Nepal: UK Government Support

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I join others in praising my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) for securing this very helpful debate. Nepal is a country of remarkable people, soaring beauty and extraordinary fragility. Its people are brave and resilient, but also increasingly vulnerable. The poverty levels in Nepal are still shockingly high; more than 20% of the population live below the poverty line and, on the key human development indexes, Nepal ranks 146th out of 193 countries.

I first visited Nepal at the end of its civil war—a conflict that killed more than 17,000 people and left more than 100,000 displaced. The scale and length of that conflict still leave a long tail, but now it is the grim reality of climate change that headlines the ongoing story of Nepal’s vulnerability and fragility.

As other hon. Members have already referenced, the catastrophic floods of 26 August killed at least 1,455 people in Nepal, with more than 5,000 still missing, according to the latest figures. It was good to see the UK quickly announce £5 million in emergency humanitarian assistance, delivered through UN agencies, the Red Cross and local organisations. It was also good to see the Minister’s colleague, Baroness Winterton, visit Nepal quickly in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

It is worth referencing that Nepal’s estimated recovery and reconstruction requirements are approximately £5 billion, including measures to improve resilience against future disasters. On its own, Nepal will simply not have the scale of finances available to put the right measures in place. It is therefore surely incumbent on the UK, as a long-standing friend, to continue to engage with the Nepalese and the international community to find a solution to those financing challenges.

Our relationship with Nepal extends well beyond development assistance; it encompasses the Gurkha service, which has been referenced already, cultural links, educational connections and a significant Nepalese diaspora in the UK. In Harrow, I have regular contact with the significant Nepalese community, notably with Raj Tripathi, who is an active member of the Nepalese community in south Harrow. I have attended community fundraising efforts, bringing residents together to raise money for those affected by the disaster. I pay particular tribute to the south Harrow business community for coming together to raise funds to send to Nepal and help their friends begin to recover.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

We do not have a substantial Nepalese community in Cornwall, but I want to mention Mr Sharma and his family, who own Balti Curries in my constituency. They immediately launched an appeal and raised more than £2,600 in a short period of time. That shows how important the community is, even in places such as Cornwall.

[Gareth Thomas]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituent and to her support for his fundraising efforts. The speed with which the British Nepalese community has responded to the disaster—raising funds and getting them back to friends and families in the affected communities—has been nothing other than impressive.

In his speech, will the Minister dwell on how the international community will respond to the disaster going forward? Inevitably, when a humanitarian disaster strikes there is a lot of media attention, which helps to galvanise different parts of the international community. Sadly, it is often once the media attention moves on that the most important assistance is needed, to make sure that the long effort to rebuild communities and create more effective development assistance going forward is put in place. Britain has a long track record of an effective development operation. Given our links to Nepal, and given its needs, surely we have a particular responsibility to stay the course, working with China and India on efforts to raise the funds and see them used in the most effective way possible to support the recovery of those communities.

The last time I visited Nepal, it was to look at development work that was just beginning to help manage the impact of climate change. I mention that because, at the UN General Assembly, Balendra Shah, Nepal’s Prime Minister, described the floods as “not just a local tragedy”

but

“a warning to the world”,

and argued that climate change is destabilising the Himalayan ecosystem. Scientific studies and World Weather Attribution analysis suggest that climate change likely contributed to the glacier retreat and permafrost thaw, increasing instability in the mountains, although researchers have suggested that it was not the sole cause of the collapse. Experts argue that the disaster highlights the need for stronger glacial monitoring going forward, further honing of early warning systems, hazard mapping and cross-border information sharing. They note that the current coverage of such systems in Nepal and across the Himalayan regions remains relatively limited. I feel the UK could certainly add value in sorting that out.

The UN has highlighted extensive damage to roads, power networks and water and sanitation systems, again underlining the importance of rebuilding infrastructure in ways that reduce vulnerability to future disasters. Infrastructure is usually the preserve of the multilateral banks in the international development system. We play a key role in funding the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and others. It would be good to hear from the Minister in this debate, or by letter if that is not possible, what role Britain is playing to make sure that the World Bank and other bits of the multilateral system are stepping up their efforts in that regard.

We must recognise that there is an ongoing responsibility to support Nepal’s development beyond just providing humanitarian aid and ideas. Nepal needs more trade and investment. Although India and China should and could do more in that regard, given our historical role and our links to Nepal in the Commonwealth, we can surely do more to help Nepalese businesses to access trade opportunities in the UK. Will the Minister encourage his officials to explore options for a British-Nepalese investment conference to boost trade and explore opportunities for British businesses perhaps to invest more in Nepalese businesses in the UK? Lastly, I echo my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central in asking for an update from the MOD about the issues affecting MOD pensions for a number of Gurkha veterans.

Israel and Palestine

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Government’s decision last week to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, strengthen sanctions and state clearly that Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful was very welcome. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains appalling. There have been more than 1,303 fatalities and 4,336 injuries in Gaza since the ceasefire began in October 2025, with children being the most affected. Two thirds of the population still face critical, emergency levels of hunger, according to the World Food Programme, and the water situation is catastrophic, with Gazans dependent on water trucks normally reserved for the immediate aftermath of a crisis. Although more aid is now getting in, for a long time that was not the case, with Israel restricting lifesaving supplies, leading to a man-made famine being declared in August 2025 by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification famine review committee.

Additionally, for the past three years Gaza has been the deadliest place on earth to be a humanitarian, making up more than half of the humanitarian deaths around the world. It is in that context that my constituent James Henderson—Jim—was providing vital security support for World Central Kitchen in Gaza in 2024. A former Royal Marine, his family say that he was passionate about doing good and showing up for people in dire need thousands of miles from home. On 1 April 2024, Jim, along with six colleagues, was travelling in a clearly marked World Central Kitchen convoy on a road identified as accessible for humanitarian aid, transporting food to the north of the Gaza strip, close to the famine. The convoy was subject to an IDF drone attack and all seven humanitarian workers were killed.

I welcome the steps that the Government have taken to secure accountability since the attack, including pressing the Israeli ambassador for an investigation, and I know that the former Prime Minister, Middle East Minister and Foreign Secretary met with the Henderson family. I was very disappointed to hear on 19 August that Israel will not be launching a criminal investigation into the attack. The joint statement by the Governments of the UK, Australia and Canada condemning the situation as shameful was exactly the right thing to do, and I strongly believe that further action must be taken.

Rather than demonstrating remorse, the commanding officer, Colonel Mendel, has reportedly sought to justify the strikes and said that he does not regret the order that he made. The IDF has maintained that it believed that Hamas had taken control of the WCK convoy after it allegedly deviated from an approved route. However, World Central Kitchen has strongly disputed that account, stating that the IDF was fully aware of the convoy’s movements, activities and purpose. An independent investigation into the WCK killings remains essential to establish the full facts of what occurred and deliver justice for the victims and their families. Confidence in the integrity of any investigation depends on it being independent and transparent.

The family and I would like the Minister’s confirmation on one point. There have been persistent rumours that there were RAF planes flying that day and that they passed intelligence on the convoy to the IDF. Will the Minister reconfirm that that was not the case?

What happened to Jim and the other brave humanitarian workers should never have happened. Aid workers play a critical role in saving lives in conflict zones and must be able to carry out their work safely and without fear of being targeted. I was pleased to hear the Minister for the Middle East agree earlier that those responsible for the deaths must be held to account. The international community must send a clear message that attacks on humanitarian personnel by the IDF cannot go without justice.

Israel and Palestine

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is just the beginning of what we must do in this endeavour, and there is so much more to do.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

My constituent, Jim Henderson, was killed in the World Central Kitchen attack on 1 April 2024. Two weeks ago, the Israeli authorities said there would be no further investigation. Our Government and the Canadian and Australian Governments condemn that decision. The commander who ordered the strike said he does not regret it. What more can we do to ensure there is accountability?

[Ed Miliband]

I send my deepest condolences to the family of my hon. Friend’s constituent. What happened was a horrifying event. Those were people trying to make a difference in a humanitarian way to the people of Gaza. I will endeavour to talk to her, along with the Minister for the Middle East, about whether we can do more on that issue and what that might be.

Community-owned Assets: Government Support

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We have had this exchange at the Dispatch Box previously; the Government embarked on local government reorganisation as a point of necessity, not because we either desired it or thought it would be fun to do so. Ultimately, local government is under huge amounts of pressure. We need to have local councils—the beating heart of our communities—that are sustainable, that have a footprint local people can recognise and that can do the job of enabling our communities. That is our firm intention through the local government process, but we recognise that alongside that it is critical that we build and support at community level. That is why, in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, we are introducing the roll-out of neighbourhood governance and why, through our Pride in Place programme, we are fundamentally empowering communities, which should be at the very heart of how we drive change in our places.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister agree that Pride in Place is a fantastic programme, which will help campaigns such as the Save the Stag campaign in my constituency to buy their local pub, but that it has not reached all corners of the country yet? Will she confirm that she will look at how Pride in Place extends and is calculated, so that areas like mine in Cornwall can also benefit?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

There are two things I would say: there is the programme and we have just announced another 40 places; and there are more parts of the country that are in need of support. With Pride in Place, investment is already going into place, but we are very keen to take the approach where we also think about how we put communities in control of some of that investment so that they can drive the priorities and ensure that the investment the Government are making in every part of the country actually works for the community. This approach is fundamental to the way the Government do things: we say that communities should be in the driving seat, driving priorities and ensuring that the investment coming into their area is working in their interests.

The Pride in Place programme complements the rights we are giving to neighbourhood boards, and the freedom to invest in community ownership and renewal. That might mean restoring a valued building or bringing empty spaces back into use. Whatever the priority, it has to be driven locally and not imposed from Whitehall.

Ambassador to the United States

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Tuesday 16th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alec Shelbrooke]

I took that intervention because I knew the hon. Gentleman would not be able to help himself. The reality is the Prime Minister made all this thing about, “I’ve appointed an ethics adviser, I’ve done this—” and yet, when asked the very straightforward question by the BBC, “Would you sack a Minister who has broken the ethics code?” he could not answer. He obfuscated, as he always does. This is smoke and mirrors, and this is exactly the situation we find ourselves in today.

It is not good enough to say, “We didn’t know.” I come back to the fact that people who were subject to a paedophile had to watch somebody who defended that paedophile get put in one of the highest offices in the world, carrying some of the greatest secrets of state—and yet this Prime Minister said, “That’s all fine; we’ll override it.”

I do not want to go beyond the six minutes I was allowed, Madam Deputy Speaker, so I will just ask these questions of the Minister—some of them have been implied.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the right hon. Member give way?

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

The IPC has declared only four famines since it was established in 2004. In August, it declared one in Gaza City. It said:

“this Famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed”.

The non-governmental organisations I have spoken to have been unable to get any aid into Gaza since March. Save the Children has 45 trucks of aid, including medicine, shelter items and hygiene kits, waiting in warehouses, and Oxfam has been unable to bring in any menstrual supplies.

Humanitarian access also means ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers. The year 2024 was the deadliest on record to be an aid worker, and Gaza is the deadliest place on Earth to be an aid worker. On 1 April 2024, one of my constituents, James Henderson, was killed alongside other aid workers from World Central Kitchen while taking humanitarian aid into Gaza. It was not an isolated incident. Between 7 October 2023 and August 2025, 508 humanitarian personnel have been killed.

I welcome the statement by the previous Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), on the IPC ruling made on 22 August. I also welcome the diplomatic and economic measures that the Government have already taken with allies. However, the situation is becoming ever more desperate. Many constituents constantly ask me what more we can do and what more action we can take. Some, such as Kerenza, who I saw yesterday, are taking time off work to support the flotilla, and some are protesting.

With the other three Labour MPs for Cornwall, I have asked for clear diplomatic and economic action with our allies, such as extending further sanctions—

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

Order.