shadow Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), every success in her role? May I also wish the Minister and the entire Government foreign affairs team courage and wisdom as they deal with a world more dangerous than at any time in our lives? When it comes to soft power and development, I remind them of the importance of the words best articulated by former US Defence Secretary Mattis: “If you cut development spend, you have to order more ammunition.”
Hamish Falconer
I pay tribute to the right hon. Member’s long commitment to these issues. I returned last week from Pakistan where I was first deployed when he was the Secretary of State for International Development, so I know well his commitment to the issues over a long period.
I agree with the sentiments of the right hon. Member’s question. The aid budget is incredibly important and makes a significant contribution to our national security right across the world. We continue to work hard to ensure that our aid budget is fit for purpose and does the job it needs to do on behalf of the UK right across the world.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Whether it is the findings of the election monitors in Georgia, interference in the recent elections in Moldova, the illegal invasion of Ukraine, or the chill felt from the Baltics to Bucharest, Europe today is a much more contested space. This is the moment to pin our colours to the mast and be much more active in supporting those with Euro-Atlantic aspirations. How will the Minister build on the efforts of the last Government and use our considerable soft power to be much more proactive?
Hamish Falconer
We continue to engage heavily on those issues—the Foreign Secretary was in Moldova last week. We are committed to enhancing the UK’s soft power after a period of decline, and that is why the Foreign Secretary will be launching the soft power council with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the coming weeks.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
Ensuring the safe release of all hostages, including British national Emily Damari and three other hostages with strong UK links, remains a top priority for this Government. We support the efforts of negotiators and call on the parties to return to negotiations. We continue to work alongside allies and partners in the region towards securing hostage releases. Negotiations remain the best chance to get hostages, cruelly detained by Hamas, home to their loved ones. I relayed these points to the Israeli deputy Foreign Minister yesterday.
John Lamont
The horrors endured by the 97 Israelis and foreign nationals held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for over 13 months are unthinkable. Given that the efforts to secure their release have not yet been successful, what further steps is the United Kingdom taking to bring home Emily Damari, a 28-year-old British citizen, and the rest of the captives?
Hamish Falconer
I am sure that the whole House will join me in saying to those families that we, as a House and a Government, will do absolutely everything we can. The horrors of being a hostage family are unbearable, and we have them in our mind each and every day. We are disappointed that talks to secure hostage releases appear to have stalled for the moment. We are urging all parties to return to the table. A deal remains the best prospect and we hope to work with our allies to see that come through.
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
On Friday, on account of a negative vote cast by a permanent member, the Security Council failed to adopt a text put forward by its 10 elected members calling for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and demanding the release of all hostages. That is extremely disappointing, as it condemns thousands of people in the middle east to ongoing conflict and moves no further forward to securing the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, although I and many of my constituents welcome the fact that the UK voted for that resolution. What will the Minister’s next steps be in achieving greater global agreement on securing peace, a ceasefire and the release of the hostages?
Hamish Falconer
This Government will continue to do everything we can to press for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a reduction in violence in the middle east. The Foreign Secretary discussed these matters in the G7 and I discussed them with my Israeli counterpart yesterday, and we will continue to take all steps across a wide range of different conversations to try to advance the ceasefire that we so desperately need.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
Last week, I spoke with Mandy Damari. The Minister has mentioned Emily, and I know the Foreign Secretary and his team have been in touch with the family as well. She and many other hostage families are going through the most unimaginable suffering, so can the Minister, on behalf of the Foreign Secretary, confirm whether any aid organisations have had humanitarian access to the hostages, and if not, what pressure is being exerted on those agencies? Clearly, welfare concerns are paramount, but these poor families are also suffering unimaginable horrors and our aid budget needs to be spent in the right way, so can the Minister tell us what work is being undertaken?
Hamish Falconer
Regrettably, no organisation has had access to the hostages. We continue to call for access for the International Committee of the Red Cross and any other appropriate non-governmental organisation in the usual way. Let us be clear: Hamas hold these hostages, and they are behaving abominably and outwith any international norm. They are not abiding by any convention that we could think of. We will continue to press them to ensure that there is the required access to British nationals, but it is regrettable for the whole House that we are in this position.
James MacCleary (Lewes) (LD)
Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that the ICC’s decision does nothing to help secure the release of hostages, deliver more aid into Gaza or deliver a sustainable end to the war in the middle east?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
As I set out to the House yesterday afternoon, the ICC is the primary method of accountability for war crimes, and it should be supported across the whole House. Our support for the ICC does not limit the actions we take in relation to the other issues. We have already talked about hostages this morning and about the vital importance of the ceasefire, and we will continue to—
Hamish Falconer
I can assure my hon. Friend that His Majesty’s ambassador to Iran will continue to raise this appalling issue directly with Iranian officials in Tehran. Furthermore, the UK was instrumental in the adoption of the Iran human rights resolution at the UN Third Committee last week. The resolution calls on Iran to establish a moratorium on executions and to end reprisals against women human rights defenders.
Aphra Brandreth (Chester South and Eddisbury) (Con)
The Government have indicated that they would arrest the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel. Doing so would contradict an Act of Parliament and breach state and diplomatic immunity. Will the Foreign Secretary tell the House whether he believes compliance with the ICC’s decision sets a precedent for future decisions of a similar nature? Is he not concerned that he is contradicting international norms?
Hamish Falconer
We considered this question at exhaustive length yesterday. I repeat that the shadow Attorney General has written on the question of which elements of international law are most properly followed in this case, and the Attorney General is set to respond, although we suspect that this case would go to the courts in the usual way.
Rachel Blake (Cities of London and Westminster) (Lab/Co-op)
My constituent, the British citizen Jimmy Lai, is in failing health, and I thank the Foreign Secretary and his Department for all their work to uphold his rights under international law. Can the Foreign Secretary share his assessment of the scale of international support for Jimmy Lai’s release?
Hamish Falconer
I can assure my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) that the UK Government intend to stand by our international obligations in relation to the ICC, and in relation to many other things, too.
Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Ind)
After the issuing of the arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, can the Foreign Secretary confirm when the Government will impose the scale of sanctions on Israel, not just individuals, that the Government rightly imposed on Russia after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin? A war crime is a war crime, and an arrest warrant is an arrest warrant. All lives are equal, and we must ensure that there can be no accusations of double standards.
Hamish Falconer
Since the Government took office in July, I hope it has been clear how important questions of international law are to us, how soberly we treat these issues and how we ensure that in all matters, including in relation to the ICC cases that my hon. Friend describes, we follow due process, which is what we intend to do in relation to the ICC.
Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)
The civil war in Sudan is estimated to have killed around 150,000 people and displaced 14 million. UNICEF and the UN World Food Programme say that, unless efforts are stepped up, more than 700,000 children are projected to suffer acute malnutrition, so can the Minister tell us what steps the UK is taking as the UN penholder to end this malnutrition and support the Sudanese?
Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants
Hamish Falconer Excerpts(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
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Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government’s response to the decision taken by the International Criminal Court’s pre-trial chamber I to issue arrest warrants in respect of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)
Last Thursday, judges at the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and the reportedly deceased Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, commonly known as Deif, commander-in-chief of the military wing of Hamas.
The ICC is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern. It is actively investigating allegations of the gravest crimes in countries around the world, including Ukraine, Sudan and Libya. In line with this Government’s stated commitment to the rule of law, we respect the independence of the ICC. We will comply with our international obligations. There is a domestic legal process through our independent courts that determines whether to endorse an arrest warrant by the ICC in accordance with the International Criminal Court Act 2001. That process has never been tested, because the UK has never been visited by an ICC indictee. If there were such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process, and due process would be followed in relation to those issues.
There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, two terrorist organisations. This Government have been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. That right is not under question, and the Court’s approval of the warrants last week does not change that. Israel is of course a partner across UK priorities, including trade, investment, security and science and technology. We co-operate across a wide range of issues for our mutual benefit.
This Government remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza. That is essential to protect civilians, ensure the release of hostages and increase humanitarian aid into Gaza. We have always said that diplomacy is what will see an end to this conflict, and that can only be achieved through dialogue. It is in the long-term interests of the Israelis, Palestinians and the wider region to agree to a ceasefire deal urgently and bring this devastating conflict to an end.
Priti Patel
The International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for the state of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will do nothing to help secure the release of those poor hostages, who have been held captive by Hamas for more than a year. It will not help to get more aid into Gaza, and it will not deliver a sustainable end to this awful conflict. In charging Israeli leaders alongside Hamas, the ICC appears to be drawing a moral equivalence between Israel’s war of self-defence and Hamas terrorism. We utterly reject any moral equivalence. The only beneficiaries of this decision are Hamas and their terrorist sponsors, Iran, who are now celebrating this propaganda coup as a great victory for Hamas and Hezbollah. Since the ICC’s decision, we have had dither from Ministers, confused messaging and no clarity, so I am grateful to the Minister for his remarks today.
The Government have indicated already that they will seek to enforce these warrants through our own courts, and there is a process around that. On the issue of warrants, we have expressed serious concerns over process, jurisdiction and the position on the complementarity principle. We believe that the warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant have no basis in international law. Do the Government believe that the Court has jurisdiction in this case, given that Israel is not party to the Rome statute and Palestine is not a recognised state? Does the Minister agree that the ICC must act within legal norms?
In the absence of the ICC making public the specific context of the charges, does the Minister share the concerns expressed about reports of process errors in the ICC’s investigation and the concerns expressed by Lord Macdonald, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, about the use by the prosecutor of an expert panel? Finally, but crucially, what effect does the Minister believe that Mr Netanyahu’s immunity under international law as a serving Prime Minister of a country that is not a state party has on enforcing these warrants in the UK’s own courts?
These are important questions on which I look forward to the Minister’s response. He has already spoken about securing the release of hostages and more aid coming into Gaza, but at this time when such a conflict is taking place, it is important that we have clarity from the Government.
Hamish Falconer
I welcome the questions from the right hon. Member across the Benches. Utmost in the Government’s mind is the need to bring an immediate end to the conflict in Gaza and to secure the release of the hostages, whose families I have met. She knows that I am familiar with these issues from my previous life. We also need to see more aid going into Gaza. The questions at issue with the ICC are separate from that.
Diplomacy will continue regardless of the ICC process. But I had understood it to be the common position of the House that the international rule of law is an important commitment. The International Criminal Court is an important body—the primary body—in enforcing those norms, and the issues on jurisdiction and complementarity were heard by the pre-trial chamber. Its three judges issued their findings. I think we should respect those.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
The International Criminal Court was created when 120 countries put their names to the Rome statute and signed up to the principle that certain basic standards of behaviour must be enforced internationally, with those laws applicable to everyone, no matter who they were. From the time when Winston Churchill led the Conservative party, this country has been a proud supporter of international law. It is wrong for us to try to undermine it. Does my hon. Friend share my deep disappointment that the Conservatives have fallen as far as they have?
Hamish Falconer
As I think has been clear from our actions from July when we became the Government, the international rule of law is incredibly important to this Government. All our actions will be guided by it.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has had a devastating impact on Palestinian and Israeli civilians, with women and children paying a particularly terrible price. Now that the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for those it believes are culpable, the UK has obligations under international law, which we must uphold. The previous Conservative Government chose to be selective with those obligations when it came to the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. That was deeply regrettable and damaging for our country, and I greatly regret that Conservative Front-Bench Members are pursuing that same line today.
It is right that the Government have committed to uphold the ruling, and I welcome the Minister’s statement that they will support the process to enforce the arrest warrants. Does the Minister share my concern about the words of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has proposed sanctioning nations—including the UK—who uphold the ruling? Will he outline the specific new steps that the Government are taking to secure an immediate bilateral ceasefire with all parties, so that we can put a stop to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, get the hostages home and open the door to a two-state solution?
Hamish Falconer
Every member of the Government—most particularly the Foreign Secretary and the rest of the Foreign Office ministerial team—is engaged every day, including this morning, in pressing all parties for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, and for a de-escalation of violence in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but also more broadly in the middle east, where violence remains far too high.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for the Prime Minister of a democratic state that is a UK ally, having found that there are reasonable grounds that he is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Does that not call for action as well as words from the UK Government, which might include ending trade with illegal settlements, the sanctioning of members of that Government and settlers, and indeed recognition of the state of Palestine if we are to show not only our disapproval, but how we want to move forward?
Hamish Falconer
I recognise my hon. Friend’s long commitment to these issues. As you would expect, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will not comment further on the ICC process, which needs now to carry through in accordance with due process in the way you would expect. On sanctions, which have been discussed before in the Chamber, I am not, in the usual way, at liberty to provide any further commentary on who we might consider for them.
Sir Oliver Dowden (Hertsmere) (Con)
Whatever reservations one may have about the conduct of the conflict in Gaza, there are two fundamental principles: first, Netanyahu is a democratically elected leader of a sovereign state; and secondly, that state is conducting a legitimate war of self-defence. The Minister acknowledges those facts, but does he not appreciate how this ruling is seen by many of my constituents as an affront to those principles?
Hamish Falconer
I am slightly stumped by the questions from the Opposition. We are signatories to the ICC Act. I think the whole House agrees with the importance of the rule of law. Representations were made to the ICC in the pre-trial chamber, and it has come to its decisions. I think we should respect its independence.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
I find it shocking but not surprising that the Conservative party has chosen to downgrade and disparage the highly respected International Criminal Court. We are a nation that upholds the rule of law, so I am proud that the new Labour Government have chosen to respect the independence of the ICC in its arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Mohammed Deif, on the basis that there are reasonable grounds for their criminal responsibility for potential war crimes. Does the Minister agree that it is important that we respect the independence of that ICC judgment and that, if required, we implement those findings?
Hamish Falconer
I am not really able to go much further than to say that there is a domestic legal process, through our independent courts, that would determine whether to endorse an arrest warrant. We would follow due process in the way that hon. Members would expect. This is a decision not for Ministers but for an independent court.
David Davis (Goole and Pocklington) (Con)
The Minister may be aware that I have fought the corner for international courts time and again in this House. I view upholding the authority of those courts and their reputation as very important. The difficulty here is not just that Israel is a democracy, but that it has an internal, independent judiciary, which puts a limit on what any Government can do in Israel. That is why equating—or appearing to equate—Netanyahu with all the other monsters that the International Criminal Court has quite properly prosecuted risks bringing the court into disrepute.
Hamish Falconer
I know that the right hon. Member has looked at these issues over a long period of time. Questions of complementarity are important, and I understand that they were considered by the pre-trial chamber.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)
Several of our allies and international partners have outlined their commitment to fully support the ICC, including Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland, so I welcome the Government’s commitment to respect the independence of the ICC. Does the Minister agree that it has a high evidential threshold for issuing arrest warrants for alleged perpetrators, which has been demonstrated in this case?
Hamish Falconer
The deliberations of the ICC on this matter have gone on for some time. I think it is clear for all to see the way in which it has proceeded, and I welcome it.
Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)
Last week I attended a memorial service for the people of Gaza with families of Palestinian origin here in the UK—I believe the Minister has met some of those representatives. We heard from a woman called Kitam, who described how, overnight, she lost 48 members of her family. As she walked back and sat behind me, she broke down in sobs as she remembered so painfully that day. She deserves justice. The issuing of a warrant is not justice. There is still a process to go through and a trial to be had. Is it not right that, whatever the court, those outcomes are adhered to? May I press him on the ruling of the ICJ advisory opinion on the occupation? That ruling is at the core of this: it should mean that we do much more than just meeting those families and sharing in their pain.
Hamish Falconer
As the hon. Member alludes to, I have met those families, and many other families who have been so wounded by the conduct of this conflict, over the course of the last year—families on both sides, both the hostage families and the many, many Palestinians and Lebanese who have seen their lives so cruelly turned upside down. As I said earlier, in the end it is only diplomacy that will bring an end to the conflict. We will continue to have contact with all sides, including those indicted. We will continue to press all those with whom we engage to bring an early end to this war. On the ICJ, we have set out our position before. We are considering the judgment carefully. We have provided an explanation of our position so far in the United Nations. It is an important, far-reaching judgment and we hope to be able to say more in due course.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister’s confirmation that the UK will be upholding the ICC arrest warrant for the Hamas general and Israeli leaders. The ICC found grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant
“each bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
It goes on to refer to
“the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”
On that last point, what moral justification is there now for continuing arms sales used by Israeli forces at the behest of a Prime Minister accused of such serious war crimes? When will we use every diplomatic lever to stop the killing, free all hostages and stop selling arms to a country led by someone accused of such horrific war crimes?
Hamish Falconer
I would like to just be clear that what I have said this afternoon is not that the Government will uphold arrest warrants. What I have been clear about this afternoon is that due process will be followed. These are questions for independent courts in the UK, and it is independent courts that would review the arrest warrants if that situation were to arise.
My hon. Friend asks about aid. I want to be absolutely clear: insufficient aid is getting into Gaza. I travelled, myself, to the Gaza border and saw the restrictions Israel is putting on aid reaching Gaza. Those restrictions have been called out by me and other Foreign Office Ministers day in, day out. We are taking steps with our partners and our allies to try to ensure that people in Gaza have the aid they need as winter comes in, in order to survive. These are grave matters and I understand the frustration right across the House that we have not seen the amount of aid in Gaza that we would like to see. I recognise that people are asking for yet more to be done. On the specific question about the arms licence suspensions announced to the House on 2 September, we will of course keep that under review. We will consider the findings of the ICC in relation to that assessment.
Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)
Last year, the Labour party had to be dragged into accepting that there was a collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Indeed, the hon. Gentleman’s boss said that “war is ugly”. The Labour party earlier this year had to be dragged into even uttering the word ceasefire. Will the Minister show the leadership that his bosses failed to show, and say that if Benjamin Netanyahu’s feet touch the ground in the UK he will comply with the arrest warrant?
Hamish Falconer
The right hon. Member says with dismay that war is ugly. War is ugly and we are doing everything that we can to bring it to a close through all the diplomatic measures we would expect. This is not an issue for grandstanding; this is an issue for diplomacy. That is what the Government are committed to.
Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Ind)
Surely central to the debate today must be the UK’s ongoing political role as Israel’s close ally, and the fact that UK-made weapons, including components, are still being used by Israel. Does the Minister recognise that beyond the commitment to uphold the ICC’s arrest warrants, the UK’s failure to clearly condemn the collective punishment of civilians—an intent explicitly indicated by key Israeli leading figures—and the continued military support for Israel’s ongoing onslaught in Gaza have serious implications for the UK’s own human rights obligations and the fate of millions of innocent men, women and children?
Hamish Falconer
I will not rehearse too much the answers provided on 2 September and on numerous occasions in the Chamber since then. We have suspended, with one exemption—to which I am happy to return—all the arms that we are selling to Israel that could be used in Gaza. That suspension, in our assessment, also covers the west bank and Lebanon. We are taking action in accordance with our commitments under international humanitarian law, and we will continue to do so.
Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)
Can we be absolutely clear about what the Government are saying? It seems that the Government are not saying that there would be an automatic arrest should Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in this country, but they are saying that there would due process. Can the Minister confirm that
“customary international law…does not permit the arrest or delivery of the serving Prime Minister of a non-State party to the ICC”?
So the Minister is committing himself to due process but not to arrest. Am I correct in my understanding?
Hamish Falconer
There is a domestic legal process through our independent courts, and we cannot prejudge that process. I note that the shadow Attorney General has written to the Attorney General about questions of detail in relation to some of the points to which the hon. Gentleman has alluded, and the Attorney General tells me that he will be writing back on the subject of those more detailed points.
Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)
While we watch and work tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza—which is really important simply because if children do not see an end in sight, neither do the families in Gaza—does the Minister agree that Britain’s reputation on the world scene as a global leader in upholding justice would be undermined if Britain did not respect the independence of the ICC, which is what Conservative Members are implying?
Hamish Falconer
This Government think that adherence to international law, and being seen to adhere to international law, are incredibly important, and in everything we have done since July we have sought to underline that principle, which I hope is one on which the whole House would support us.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
The Minister has assured us that the arrest warrants will be carried out, and I hope that is the case, but will he also consider this question? If an arrest warrant has been issued for the leader of a country, and the International Court of Justice has found that country deeply wanting in respect of its behaviour as an occupying power and the war crimes that have been committed, why are we still supplying weapons that are being used in the bombardment of Gaza and destroying life as we speak?
Hamish Falconer
As I said in answer to a question from my own Benches, we took steps on 2 September to ensure that, with one exemption—which I am happy to go into—we are not selling arms that are being used and could pose a breach of international humanitarian law in Gaza. That continues to be the position, and it is kept under regular review.
Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
The ICC’s decision is a crucial step towards ensuring justice and accountability for the crimes against humanity committed in Gaza and Israel. It is vital for the Government to act without fear or favour in order to uphold the international rules-based system. War crimes are wrong whoever commits them and wherever they happen, whether they are committed by Russian forces in unlawfully occupied Ukraine or by Israeli forces on unlawfully occupied Palestinian territory. Will the Minister now review all diplomatic, economic and political relations with Israel to ensure that our country is not complicit in the atrocities that are taking place in Gaza, the west bank and Lebanon?
Hamish Falconer
I can confirm that the Department and the Government as a whole keep our international obligations under close review, including in relation to the theatres described.
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
Last week I was in the west bank and saw for myself the incursions by settlers into the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Following recent comments from Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who described in explicit terms the active effort to annex the west bank into Israel, does the Minister agree that now is the time to sanction Smotrich?
Hamish Falconer
The comments of Finance Minister Smotrich have been condemned in this Chamber before, and we can reiterate that condemnation. As the hon. Lady would expect, however, we cannot comment on sanctions that may or may not be under consideration in the usual way.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
I am no friend of Hamas, but we must remember that Prime Minister Netanyahu promised us intelligence-led precision attacks in Gaza. We have seen daily violation of international law, 43,000 people killed, restrictions on food and aid, and 136 journalists killed. I welcome the Government’s announcement about respecting the ICC’s decision, but may I urge them to consider using all levers, including sanctions against two Israeli Government Ministers, the settlers in the west bank and other organisations operating therein?
Hamish Falconer
I will not comment on what sanctions may be under review, for reasons that are well established, but I draw my hon. Friend’s attention to the sanctions that we took in October against Israeli settlers and organisations involved in both breaches of international law and violence in the west bank.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Our closest ally is the United States of America, and there has been widespread condemnation of the issuing of these arrest warrants across Congress. What effect does the Minister think this decision will have on our relationship with the United States of America, and particularly with the incoming Administration, who have very different views?
Hamish Falconer
The UK is a state party to the Rome statute, and that brings with it obligations that put us in a different position from that of the US. We will continue to engage with both the current and incoming US Administrations in the shared interest of our two countries and across the full range of our priorities.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The atrocities that led to the issuing of arrest warrants continue to this day, not least in healthcare facilities, with devastating stories coming out of Gaza. My hon. Friend has set out his frustration at aid not reaching such facilities, yet more sanctions could be applied by this Government. Why will he not escalate the UK’s response to the Israeli Government by introducing sanctions so that they feel the real pain of our country but also understand that we want to ensure that justice is served by the ICC?
Hamish Falconer
I want to reassure the House about how focused the Government are on the question of aid access into Gaza. As I say, I have travelled to the region and raised these issues repeatedly with all parties, including the Israeli Government. We need to see a flood of aid into Gaza. That has been the commitment of the Israeli Government, and I regret that we have not yet seen a flood of aid and that Palestinians are suffering as a consequence. Winter is coming, and Palestinians in Gaza are extremely vulnerable. We will continue to press the Israeli Government to do everything that they can to ensure that more aid reaches Gaza and, indeed, all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories that require it. I made these points forcefully this morning, and I will continue to do so.
Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
The ICC has issued arrest warrants for crimes including direct attacks on civilians. Open-source information shows that, on average, Royal Air Force reconnaissance flights are going over Gaza nearly four times a day. Although we all seek the information necessary to gain the release of the hostages, how confident is the Minister that the information gathered from those flights and shared with Israel has not been used to facilitate any attacks on civilians?
Hamish Falconer
I will not go into operational details, but I can assure the House that the surveillance aircraft are unarmed and do not have a combat role. They are tasked solely with locating hostages, including a British national, and they will continue to do so.
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)
In response to the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), I note that the UK under the previous Conservative Government signed an ICC state party statement in support of the ICC and to preserve it from political interference, just before the election. The Foreign Secretary has confirmed the UK’s acceptance of and respect for the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu’s war crimes. Therefore, is it not now incumbent on the Government to take effective, concrete steps to prevent further such acts by banning all arms licences to Israel, including those relating to F-35 parts; by imposing sanctions on individuals, on assets and on goods trading with the illegally occupied west bank; and by the urgent recognition of Palestinian statehood?
Hamish Falconer
I will not rehearse the points that we have already discussed on sanctions. The Foreign Secretary has set out our position in relation to the suspension of arms licences and the F-35 exemptions, and that remains the position. We will keep our assessments under regular review, including the findings of the ICC.
Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)
Frankly, I am disappointed that the Government are not giving any clear responses. I therefore ask this question. In October 2023, over 800 experts in international law and in conflict and genocide studies gave a warning of clear prospects of genocide. In November 2023, over 40 United Nations experts called it a “genocide in the making”. We then had the ICJ judgment that called it a “plausible” genocide, and a judge from the ICJ saying:
“The alarm has now been sounded by the Court. All the indicators of genocidal activities are flashing red in Gaza.”
Now we have an arrest warrant. Do this Government stand by their conviction that genocide is not being committed in Gaza—yes or no?
Hamish Falconer
It is important that we treat the international institutions with the respect that they deserve. This is an indictment from the ICC and we respect it. The ICJ process to which the hon. Gentleman refers has not found; it is at an advisory opinion stage. We need to treat international law with the respect that it deserves.
Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Ind)
The Minister will be aware that, as well as the ICC’s recent decision to issue arrest warrants, there is now an entire body of international law, including the ICJ’s advisory opinion, adopted by the UN General Assembly, ruling Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal, as well as South Africa’s case at the ICJ on genocide, that points towards a clear position in international law. Does the Minister therefore agree that if we are to preserve the integrity of the international rules-based order, we must start by ending the international hypocrisy and double standards and reaffirm that all states, including the UK, have an absolute obligation under international law to act now to bring all those who commit war crimes to justice?
Hamish Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I want to underline this Government’s commitment in relation to accountability for war crimes. We stand against international crimes of this nature in all places, everywhere, and our commitment to international law is one of the most powerful levers we have in trying to prevent war crimes.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
I ask for the Minister’s forgiveness because I did not hear whether he answered this question from my right hon. Friend the shadow Foreign Secretary. Is it his understanding that customary international law does not permit the arrest or delivery of a serving Prime Minister of a non-state party to the ICC, and that the UK seeking to arrest such a Prime Minister would not only breach our international obligations but be unlawful under the International Criminal Court Act 2001?
Hamish Falconer
For the awareness of the House, the shadow Attorney General has written about the two different legal interpretations of immunity and has sought the Attorney General’s view on these matters. I think the shadow Attorney General acknowledges that this is a case on which the courts are the competent authority, but the Attorney General has undertaken to respond to that letter in due course.
Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
The law is the law, and the evidence is the evidence. Whether or not it is politically convenient or diplomatically helpful, the law is the law. The International Criminal Court has been clear, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right to reject the Opposition’s calls to turn this into a political decision. It should remain an independent legal decision for our courts and for the International Criminal Court, and the Minister should continue exactly as he is.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
I welcome the ICC’s decision, and I sincerely hope that we will live up to our international obligations if the Prime Minister of Israel visits the UK. You have said yourself that you regret the fact that more aid is not getting into Gaza, and that you have been calling out the Israeli Government for not letting in more aid. Is it not time to do more than just calling out the Israeli Government and telling them how angry you are? Is it not time to end all arms exports to Israel, impose sanctions, end trade with all the illegal settlements and recognise Palestine as a state?
Hamish Falconer
We will continue to press these points with vigour, and we will continue to keep all other measures under review, as I have said.
Several hon. Members rose—
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
I thought the Conservative party styled itself the party of law and order, but it seems that that is increasingly not the case when it comes to international law. The Government are right to uphold the ICC’s decision, and they were right to vote for last week’s UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire.
The Minister will be aware that there is increasing evidence, including from organisations such as Human Rights Watch, of the forcible displacement of Palestinians from the north of Gaza. He will be aware that this is a crime against humanity, and that two of the main proponents are Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. The Prime Minister has confirmed that the Government are looking at this, so when will the Government move to sanction those Ministers as part of a wider package of further action to uphold international law?
Hamish Falconer
We follow reports from northern Gaza closely and with concern, and we have repeatedly raised many of these issues. I will not comment further on sanctions, but I wish to be clear that the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza is not consistent with Israel’s obligations.
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
Does the Minister agree that one of our greatest tools against tyranny anywhere is that—friend or foe, rich or poor, elected or unelected—the law applies to everybody, and that the universality of certain crimes means that they can be prosecuted anywhere?
Hamish Falconer
As I hope I have made clear this afternoon, this Government are committed to the international rule of law and will continue to be so.
Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Ind)
Despite what the Minister has said, the Government conceded at the royal courts of justice last week that UK-made F-35 parts could be used in violation of international law in Gaza, and admitted that Israel has shown no commitment to upholding these legal obligations. Despite this, the Government have continued to authorise offensive F-35 arms exports, exposing themselves to criminal liability.
It is disappointing that the Foreign Secretary is not here today, but will the Minister let our constituents know whether the Government will end their complicity in genocide, impose sanctions and end all arms sales? Will he confirm that should Netanyahu, who faces an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, enter UK territory, he will be immediately arrested—yes or no?
Hamish Falconer
I will return briefly to the Foreign Secretary’s statement on 2 September, in which he said that
“suspending all licences for the F-35 programme would undermine the global F-35 supply chain that is vital for the security of the UK, our allies and NATO.”—[Official Report, 2 September 2024; Vol. 753, c. 39.]
He went on to set out how the suspension of arms licences would apply to the direct sale of F-35 components to Israel but would not apply to the global supply chain. That continues to be the position.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Forty-three thousand dead; possibly 100,000 under the rubble; schools and hospitals destroyed; 16,000 children killed, including by drones and by being shot in the head—many hon. Members said that this was a genocide many months ago. Now that the ICC prosecutor has called Benjamin Netanyahu a potential serious war criminal committing crimes against humanity, does the Minister agree that now is the time to recognise the state of Palestine and end all military and financial co-operation with the Israeli Government while their leaders are essentially international fugitives?
Hamish Falconer
I will not rehearse our position on the recognition of the state of Palestine, other than to say that we believe that the Palestinians have an inalienable right to a state alongside a safe and secure Israel. The Government hope to take steps to advance that as part of a contribution to a two-state solution.
The hon. Member suggests, I think, no contact at all with the Israeli Government as a consequence of the ICC ruling. It is only diplomacy that will bring an end to this conflict. We will continue to have direct contact, and in that direct contact we will continue to do all we can to secure an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, aid into Gaza and a more safe, secure and stable middle east.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)
I say this to my hon. Friend as constructively as I possibly can: a number of us have sat here for months and have asked questions about sanctions, but the response from Ministers has been to say, “We cannot comment on sanctions in the House.” Not only does that render sanctions ineffective, but it breaks down the accountability of Ministers to this House. We deserve a better statement than that.
On the legal process, my hon. Friend has rightly said that we will respect international law and comply with the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction and decisions. If I have got the wording right, he said that it will be for the domestic legal processes involved. Where does physical arrest come within that domestic legal process?
Hamish Falconer
Let me deal with why we do not provide advance comment on sanctions, and then I will turn to the domestic legal process.
I hear my right hon. Friend. The reason that we do not provide commentary on sanctions is that to do so in advance would reduce their effect. The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office—my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), who is sitting next to me—may correct me, but I think that we have probably issued upwards of 50 or maybe even 100 sanctions in the short time we have been in government. There has been no shortage of sanctions for this House to comment on. I recognise that the two on which I have most been pressed this afternoon are of intense political interest; however, despite that intense political interest, if we were to prejudge sanctions and trail them in this House before we made them, we would reduce their impact. The same is true of the hundreds of sanctions that we have placed on Russia over the years, and it would be the same in every forum.
In relation to the domestic legal process, I hope that my right hon. Friend will forgive me for not entering too deeply into hypotheticals about how a court might discharge its findings on these matters.
John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)
Israel is a democracy. In the past, its courts have shown themselves unafraid to put even senior politicians on trial. What assessment has the Minister made of the Israelis’ own ability to bring human rights cases in their own courts?
Hamish Falconer
This is described in international law as the question of complementarity, and it was considered by the pre-trial chamber. Given the independence of the ICC, I do not think it appropriate for me to offer further commentary. Arguments were made by various states on this matter, and the pre-trial chamber came to its findings.
Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that as well as demanding an immediate ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and unhindered aid getting into Gaza, we must ensure that the perpetrators of heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity, whether they are friend or foe, are held to account under international law based on justice that is blind, objective and impartial? Playing politics with courts undermines justice.
Hamish Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Support for international criminal justice and accountability has traditionally been a matter on which we have had widespread support in this House. It will continue to be a priority for the British Government.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
The ICC, the world’s highest criminal court, has “reasonable grounds” to allege that the Israeli leaders are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The other world court, the International Court of Justice, has found that there is “plausible” risk that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians and that Israel’s occupation and annexation are unlawful.
I ask the Minister two questions. First, does he agree that the UK has obligations under international law to prevent genocide, to bring Israel’s unlawful occupation to an end and to bring suspected perpetrators of grave breaches of international law to justice? Secondly and quite simply, what will the UK do differently as a result of the decisions of the ICC and the ICJ? The Minister says that he will pull out all the stops. We have heard many suggestions here today, including stopping the export of F-35s. What will the Government do differently?
Hamish Falconer
Do the Government accept that we have international obligations? Indeed we do. I have set out this afternoon how we would discharge them in relation to the ICC; I have also set out the view that we take on the ICJ process. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that there is proper international justice that all abide by. We are one of the ICC’s major funders: we commit £13.2 million a year to ensure that the ICC can function properly. In everything that this Government do, we are trying to ensure the international rule of law, and we will continue to do so.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)
The UK has a responsibility not just to respect the independence of international courts, but to take active steps to promote compliance with international obligations. When nations or leaders have been accused of committing war crimes, the UK has held itself up as a global leader in placing sanctions. It is unconscionable that in this situation we are yet to stop all sales of arms to Israel. If Israel is accused of committing war crimes, does the continued sale of any arms to Israel not make the UK potentially complicit? Given the gravity of the situation, will the Minister further clarify why he cannot comment on sanctions, or indeed on the other steps that the Government are planning or willing to take to make clear the UK’s condemnation of the continued slaughter of civilians in Gaza?
Hamish Falconer
Let me comment on arms sales, as they have been raised again. I will not rehearse the arguments about the F-35 exemption. In relation to the arms that are licensed to be sold to Israel, the category that has been suspended is the category that posed a risk of being involved in breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Those weapons, we also believe, would be the weapons at issue in the west bank and in Lebanon. There is a second category of weapons that are for resale elsewhere, which is not relevant to events in Israel. There is a third category of weapons that are used either for defensive purposes or for purposes with which nobody in this House would disagree: body armour and helmets for aid workers going into Gaza, for example.
I say gently to colleagues across the House that there is not, in the rest of the arms sales, some solution to the dilemma that faces us. The suspension of arms sales has been done carefully and has been aimed at the potential breach of international humanitarian law. It has been reached carefully and judiciously, including in relation to the F-35. That remains the position.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
I have a degree of sympathy with the Minister, who has been asked to substitute in lieu of the Foreign Secretary today, so I will ask him a question of fact. Does he recognise that pursuant to section 23(6) of the International Criminal Court Act 2001, representatives of a non-state party to the Rome statute will remain immune from prosecution unless that non-state party expressly waives that right to the ICC?
Hamish Falconer
I do not need sympathy, just careful listening. The same question was asked by the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes), and the answer is the same. The shadow Attorney General has raised the matter with the Attorney General, and a letter will be sent in due course.
Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Ind)
I must press the Minister on the question of F-35 arms sales. He mentions direct and indirect arms sales, and he says that the indirect arms sales are either irrelevant or impossible to remedy. As I understand it, there is no reason why F-35 parts that are made in the UK, sold to the United States and used by Israel cannot be subject to a conditional licence under which they are sold to the United States with the proviso that they cannot be used in Gaza. Given that, how can it be legally or morally justifiable to continue allowing UK parts for fighter jets that are being used to kill Palestinian children to be exported even indirectly to an Israeli leader who faces an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity? We hear about the review, but while that review has been ongoing under the last Government and this one, thousands and thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed.
Hamish Falconer
For clarity, we have suspended arms licences where parts for the F-35 programme are sold directly to Israel. Where they are sold to the global spares pool, it is not possible to disentangle where they go in that pool and see their final destination. That is why we have made the exemption, and it is why we judge that doing so is vital for the security of the UK, for our allies and for NATO.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Does the Minister agree that the cold-blooded slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people in Gaza cannot be justified as self-defence? Does he also agree that—contrary to the Trumpian line adopted by those on the Conservative Benches—just because a country is a democracy, that does not provide it with blanket immunity from international law?
Hamish Falconer
The hon. Member refers to the terrible loss of life in Gaza, which is in the minds and hearts of the whole House. We are a democracy, as much as signatories to petitions may wish otherwise. We abide by international law and we expect our allies to do the same, and we make that point with force.
Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)
Let us remind this House why we are here. Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant stand accused of very serious crimes: the crime against humanity of murder, and the crime against humanity of persecution and starvation as a weapon of war. Seventy per cent of those killed in this war are innocent women and children. Nobody in this House can think of a war in living memory in which 70% of those killed were women and children.
I want to ask the Minister a very specific question, because he has evaded all of this so far. Can he tell us one concrete step that he will take—apart from executing the arrest warrants, as the UK is obliged to do as a state party to the Rome statute—that we can all tangibly grasp? We would like to hear it, please.
Hamish Falconer
I have been clear about what the Government have done and will continue to do. If the hon. Member would like a recap, on the very first morning that I became a Minister, we announced the restoration of funding to UNRWA. We have provided significant aid to the people of Gaza. We have provided aid that has not got into Gaza, and we have raised that with the Israelis. My ministerial colleagues and I have travelled to the region to press these issues, both alone and in company with the French Foreign Minister.
This House is united in its concern about what will happen in Gaza in December. There is no disagreement that insufficient aid has gone in. There are urgent, almost frantic efforts every day in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to try to ensure that adequate aid reaches the Palestinians. I understand the frustration of this House. We are working as hard as we can and we will continue to do so. We take concrete action each and every day on this issue.
Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
The ICC found that there is no justification under international humanitarian law for the restriction of aid by the Israeli Government. Indeed, the ICC detailed how doctors have been forced to carry out treatments and amputations without anaesthetic, including on children. The Government’s response must include redoubling our efforts to get more aid into Gaza. Can my hon. Friend confirm what pressure is being put on the Israeli Government, in addition to what we have already done, to get more aid into Gaza?
Hamish Falconer
In addition to the steps I have just outlined, we will be working closely with our partners and I hope to be able to update the House shortly on some of the measures we are taking, in company, to try to ensure that sufficient aid gets into Gaza, particularly over this vital winter period.
Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)
The ICC arrest warrants are welcome, but in themselves they will not bring an end to Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing and the killing of innocent men, women and children. It is an international legal obligation on the UK Government to prevent ethnic cleansing and genocide. Will the Minister explain what specific measures the Government have taken and are taking to stop Israel’s ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza and what concrete steps the UK Government have taken to comply with the genocide convention?
Hamish Falconer
The hon. Member asked about northern Gaza and some of the specific measures that have been taken. As I said in answer to a previous question, we have been paying close attention to events in northern Gaza. By way of example, we watched closely—with horror—the events at Kamal Adwan hospital. I raised them myself repeatedly with the Israeli authorities and urged them to preserve life at that hospital, including among the children. We take every opportunity to underline to the Israelis their responsibilities as an occupying power in the whole of Gaza, but particularly in northern Gaza, and indeed the obligations that fall to them in relation to medical facilities, particularly where there is ongoing treatment of children, as there was in that case.
I recognise the hon. Member’s frustration at the situation in northern Gaza. We are clear that northern Gaza must not be cut off from the south. There must be no forcible transfer of Gazans from or within Gaza, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza strip. The Government of Israel must minimise evacuation notices to only areas where they are militarily necessary, provide timely and consistent information on when and where they take effect, and be clear on where it is safe for civilians to move to.
The polio vaccination roll-out has now ended, but an estimated 6,800 to 13,700 children in northern Gaza were not reached due to intense Israel Defence Forces activity. That is deplorable. Delayed vaccination of any child in Gaza puts them at risk and is unacceptable, and we make those points to the Israelis. I recognise the hon. Member’s frustration, but we are doing what we can to try to ensure that children and others in northern Gaza have access to the aid they need.
Dan Aldridge (Weston-super-Mare) (Lab)
Many of my constituents have written to me to express their horror at what is happening in Gaza. Does the Minister agree that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency plays an indispensable role in the provision of humanitarian assistance, and does he oppose the Bills recently passed in the Knesset that would prevent UNRWA’s operation?
Hamish Falconer
I thank my hon. Friend for passing on the concern of his constituents; I know that that is felt right across the country and that many other Members would wish to put on record the concern of their constituents too. I do condemn the Knesset Bill in relation to UNRWA. We have made the point clear that UNRWA is indispensable. Only UNRWA can provide the aid into the Occupied Palestinian Territories at the scale required, and we will continue to press for UNRWA’s continued operation in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
It is crucial that the Labour Government comply with our obligations under international law to uphold the ICC’s ruling and enforce the arrest warrants against Israeli Ministers. That compliance is vital, given the previous Conservative Government’s besmirching of the International Criminal Court and, in turn, damaging of the UK’s standing on the world stage. Many of my constituents in Wokingham would like to see the UK stand up for what is right and see that the UK does not turn its back on international law. Will the Minister confirm that the Government will not undermine the ICC’s ruling by unequivocally agreeing to uphold the arrest warrants?
Hamish Falconer
I reassure the hon. Member and ask him to pass on to his constituents that this Government will indeed do the right thing and stand up for international law. I have set out the manner in which we would do that over the course of this afternoon.
Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Ind)
I welcome the Government’s commitment to uphold their obligations under international law and therefore to issue arrest warrants to these men if they set foot on British soil. If the Government acknowledge that the Prime Minister of Israel should be on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, how—morally and legally—can we continue to supply him with the weapons being used by Israel in its horrific assault on innocent civilians in Gaza?
Hamish Falconer
I have outlined our position in relation to both our international and domestic obligations to the ICC and our position on arms sales. I reassure my hon. Friend that we will consider the findings of the ICC in the ongoing review process in relation to arms sales.
Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)
I am truly perplexed, as most of the British population watching this debate no doubt will be, by some of the arguments being advanced. When it comes to the ICC, topics such as morality and equivalence do not feature; this is a principle of law. An independent body, encapsulating some of the most senior members of the judiciary, has made a finding, yet we have the issues of democracy and morality being used to argue for some sort of impunity for leaders. Will the Minister state that if Benjamin Netanyahu arrived on these shores, if the ICC had issued warrants, we would at least detain him, subject to our domestic procedures?
Hamish Falconer
The hon. Member makes an impassioned and welcome commitment to due process and the independence of the law, and I will not demur from that by providing commentary on what domestic courts might do in a hypothetical situation.
Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)
I am frankly astonished at the principle underlying some of the comments made by the shadow Foreign Secretary and some of her Conservative colleagues today. I have been giving assemblies to primary school children across the Earley and Woodley constituency emphasising that British democracy means that nobody is above the rule of law. I hope that one day, Conservative Members might understand what the children of the Earley and Woodley constituency instinctively understand, which is that we should be equal under the law, whether we are the political leaders of a democracy or otherwise. That is why I welcome the Minister’s statement that the Government will comply with their international obligations.
The Minister has set out the work he has been doing in travelling to the region and witnessing at first hand the blockage of aid into Gaza by the Israeli Government. The United Nations states that over 83% of food aid has been blocked, which of course leads to the risk and ongoing fact of starvation in the region. What can the Minister and the Government do in line with our positive obligation under international law to prevent future atrocities occurring in Gaza?
Hamish Falconer
The Government are deeply concerned by the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification finding about food insecurity in Gaza. We are making efforts to try to ensure a more rapid and regular flow of aid, including items that have been barred, which often seem to be those that are most vital for winterisation—as the international humanitarian community call it—in Gaza. We will continue to press for more flexibility on these points, so that the necessary tents, sleeping bags and other equipment required to safeguard Palestinian life over the course of the winter can move in at the scale that is required.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
Having seen and lived through the misuse of lawfare in Northern Ireland, whereby the terrorist uses law to target those who seek to live by the law while ignoring the fact that every one of their actions is illegal, I very firmly oppose the UK’s stamp of approval on any ICC decision on Israel. It is only when you—not “you” meaning the Minister, but “you” meaning me—have been the victim of whitewashing propaganda, as Unionists have in Northern Ireland, that you truly understand the danger. Will the Minister not recall that Israel has been defending itself under perpetual attack, and that this ICC ruling is simply affirming the Hamas agenda of hiding terrorism behind women and children, sacrificing them to achieve their goal? That goal is clear: to wipe Israel off the map. That is something that we can never support, and I hope the Minister will never support it either.
Hamish Falconer
I do not support the actions of Hamas—I condemn them outright and utterly. The actions of Hamas, including the continued keeping of hostages, represent unspeakable cruelty, both to the Israeli people and to British nationals. We do not forget Emily Damari, who is still held more than a year since she was taken. That being said, we can both condemn terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah and encourage our allies to keep to the very highest standards, and our commitment to international law is part of that contribution.
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
I have just returned from the west bank, where I met Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs, and saw UNRWA’s work at first hand. In the west bank alone, that work includes running 97 schools and 43 health centres and providing public services such as clean drinking water and rubbish collection. Does the Minister agree that there is no viable alternative to UNRWA, and will he do everything in his power to ensure Israel allows its vital operations to continue?
Hamish Falconer
I do agree. There is no alternative to UNRWA, and we will raise those points, both directly with Israel and in company. It is vital that UNRWA, underpinned by a succession of UN Security Council resolutions, is able to continue its vital work, both in the west bank and Gaza and across the wider region.
Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)
Can the Minister reassure us that he and other Ministers have directly pressed Israel on compliance with international humanitarian law in their meetings with their counterparts?
Hamish Falconer
I can. I did this morning, and I will continue to do so.
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
Emily is a British citizen who, as the Minister has said, has been held hostage ever since the attacks. Would the Minister explain what measures the Government are taking to make contact with those holding the hostages so that we can bring Emily home?
Hamish Falconer
Hostage cases are some of the most horrifying situations that a family can face. I know that many people in this House have met with Emily’s family, and have seen at first hand their bravery, but also the agony that they feel a year on. I regret deeply that the best chance of release for all of the hostages is through negotiated agreements, and I call on all parties to come back to the table to try to advance the agreement necessary to secure a release of hostages, an immediate ceasefire, and a reduction in the awful violence that scars us all.