Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sam Rushworth]

I simply disagree. Pressure to get things done is part and parcel of what we do in government all the time. I am always under pressure and under deadlines. On the central allegation that the Prime Minister somehow pressured them with regard to the decision, I am sorry but the evidence has not pointed to that in any shape or form.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

rose—

[Dr Chowns]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Julian Lewis]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Darren Jones]

I will not—[Interruption.] I will happily give way in due course, but I want to turn to the substance of the motion first.

In recent weeks, some have accused the Prime Minister of dishonesty, saying that there was no way that Foreign Office officials would have given Peter Mandelson clearance against the vetting agency’s recommendation, let alone without checking with the Prime Minister himself. The Leader of the Opposition herself on BBC Radio 4 said, “He knew”, and that

“I know he is lying”.

However, the testimony provided by Sir Olly Robbins has disproved those accusations without further question. So rather than focus on the issues affecting our constituents and the country most, what do Opposition Members do? They try to shift the goalposts, and they have tried again and again to make their arguments fit.

Today alone, we have heard Opposition Members bounce from one accusation to another in a desperate search for something that will stick. We have been subjected to the ranting incoherence of the Leader of the Opposition while she was in search of something that she could use to justify today’s politically motivated spectacle—[Interruption.]

[Darren Jones]

I think we have heard enough of the ranting incoherence of the Leader of the Opposition.

Let us take the specific allegations in turn. First, as to whether the Prime Minister was correct when he said “full due process” was followed, yesterday the Government deposited a letter from the then Cabinet Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, in the Library of the House. In that letter, it is clear that he was specifically asked by the Prime Minister to review whether due process was followed in the appointment, and he confirmed that it was.

Last week, the former permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, stated to the Foreign Affairs Committee that his Department followed that process. We have also heard the Cabinet Office permanent secretary’s evidence, which covered this issue in great detail. Catherine Little stated unequivocally that “due process was followed” in relation to Peter Mandelson’s vetting.

[Sir Julian Lewis]

I thank the Minister for giving way. Would not “full due process” have required the vetting to be completed before announcing the appointment, as was advised by the then Cabinet Secretary and then ignored or overruled by the Prime Minister personally?

[Darren Jones]

The right hon. Gentleman should listen to my speech. I have just said that Catherine Little, Sir Chris Wormald and Sir Olly Robbins all agree on the point that due process was followed. When the Prime Minister received new information about the UKSV process this month, he immediately asked for the full facts to be established and he then come to this House on 20 April.

On the statement that Peter Mandelson’s appointment was “subject to developed vetting”, the Prime Minister has always been clear that this appointment was in line with the processes at the time. I understand that there have been some questions about this process, but to be clear, as Sir Olly Robbins told the Foreign Affairs Committee in November:

“As is normally the case with external appointments to my Department…the appointment was made subject to obtaining security clearance.”

As Sir Chris Wormald told the same Committee:

“The normal thing is for the security clearance to happen after appointment but before the person signs a contract and takes up post.”

And as the former Cabinet Secretary said in his letter to the Prime Minister, having conducted a review into the process,

“the vetting process was complete before the previous HMA Washington took up post on 10 February 2025, and it is more usual for security vetting to happen after appointment.”

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

A Member of Parliament has complained to me, as has another Member. When Members are shouting “shame” at others who are voting, it is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. I hope that the people concerned will apologise to those Members they shouted at.

[Sir Julian Lewis]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Out of 190 questions for written answer that I have put down in this Session, which is coming to its close, all but one have been answered. The exception is one that I mentioned on the Floor of the House yesterday during the statement by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. He responded:

“I always ensure that I honour parliamentary questions in a timely fashion.”—[Official Report, 27 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 598.]

The last day for answering this question is today, and it so far has not been answered, so I wonder if I might give the Chief Secretary the opportunity to answer it now. It is this:

“To ask the Prime Minister who first suggested to him that Peter Mandelson should be appointed as Ambassador to the United States.”

[Darren Jones]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office has set out answers to those questions.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Does the Foreign Secretary accept that, as a matter of objective fact, this House was misled about the circumstances of Mandelson’s security vetting, even if that misleading was inadvertent?

[Yvette Cooper]

The House was not given the full information. It is important that it should be given the full information, and I have undertaken to write to the Select Committee ensuring that full, as well as accurate, information is provided.

Middle East

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is right to raise real concerns about the escalation in the west bank. This is a critical issue—both for the west bank and the rights of Palestinian people in the west bank, and when it comes to addressing concerns around illegal settlements and settler violence—and it is fundamentally part of the wider issues around the peace process for Gaza and the future of a two-state solution. As we deal with the ongoing conflict in the middle east involving Iran, it is really important that we do not lose focus on the 20-point plan and wider issues around the west bank. We are continuing to raise these issues with the Israeli Government and more widely in the region and beyond.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

If an Iranian rocket attack—hopefully this will never happen—successfully penetrated our defences and caused severe damage and casualties on a British base, is the Foreign Secretary ruling out any response by the RAF against the source, such as a battery, from which those missiles had been fired?

[Yvette Cooper]

The right hon. Member will know that we are already taking defensive military action in support of our partners, against threats to them, and we take immensely seriously any threats to UK bases or military assets. He would not expect me to comment on operational issues, but he knows how seriously we take the UK’s military and defensive capabilities.

Strait of Hormuz

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I think all our thoughts are not only with our brave armed forces personnel in action in defence of allies and our interests, but their families and all those affected, including British civilians who remain in the middle east, and merchant shipping crews. She is absolutely right to ask about Cyprus. I am in regular contact with Foreign Minister Kombos and the Cypriot Government. I am also in regular contact with our administrator of the sovereign base areas. I can absolutely assure her that the protection of our bases, and the defence and security of Cyprus, are foremost in my mind and that of the Government.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Some things never change in naval warfare, and one of the things that never change is the unsuitability of surface vessels for forcing a way through narrow, contested straits. Over 100 years ago, the French and the British learned that when, between them, they lost three battleships in an afternoon to a single German submarine in the Dardanelles. Will the Minister therefore advise President Trump that while we would like to help him reopen the strait of Hormuz, the way to do it is not with a billion-pound warship escorting vulnerable tankers, but with counter-drone technology of the sort that Ukraine can help him to supply, providing he has the decency to ask President Zelensky for some help?

Consular Assistance

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I know that many MPs, myself included, will have constituents in the region who are concerned. We are in regular dialogue with the airlines directly as I described in my statement, and we will continue in that way.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

When the last Conservative Government rather bizarrely chose to appoint David Cameron as Foreign Secretary in the upper House, the then Opposition—quite rightly in my view—complained about the fact that this House could not directly question the Foreign Secretary. I simply say to the Ministers, who are very hard-working, that they should make representations to their boss that she should appear here more often.

The Minister said that we wish to avoid the situation of Iran

“sliding into chaos, exploited by extremists”.

Does he accept that the problem with Iran is that extremists are in control of the country and have been for 47 years? Does its reaction in attacking more than half a dozen neighbouring countries, none of which had attacked it, not show what it would do if it could get its hands on nuclear weapons? Is he satisfied that when our destroyer eventually gets out there, it will have enough munitions to put up a reliable defensive screen for more than a relatively short period of time?

[Mr Falconer]

British forces have been in action across the region shooting down missiles and drones. They are being resupplied today. I have every confidence in them, including the Royal Navy. I have been clear about our view of the Iranian regime, our utter opposition to its achieving a nuclear weapon and our total condemnation of its attacks on our friends and partners, which are reckless in the extreme. I could set out our position on Iran in greater detail, but I wish to focus more on consular questions today.

On the Foreign Secretary, she was in this House throughout the week, including for Foreign Office orals on Tuesday. We covered these issues in some detail with the Prime Minister yesterday. The Foreign Secretary is currently in the ministerial Cobra discussing these issues. She will, of course, make herself available to the House as much as she possibly can. I hope that colleagues across the House recognise that I speak a great deal in this House because of their interest in these issues, and I will continue to return when the Foreign Secretary is unable to do so.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Wednesday 4th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

I absolutely endorse everything that the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee has said about the BBC World Service. Will she, in the time available, make a brief comment about its sister organisation, BBC Monitoring? That monitoring service used to receive a modest ringfenced grant from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as it then was, but that was done away with, and it is now entirely dependent on the BBC’s wider organisation for its funding. Is not the restoration of that dedicated ringfenced grant for BBC Monitoring, which filters all the most interesting comments that other countries’ broadcasters are making, long overdue?

[Emily Thornberry]

I do not think I need to repeat the points that the right hon. Gentleman has made, and made very well. Perhaps I could mention another specific service: BBC Persian, which is particularly important at this time. It is doing incredible work. It is sharing vital, lifesaving information with millions of Iranians who are suffering right now during internet blackouts. It is BBC Persian that is doing the fact-checking. It is a source of truth. It is an independent voice. It is not propaganda. If we want to understand its effectiveness, we need only bear in mind that the regime absolutely loathes it. If we require a badge of truth and a gold star, that alone must be sufficient. Why are we not supporting BBC Persian? And why did the Arab radio station that was broadcasting in Lebanon get cut? Guess what? Sputnik took over the airwaves immediately afterwards. What are we doing? What is the matter with us? This must surely be a priority.

I see your beady eye on me as I speak, Madam Deputy Speaker, so let me end by giving what I think is the best example. I have been told that BBC usage is growing in the fringes of China—in the countries around the edge of China—more than anywhere else, through TikTok accounts. What story does that tell us? It tells us that young people want the truth and are desperate to find it, and they are doing that in the way young people do, through TikTok—but they go to the good old BBC.

Ukraine

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

I will indeed. We are proud of our British defence industry. It equips our armed forces, it has helped to equip the Ukrainians and it has helped to provide the essential aid to keep the Ukrainians in the fight for the last four years, and my hon. Friend’s constituents who work at MBDA in Stevenage are playing a really important part in that. Ukraine reminds us of a deep lesson that we had overlooked for too long, which is that when a country is forced to fight or faced with conflict, its armed forces are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them. We take great pride, on all sides of the House, in the great innovation of British industry and in what its workers are able to do.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

The hon. Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia) mentioning Storm Shadow reminds me of the fact that, particularly in the early days of the conflict, there was resistance, often from the other side of the Atlantic, to supplying Ukraine with some of the longer-range missile systems that are necessary to inflict pain on Russia in its centre. Now that President Trump’s contribution has been reduced to supplying weapons that the Europeans have to pay for before they can go to Ukraine, do we have greater freedom to supply longer-range, more effective weapons to Ukraine, or are we still somewhat beholden to the wishes of people on the other side of the Atlantic?

[John Healey]

The principle on which we have donated British-made weapons to Ukraine has been consistently for the defence of Ukraine. That is how Ukraine has been using them, and using them effectively.

Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

It is very good question. When I was a diplomat, we usually understood that British politicians would not seek to undermine the British Government overseas—we could argue in this place but, broadly, we would try to keep our disputes on our own islands rather than going elsewhere to prosecute them—so I am surprised to see the vigour with which those on the Opposition Benches are seeking to undermine the process we have been engaged in.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Will the Government pause any steps in this matter until the judicial review proceedings that are being brought on behalf of the Chagossian people have been resolved one way or another in the High Court?

[Mr Falconer]

I am endeavouring to answer the urgent elements of the question and leave the questions about the treaty and its passage through the two Houses to that process, as that is my understanding of how best to deal with urgent questions. I will leave the question about the judicial review, which I understand is not urgent but is related to the passage of the treaty through the two Houses, to the Minister responsible to respond in the usual way. [Interruption.]

Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We will not tolerate this harassment and intimidation in the UK. The safety of Hongkongers in the UK is of the utmost importance for the Government. He will know that training and guidance on state threats activity is now offered by counter-terrorism policing to all 45 territorial police forces across the United Kingdom. That includes upskilling dedicated 999 call handlers on transnational repression. [Interruption.] Perhaps the last Government did as much of that—I do not know. This new package of training allows frontline police officers and staff to increase their understanding of the threats that foreign powers present, and we will continue to work with my hon. Friend in relation to his constituents.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

I am sorry, but this is really hopeless. I mean no disrespect to this particular Minister, but I am sure that you, Mr Speaker, have noticed, as I have, that whenever something indefensible comes up, the Government always put middle-ranking or junior Ministers on the frontline. Perhaps the Foreign Secretary is abroad or perhaps she is in her sick bed, but otherwise, why is she not voluntarily making a statement, rather than sending someone else to take the flak? This is really not fitting for the outrage that hon. Members—there are hon. Members on both sides of the House—feel about the fate of Jimmy Lai.

[Seema Malhotra]

I am not sure whether to take not being directly targeted by the right hon. Gentleman as a compliment, but as the Minister for the Indo-Pacific, I take great interest in this case. It is important that we are in front of the House today.

Iran

Julian Lewis Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the concerns of her constituents in Huddersfield. She referred to her Kurdish community in Huddersfield, and I know that there is a great deal of concern among the Kurdish communities across the region. As we have discussed events in north-east Syria recently in this House, I hope Mr Speaker will forgive me if I pass just brief comment on that. I am glad that, since that discussion, there has been a ceasefire in relation to north-east Syria, which is a source of considerable reassurance to those living there. On my hon. Friend’s important question about the proscription of the IRGC, we are committed to the findings of the Hall review, which set out the need to have a state-analogous process for proscription, and we are committed to bringing forward legislation to achieve that.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Will the Minister please get on with doing that? The fact is that the independent reviewer of terrorism has signalled a way in which something analogous to proscription can be done to the IRGC, even though it is a state body. Does the Minister accept that there is an analogy between the IRGC and the Gestapo and Hitler’s SS, both of which were designated as criminal organisations by the Nuremberg tribunal? Would he be as slow to act if we were operating in that context? For goodness’ sake, get on with it and implement the findings and recommendations of Jonathan Hall.

[Mr Falconer]

I want the House to be in absolutely no doubt that the IRGC is already sanctioned in its entirety in the UK. The sanctions that we announced on Monday included one on the Interior Minister. There is no pulling of punches by the British Government in response to the sanctions. I say gently to the right hon. Member and to those on the Conservative Benches that we are moving with considerably more alacrity on these questions than they did during their period in government.