Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 14th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My right hon. Friend is very modest about his time in the Foreign Office, as he did an enormous amount of patient diplomacy behind the scenes to try to solve these intractable problems, not least in Libya. I discussed the Libyan situation with Mike Pompeo yesterday, and I agree that this is an area where we all need to work together closely at the UN.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

This House supports and values our relationship with the American people, but that does not equate to a free pass for President Trump’s unacceptable behaviour. When the Secretary of State puts together the agenda for this state visit, may I suggest that he begins with a training course on bullying and harassment, follows up with a science lecture on the climate emergency, and finishes off with a crash course in diplomacy?

[Mr Hunt]

I just point out to the hon. Lady that the person who is coming to this country for a state visit is the Head of State of the United States of America. There is no free pass for policies on which we disagree with the Trump Administration—climate change is one, and the Iran nuclear deal is another. We discuss all of them the whole time, but that does not mean that we should not respect the office or the country.

Sri Lanka

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 23rd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Those are the kind of wise words that I would expect from my right hon. Friend, with whom I was privileged to work; he spent many years in the FCO. He is right to say that if we are going to prevent this kind of horrific massacre from happening in future, it is really a combination of the hard and the soft. The hard side, of course, is making sure that the security is there and that the security services are able to do their job to track down perpetrators and potential perpetrators. The soft side is what he and the shadow Foreign Secretary so movingly talked about, which is the message of reconciliation, because trying to set faith against faith is one of the oldest tricks in the book in human history. It is a great measure of human progress that in the last 100 years, we have massively increased across the world the amount of religious tolerance, but I am afraid that these events show that we can never be complacent.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his words, his statement and for all that his Department is doing, and I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for her moving words. This was a heartbreaking attack on Sri Lanka, Christians and peace-loving people everywhere, and we stand with Sri Lanka. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that we face a real threat from those who seek to divide us and to drive our world towards conflict, where far right nationalism and pseudo-religious extremism feed off each other in a dependent, destructive cycle? We need to stand up and challenge that hate and the best way to do that is to stand together with love.

[Mr Hunt]

I agree. That is the fundamental challenge. When we are trying to answer the important question of how we prevent this kind of thing from happening, the most important first step is to properly understand the motives of the people who try to perpetrate these attacks. We do not know that at this stage, but it seems clear that one was a religious motive to try and set faith against faith, and one was a cultural motive to try and target western tourists who are visiting Sri Lanka. We have to be alive to both of those, but the shadow Foreign Secretary was absolutely right in saying that one of the things that we can do to support Sri Lanka is—obviously subject to travel advice, which is very carefully kept under review—to continue to visit a country that depends on tourism to show our support and to show that we are not going to be put off by this kind of terrorism.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We are doing lots, but the most important thing that we have to do is make sure that when there has been genocide or alleged genocide, there is accountability. Burma is a case in point, and we hosted a major meeting on that very issue at the UN General Assembly. If there is no accountability, people think they have a chance to get away with doing it again, and that must not happen.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Further to the earlier answers on Brunei, we are talking about people being stoned to death for being gay—having rocks thrown at their heads again and again to draw out the process of death by blunt trauma. Surely the Minister agrees that that is barbaric, inhumane and contrary to Commonwealth values. How can the Government reverse this appalling state of affairs?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

When we have put through the biggest increase in nurse training places in the history of the NHS—the 25% increase that I announced last week.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Suicide is the most common cause of death for men under the age of 45, and men are significantly less likely than women to seek support from loved ones or medical professionals when they have mental health problems. How can services be better targeted at men to encourage them to seek help more quickly and thereby reduce misery?

[Mr Hunt]

This is a very important issue and the hon. Lady is right to raise it. The Time to Change campaign has said that this year it will focus on men, specifically to try to address the issues she mentioned. We are rolling out crisis plans throughout the country to make sure we are better able to reach people who reach out to us.

Phone Hacking and the Media

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 11th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am not sure how I can follow that, but suffice it to say that the hon. Gentleman has the chance every Wednesday to ask the Prime Minister any question that he chooses.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

The Secretary of State understands the huge public concern not just about the plurality issues of the BSkyB takeover but about the criminal and unethical behaviour of Murdoch’s News International. I welcome the Secretary of State’s assurance that the “fit and proper person” test can be taken into account by the Competition Commission, but as he has said, it is Ofcom’s responsibility. In a letter on Friday, it seemed to say that it was reluctant to act while police investigations were ongoing, for fear of prejudicing them. Can the Secretary of State confirm that if the “fit and proper person” test cannot be resolved while the police are still investigating, he will make no decision until the criminal investigations are complete?

[Mr Hunt]

I have to inform my hon. Friend that I am not legally allowed to put a pause in the process until any criminal proceedings have come to a conclusion. However, I will take as much time as I need. I am very well aware of public concern on this issue. The Competition Commission will report in six months’ time, and there will then be a subsequent period of intensive discussions. During that period I am very hopeful that we will properly resolve the “fit and proper person” issue, because I am aware of how important it is to Members of all parties.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I echo what I said about the importance of impartiality, and say simply to my hon. Friend that given his sustained interest in that, many people at the BBC are gutted that he did not put his name forward for the chairmanship of the BBC Trust.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

12. What recent discussions he has had on future funding of the BBC World Service.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We had a number of discussions on funding for the BBC both with the BBC and with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the context of licence fee discussions.

[Jo Swinson]

For those living in countries where free speech is threatened or non-existent, the BBC World Service provides a vital and powerful source of unbiased information. I welcomed the Foreign Secretary’s reassurance back in September that the Burma operation is unlikely to face closure, but will the Secretary of State reassure the House that he is working with his Cabinet colleagues and the BBC to ensure that in countries that face significant political upheaval, that voice of independent free speech will be upheld?

[Mr Hunt]

I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend about the outstanding beacon for freedom that the BBC World Service represents, not least given the lifeline it offered to the people of Haiti and the 3.1 million people who are reported to use it in Iran. She is absolutely right. If it is any reassurance, closure of any language service must have the written consent of the Foreign Secretary. We are confident that the BBC World Service can sustain its current plans.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 29th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Our plan for the children in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, as for the children in every constituency, is that more of them will do sport, more of them will do competitive sport, and we will have stronger, more effective, bottom-up school sports partnerships.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Top Commonwealth games officials are meeting in Glasgow today to discuss the preparations for the 2014 games, including how to avoid the dreadful problems that we saw in the run-up to Delhi. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the 2012 Olympics team is similarly learning the lessons from Delhi, and that his Department will give the teams for 2012, 2014 and, if things go well, 2018 every possible support?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 26th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I, too, watched “Sherlock” last night and thought that Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch did a brilliant job. It was a very good example of the BBC at its best, investing in new programming.

I am not in any way calling into question the impartiality of the two gentlemen I mentioned earlier, but the Opposition should not preach lessons on impartiality when they were so careful to put people of their own political affiliation in charge of so many Government quangos.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Does the Secretary of State understand the concern of many of my constituents and others across the country following the report in The Daily Telegraph of his comments on the BBC? They feel that its high-quality programming is something to be supported and celebrated, not least the excellent independent news coverage that is free of the influence of commerce, or indeed Rupert Murdoch.

[Mr Hunt]

I agree with the hon. Lady about the importance of the BBC spending money on high-quality programming. That is what the coalition Government believe is one of the primary roles of the BBC. I also agree with her that one thing that has made British broadcasting some of the highest-quality broadcasting in the world is that we have a mix of funding streams, including the licence fee, advertising-funded programming and subscription-funded programming. That is why we are happy with that structure and intend to continue with it.