Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Paul Masterton

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her good wishes. She once bought me a cappuccino in Portcullis House, and I look forward to returning the favour in No. 10, if that is what happens. I can confirm that we will continue to support the renewal of UNRWA’s mandate and the vital work it does.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

T2. Earlier this month, a school in the beautiful Israeli town of Sderot was hit by a rocket—one of 800 fired from Gaza this year. What message do the UK Government have for the innocent Israeli civilians living in constant fear of terror, and does the Minister agree that there will be no progress until terror groups stop prioritising the eradication of Israel over peace?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Paul Masterton

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

22. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle the persecution of Christians overseas.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

It is a pleasure to interrupt a mammoth Cabinet meeting to enjoy the harmony and consensus for which the House is famous. [Laughter.]

The United Kingdom has long championed freedom of religion, but I think we should do more for the estimated 240 million Christians who face persecution for their faith around the world. I have therefore asked the Bishop of Truro to conduct a review, which I hope he will deliver in the summer.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

I pay tribute to the Department for International Development, which has allocated £12 million recently specifically to promote freedom of religious belief. The gist of my hon. Friend’s question is right—where we have a large aid budget, with countries such as Afghanistan, it is absolutely essential that we make it clear to the Government in those countries that we are expecting progress on freedom of religious belief. We need to remember that many of the worst conflicts in the world have happened because people of different religions have clashed, so promoting harmony between religions is one of the best long-term ways of promoting peace.

[Paul Masterton]

Does the Foreign Secretary share my concern that often the persecution of Christians does not get the attention that it deserves—almost as though there was a bizarre hierarchy of victims, whereby they are not deserving of the same degree of attention as others? If we are serious about tackling freedom of religious belief and expression, we need to ensure that much more attention is given to some of the awful examples of persecution of Christians right around the world, and that the Government are not ashamed to step up and call it out.

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right. I think it is fair to say that there has been some hesitation in the past in our embracing the issue of persecution of Christians—whether from a misguided concern about our history and the role of missionaries, I do not know—but now is the time when we have to put all that behind us and say that freedom of religious belief is an essential and indivisible part of freedom, full stop. The UK should always be on the right side of that issue.

Yemen

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Paul Masterton

Wednesday 21st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I will always listen to the hon. Gentleman, who is a former humanitarian worker. He is right that safe transport to the talks in Sweden, and the ability to get back to Yemen afterwards, is a big concern of the Houthis. I am confident that we are pretty much there in terms of resolving the issue. He is right to say that the situation is urgent, and we need to listen carefully to Houthi concerns if we are to build up trust on their side to allow them to engage in a way they did not feel able to do in August.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

How confident is the Foreign Secretary that the tough messages he has taken to the region are being listened to, especially in Tehran, given the strongly destabilising effect Iran has in this conflict? While the resolution is incredibly welcome, if it is not complied with, it will not amount to much more than words on a piece of paper that will not save any lives.

[Mr Hunt]

I hope that it is a little bit more than that. I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns, but the resolution talks about a cessation of hostilities. It is a step short of a ceasefire, but it is something that we hope might happen. To fully answer the previous question and my hon. Friend’s question together, the cessation of the bombing of the civilian areas of Hodeidah is an important part of the equation to build up trust. That can lead to some progress, but we have been disappointed before.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Paul Masterton

Tuesday 4th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We will keep going with a whole range of activities. As well as the visit of my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East, the Prime Minister spoke to President Rouhani on 10 May. I spoke to Foreign Minister Zarif on 24 August, and I hope to meet him at the United Nations General Assembly. I am also willing to go to Tehran, if necessary.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

What steps are the Government taking to ensure that Iran cannot use its embassies in the UK to harbour terrorists?

[Mr Hunt]

We take all steps necessary to make sure that does not happen. When we have any evidence of that kind of activity, we react accordingly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Paul Masterton

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Last year we gave more than 4,000 visas for overseas doctors and since I have been Health Secretary we have had nearly 10,000 more doctors, so we absolutely want to address that problem.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

My constituent Susan is desperately waiting for the Government to bring forward the remedial order for single parent surrogates. The Joint Committee on Human Rights published its response to the original draft in March. Is there any update on when we will get the next version?

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Paul Masterton

Wednesday 21st February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I understand the respectful tone in which the hon. Gentleman has asked this question. I do not think that anyone has a better track record than Baroness Cumberlege on campaigning for women’s health issues. In her career, she has shown an absolute willingness to take on the medical and scientific establishments when she thinks that that is the right thing to do, and she does so with a great deal of knowledge and a huge amount of passion, so I have every confidence that she will do a good job.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

I welcome the statement today. The Secretary of State will be aware that we had a mesh review in Scotland, but unfortunately it quickly lost the confidence of patient groups, who branded it a whitewash after chapters were deleted and evidence was a re-presented. Can he assure me that patient groups will not be treated as an inconvenience, and that the real-life personal experiences of these women who have been crippled by mesh implants will be taken fully into account and taken seriously?

[Mr Hunt]

I wish I could say to my hon. Friend that those people’s terrible suffering has been taken as seriously as it should have been, but the truth is that we have a system that has not treated patients’ concerns with the seriousness that it should have done. That is why we want to make the important changes that we are announcing today.