Cluster Munitions

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Wednesday 9th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate and admire the passion with which he presents his case. Does he think that the UK’s position, given the role that the previous Prime Minister played in the Oslo convention, is looked at with particular significance by other nations?

[Martin Caton]

The role of the UK Government in Geneva could be critical. It is vital that they show a strength of will against what the United States and others are trying to do to protect the integrity of the current convention.

The draft protocol is not compatible or complementary with the convention on cluster munitions. The latter bans these weapons; the former allows for their use, production and transfer. The proposed protocol would—as I believe it is designed to do—undermine the convention on cluster munitions that came out of the Oslo process. It would set up a rival legal framework for cluster weapons under the auspices of the UN and would not remove a single weapon likely to be used in conflict. All the weapons banned would be 40 years old by the time the protocol required their removal, and they would be ready for decommissioning anyway. However, the draft protocol would legitimise the use of much more dangerous cluster weapons. It would be a body blow for the approach that drove the Oslo process, which was a humanitarian-centred partnership between civil society and Government that is a valuable model for future progress on multilateral disarmament.

The draft protocol contradicts existing international humanitarian law and is not the best way to engage with existing states that have stockpiles of cluster munitions. The International Committee of the Red Cross has pointed out that if it is established, this protocol would set a highly negative precedent. It would be the first time in history that international humanitarian law has moved backwards. I urge the Government, whatever they do, to resist this protocol. It will not move us forward; quite the opposite, it will take us back and reverse so much that has been achieved in the past five years.

I understand the Government’s desire to find ways to encourage recalcitrant states to begin the process of decommissioning cluster munitions. The best way to do that is by encouraging the development of a political declaration or plan of action stating that intention, rather than by creating an alternative international legal edifice that threatens our existing convention, which, in fairness, is delivering within a pretty speedy time frame. The draft protocol is not about cluster munitions disarmament; it is a fig leaf behind which the US, China, Russia and others intend to hide, so that they can continue to rely on dangerous, indiscriminate ordnance that will kill more innocent civilians if we let them get away with it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Last but not least, I call Jeremy Lefroy.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Some of the fastest-growing economies in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. What steps is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office taking to help our exporters and investors in those countries?

[Mr Hague]

Many steps, I am glad to say. We are making many more ministerial visits to the region. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has just been to South Africa with a trade delegation, I have just visited Kenya, and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), is in Africa at the moment. There is great ministerial engagement. We are enlarging many of our diplomatic missions, we are opening new embassies—including some in Africa—and we have the strongest commitment to developing trade links with Africa that this country has seen for decades.

BBC World Service

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I congratulate the Foreign Affairs Committee on its excellent report and I rise to speak in favour of the motion. I pay tribute to the excellent speeches of the Chairman of the Committee and other Members.

For 11 years, when I lived in Tanzania, the World Service was my main source of news. I learned of progress in the first Gulf war, the Bosnian conflict, the Rwandan genocide and two general elections from the BBC World Service. I valued its impartial, measured news and comment as a service for expatriates such as me, but more importantly it was the main source of information for many of my Tanzanian colleagues. I remember meeting one of them the day after the 1997 general election, which he had been following very closely on the BBC. He was amazed and impressed at how quickly we had changed our Government in this country, and he was even more impressed that the outgoing Prime Minister went to watch a game of cricket rather than finding himself on the wrong side of a jail door, having been locked up by the new Government. It is at such times that we realise that the World Service is indeed a gift to the world, as has been said. However, it is more than that. It is also important in presenting Britain and British values to the world. At a time when our political and economic future is bound up ever more closely with the developing world, where much of the World Service output is broadcast, its importance is growing, but it is also at this time that we are proposing to make cuts to that valuable service.

I want to distinguish between the financial cuts and the cuts to the service itself. I understand that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cannot be exempt from the cuts being made elsewhere in government, and I understand that the World Service has to be part of that, but I believe that the cuts to the grant could be mitigated, if not entirely made up, in four ways. First, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office could revisit the cuts it is making. As has been said, we are talking about cuts of 16% compared with cuts of 10% across the rest of the FCO. Secondly, commercial activity could be expanded. World News TV is funded commercially; indeed, I understand that it made a profit last year.

Thirdly, as has been touched on, there could be greater use of development funding. As has been pointed out, if spending is to qualify, it must be undertaken by the official sector and it must have as its main objective the promotion of economic development and welfare and be made at concessional financial terms. Those are the rules that the OECD insists on for something to qualify as official development assistance. In this country, we go further because we make it quite clear that such spending must also be for the reduction of poverty. I still think, however, that we could look further at that approach. The media, and particularly the World Service, play a vital role in development in three ways—as a watchdog, in setting the agenda and by providing information that is necessary for development.

The BBC World Service helps Governments to develop policies that benefit the majority of their population and it is not driven by sectional or ethnic interest. There has been analysis of how World Service spending might be classified as ODA, and I accept that this is one of those issues that one might say is about as long as a piece of string, but I have seen analysis showing that up to 40% of spending—something like £100 million out of the total spending of £250 million, including capital—could be classified as ODA. I therefore welcome the Secretary of State’s letter to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in which he stated that he would be prepared to support the relationship between the Department for International Development and the World Service Trust and that he would, in principle, be prepared to support it with an accountable grant.

Finally, the cuts could be mitigated through better use of BBC World’s own resources, perhaps by looking at some of the salaries at the higher end of the organisation.

On the cuts to the service itself, the Foreign Affairs Committee has rightly spoken about the Hindi service, BBC China and BBC Arabic, but I would like to draw attention to the Kiswahili, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi services, in which I have a special interest from my time in east Africa. Those short-‘wave and medium-wave services are accessible to people who cannot access pretty much any other services save those provided by their own broadcasting corporations. Those people are in remote areas, whereas internet and FM services tend to be available to people in urban areas. It is part of this Government’s policy to reach people, such as those in smallholder agriculture, for whom a service provided on short wave by the BBC might be the only such service that they can receive at certain times that is relevant to them. I therefore urge the Foreign Office to look in particular at such services.

In conclusion, the BBC World Service is a huge asset to the United Kingdom, but it is also of tremendous importance to tens of millions across the world. Where the BBC withdraws, as has been said, other less independent organisations will step in. Therefore, I support the motion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Of course we believe that there should be the proper treatment of prisoners throughout the world, including in Israel and anywhere else in the middle east. We have taken up concerns about such issues in the past. If the right hon. Lady would like to give me more details of what she found in that particular case, I will of course look to take them up with the Israeli authorities.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

14. What recent assessment he made of the political situation in the middle east; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)]

The question asks about our assessment of the political situation in the middle east and I am tempted to say simply, “It is extremely tricky.” Perhaps I might add that the unprecedented events of recent weeks have created profound political undertones and at the moment it is not possible to say just what the outcomes of these great events will be.

[Jeremy Lefroy]

I thank the Minister for his reply. The Egypt-Israel peace treaty is a successful model of a land-for-peace agreement, and Egypt has played a crucial role throughout the middle east peace process. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that that agreement continues to be a cornerstone of the process?

[Alistair Burt]

We were all reassured when one of the first statements made by Egypt’s military council was that it accepted and will adhere to its international agreements. I think everyone understood that it was referring specifically to the peace agreement with Israel, and I hope that that will provide people with confidence. When I was in Egypt last week, I saw the relationship between the military and the politicians, and it is to be hoped that there will be a process towards democratic elections and government, and that that peace treaty will be adhered to by a future Government.

Christians in Iraq

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Westminster Hall

[Mr Browne]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention and for his long-standing interest in the subject. I hope that he is reassured by the very hands-on interest that the Minister with responsibility for Iraq is taking in this matter, including, as I have said, the number of meetings that he held only a week ago in Iraq to discuss it specifically.

The concern that the Government have about going down the track that my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr Leigh) suggests is that we would not wish to see Iraq divided up into provinces based on religious affiliation. We want Iraq as a whole to be a hospitable country for people of all faiths, which is why my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary made a particular point of meeting representatives of the Kurdistan regional government when he was in Iraq a week ago—it was not with a view to segregating Iraq into different religion-based districts.

My hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire may know that the Iraqi authorities are carrying out a thorough investigation into the attacks, which has, we believe, led to the arrest in the past few days of individuals who may be linked to attacks against Christians. The Iraqi Prime Minister has called on the armed forces and the security forces to be on maximum alert and to secure mosques, churches and other places of worship.

The Iraqi Parliament—the Council of Representatives —has also been active in calling for the Government to do more. It has formally requested the Prime Minister to issue a statement condemning the attacks and to dedicate more resources to stopping them. It has called for the increased recruitment of Christians into the Iraqi security forces. A parliamentary committee, under the leadership of a Christian MP, has been set up to address the official reaction to the attacks. The British Government regard all those as promising steps in the right direction.

I reassure my hon. Friend that the Government will continue to urge the Iraqi Government to protect all communities, especially vulnerable minority groups, and to prosecute those who are found responsible for any acts of violence and intimidation that are carried out against people because of their political, ethnic or religious affiliation. As my hon. Friend will know, the UK has also discussed the current security situation in Iraq with EU partners, including at the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 November.

We are encouraged by responses from the Iraqi authorities suggesting that they take this matter very seriously, and we are pleased to see the renewed commitment to protecting all Iraqi citizens, including Christians. Prime Minister al-Maliki has said that his Government are ready to take whatever measures are viewed as necessary by Christian leaders

“to assure all citizens in general and the Christians of Iraq in particular so that everyone enjoys stability and safety”.

Some Members attending the debate may feel that it is one thing to express those good intentions, but another to deliver on them, and I accept that. However, the fact that they have been expressed in such emphatic terms is an encouraging development. I also hope that I have been able to indicate to those attending the debate that concrete actions are being taken, and we will continue to try to ensure that they go as far as possible and lead to desirable consequences.

We are aware of requests made by the Iraqi Human Rights Minister, Mrs Wijdan Salim, for support in developing some of Iraq’s counter-terrorism capabilities. Where appropriate, we will work with the Iraqi authorities to consider where our support is best applied. However, Prime Minister al-Maliki has publically committed to improving the security situation.

My hon. Friend may be aware of comments from the exiled archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church suggesting that Christians should leave Iraq. The Iraqi Christian community has made it clear that emigration is not the answer, and the British Government agree. Christians are one of Iraq’s indigenous populations, and all the religious leaders we have spoken with have reiterated that driving Christians from their homes is the goal of terrorists and not one that we should facilitate with offers of asylum.

During his recent trip to Iraq, my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, who has responsibility for the middle east, met a number of senior Iraqi Christian figures. The clear sense was of a community that was vulnerable and under threat but determined not to allow the attacks to threaten the continued existence of Christians in Iraq. Prime Minister al-Maliki has commented that

“The countries that have welcomed the victims...of this attack”—

the attack on the Church—

“have done a noble thing, but that should not encourage emigration”.

At this point, I would like to pay tribute to the work of Canon Andrew White, who has been mentioned in the debate, and other religious leaders. We support initiatives that bring together different faith groups to promote tolerance, and I am pleased to hear that Denmark is supporting such initiatives with funding. I join my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire in paying tribute to the Danes for their commitment in that regard.

It is important to remember that Iraq has made a long-standing commitment to protect all its minorities. During the universal periodic review of Iraq carried out by the UN Human Rights Council in February 2010, the Iraqi authorities revealed that minorities, including Christians, had been subjected to grave violations at the hands of terrorist groups and militias. The Iraqi Government made a commitment to support the rights and freedoms of all minorities, in keeping with the guarantees set out in their constitution, and they restated their commitment to protect religious institutions and places of worship.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I am most grateful for the support that the Government are showing on this issue. Does the Minister agree that, in some ways, the actions and words of the Iraqi Government set an example to other surrounding countries about the way that religious minorities should be treated?

[Mr Browne]

I do up to a point. The level of willingness to respond to the problem, rather than to conceal it, is encouraging. We all share the concerns. There will be hon. Members who are not Christians but who nevertheless share the concerns about the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq. We want a country where people are free to practise their faith without interference, and we are keen to work towards that. We are encouraged that the Iraqi Government, and other senior figures within the Iraqi political environment, share that ambition. It would be extremely worrying were that not the case. There are Christians who hold prominent positions in Iraq, including, as I have said, roles in Parliament chairing a relevant committee. The fact that Christians are institutionalised in Iraq and not pushed to the fringes should encourage us. However, as other hon. Members have said, the situation remains far from desirable, and I hope that the progress is in the right direction.

The UK recognises the importance of protecting and defending the rights of religious minorities, not just in Iraq but worldwide. I will conclude the debate with a quote from the Foreign Secretary, which I hope will provide a wider context to our deliberations. During a recent speech in London on the subject of values he said,

“religious persecution is unacceptable to us at any time in any place.”

That is the position of the British Government. It applies to Christians just as much as to any other religious group, and it applies to Iraq just as to any other country. We will pursue a foreign policy in line with those objectives.

Foreign Affairs and Defence

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Wednesday 26th May 2010 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I am grateful for this opportunity, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am also honoured to follow the hon. Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Angela Smith), and the earlier maiden speeches by my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart), the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) and my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis (James Morris).

Later, I should like to touch on the importance of the Commonwealth, in which I am a great believer. First, however, I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, David Kidney. Mr Kidney represented Stafford for 13 years with a great degree of diligence. He is much loved in the constituency for his work there, but he is also widely respected for the work that he did in the House and nationally on sustainable energy, on improvements in care and on the teaching of citizenship, among many other things. I hope that I will, in some small way, be able to build on his achievements.

The constituency of Stafford is centred on the county town. It was granted its charter in 1206 by King John, who I believe to be a slightly underestimated monarch. It also includes Penkridge, which received its charter even earlier, from King Edgar of Mercia in 958. The constituency stretches from Wolseley Bridge in the east and Hixon in the north to Bishops Wood in the south and Weston-under-Lizard on the border with Shropshire. Weston Park is of course home to the well-known V festival, a constituency event that I have not yet had the pleasure to attend. I am probably unlikely to do so, but I receive reports on it from my teenage daughter.

My constituency also includes a church, at Ingestre, that is reputed to be the only parish church outside London to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren. I had the pleasure of visiting it on 6 May, as it was also a polling station. Ingestre was also home to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister when he fought a valiant campaign for the seat in 1997. He is well remembered in the constituency. Indeed, I have had the pleasure of visiting one constituent who pointed out a rock in front of her house that she called the Cameron rock, because he had transported it to that place himself. That shows that manual work is not unknown to those on the Front Bench.

Stafford is well connected with the rest of the country. Many Members might, on occasion, have been able to appreciate its beauty while stationary on the M6. The constituency encompasses three of the motorway’s junctions, which provide excellent access. That is welcome, although sometimes that access is too good, and much of the traffic is diverted through the town when the junctions become blocked. The people of Stafford are extremely welcoming, but their patience is sometimes sorely tested. My predecessor—and indeed his predecessor, now my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr Cash), who I am glad to see in his place—fought a campaign for an eastern distributor road. I understand that the campaign has gone on for more than 40 years. I am a great believer in long-term planning, but no issue should go on for that long.

I rarely drive to London. Instead, I use the excellent train service. I pay tribute to the Labour Government, under whom the journey time improved; it now takes a mere 80 minutes in standard class. I believe that it takes the same time in first class, although the Chancellor and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will be relieved to hear that I have no recent experience of that. My constituency also contains fine canals, and I most grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) for frequently singing their praises in this place.

Stafford also has strong literary connections, first with Richard Sheridan, who was a Member of this House for many years. He spent much of that time in a place nearby impeaching Warren Hastings—unsuccessfully, I am glad to say. In fact, he spent seven years doing that, and I wonder whether people might have wished for fixed-term Parliaments in those days. I am more attracted to another literary giant: Izaak Walton, the author of “The Compleat Angler”, which has remained in print constantly since the 17th century. That is not because I fish, but more because of sympathy towards, and quiet support of, those who are oppressed for their beliefs, as Izaak Walton was. It is a cause that many people in this House champion, as was expressed earlier by the right hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd), and I would be honoured to join them.

Stafford also has a strong tradition of engineering. It was once dominated by English Electric, later General Electric, but manufacturing for the energy industry is now carried out by Alstom, AREVA, Perkins Diesel and Talbott’s Biomass, among others. Our expertise in power engineering is valued worldwide and it contributes to exports, which are so sorely needed to restore this country’s economic health. I started my own working life in manufacturing, so I am proud to represent a constituency in which manufacturing is so significant.

Our international reputation is also enhanced by the university, which we share with the fine city of Stoke-on-Trent. We have strong connections with universities on the Pacific rim, and this House should never underestimate the role that universities play both in enhancing Britain’s international reputation and for the development of high technology.

Many hon. Members will have an iPhone. I confess I do not, but this, the iPod and many other devices were designed under the leadership of Apple’s chief designer, Jonathan Ive, CBE, a former student of Walton high school in my constituency. Our schools will continue to provide a high-quality education, but they need fair funding.

We are also proud to host the Ministry of Defence, home to 22nd Signal Regiment and the Tactical Support Wing of the RAF. We await with eager anticipation the arrival of 1st Signal Brigade in a few years’ time. It will indeed receive a warm welcome from the people of Stafford and the county of Staffordshire. The county town is home to many county-wide organisations in the public, voluntary and community sectors. I have had the pleasure of visiting some of them and of seeing the tremendous commitment that their people show.

Last year, however, was very troubling for my constituency. We received various reports on Stafford hospital, which did not make comfortable reading. I pay tribute to the campaigners, to Julie Bailey who highlighted the hospital’s problems, and to hospital staff who are working so hard to restore public confidence. It is a task to which I am committed, and I will contribute in whatever way I can. I also wish to place on record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Stone for raising the matter so eloquently in this House from time to time.

I am fortunate to represent a constituency in which farming and rural businesses are strong. Food security is so important for this world and for this country, and we can be sure that Stafford will play its part.

The Gracious Speech referred to pursuing

“an enhanced partnership in India”,

which I welcome. India is, of course, the largest country in the Commonwealth. My experience of living and working in Tanzania, which is a stalwart member, for 11 years, shows that the bonds are strong—indeed, far stronger than many in this country believe. There are great opportunities for us to trade with the Commonwealth. At the moment, it accounts only for 8% of our exports and imports, so there is the potential for far more. If we do not do that, other nations such as China will—and they already are. Economic growth depends on exports, and I am sure that the Government will be looking at every possible avenue to improve this country’s export growth. Political, educational and cultural ties are also important. As a previous speaker mentioned, soft power and strong relationships with Commonwealth countries need to be nurtured.

I have spoken of the importance of higher education for the Stafford constituency. There is a thirst for higher education among the people of the Commonwealth, which presents great opportunities for UK universities to take their expertise across the globe. At a time when the temptation is to turn in on ourselves and our problems, the Gracious Speech reminds us that it is more in tune with the nature of this country to reach out.

I had the privilege of serving my right hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley) in his globalisation and global poverty group, and I am delighted that the Government have supported its conclusion, especially the commitment to spending 0.7% of gross domestic product on international aid.

I have always admired our constituency-based parliamentary system, and it is a great honour to stand here. I believe that Parliament, for all its shortcomings, should represent the conscience of the nation, as it has done today, as has been shown in so many speeches. I leave my last words to the great man, Izaak Walton of Stafford, who said:

“The person that loses their conscience has nothing left worth keeping.”