Oral Answers to Questions

Jamie Stone Excerpts

Tuesday 17th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I want to thank my hon. Friend very much for his work in this sphere. There is no one who knows the Kurdistan Regional Government or Kurdistan better than he does. Clearly, to a great extent the troubles that are now befalling that area were anticipated. We saw this coming, and we warned our friends in Kurdistan that it would happen. My hon. Friend also did a great job of warning them. We now have to manage a very difficult situation, and it calls for calm heads and negotiation.

[Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)]

T3. Will the Foreign Secretary respond to claims by a senior German politician, Michael Fuchs, that the Foreign Secretary is a significant factor in holding back progress in Brexit talks? Does he believe that his recent interventions on Brexit help or hinder these negotiations?

[Boris Johnson]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave a moment ago. The Government are united on a very coherent policy, and we made a very generous offer. If I may say to the gentleman that he quotes, whose name I did not, alas, catch, it is up to our friends and partners in the EU to look seriously at the offer we are making, particularly on citizens, and to make progress. Everybody wants to make progress, and everybody wants to give the 3.2 million EU citizens in this country the maximum possible reassurance and security. That can only happen once our friends and partners decide to get serious in these negotiations.