Commonwealth Meeting and the Philippines

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That decision rests with the Sri Lankan Government. I do not think it is fair to say that they have done nothing in response to the need for action or, indeed, international pressure. As I said, the fact that an election has taken place in the Northern Province and a new Chief Minister has been elected who is part of the Tamil National Alliance is a very positive step forward. We will not get anywhere if we do not point to the positive things that are happening as well as being very tough and firm about where further action is needed.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Yesterday in church I heard the moving testimony of some Filipino members of our congregation about the effects of the disaster on their families and relatives. Further to the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker), does the Prime Minister agree that we should be working very closely with the large Filipino community in the United Kingdom on how we can continue to help in the future development and rescue of the country?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has lots of expertise in the area of aid and development, and I am sure that he will want to work on this issue with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, who has recently met the Philippine ambassador here in the UK. We want to bring all these brains to bear to make sure we get the right development and reconstruction effort together.