Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the British Embassy in Guatemala is providing to (a) New Forest East constituents confined to the island of Utila and (b) other UK citizens stranded in Honduras to enable their return to the UK, and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 27 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
We are closely monitoring the presence of UK nationals in Honduras, and their wellbeing remains our priority. Our Embassy in Guatemala continues to explore all possible options for their safe return to the UK, working closely with the relevant authorities and commercial airlines and potentially including the facilitation of clearance for chartered flights to enter. Our Embassy has been in touch with British Nationals stranded on Utila and the Bay Island
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what urgent assistance is being provided to UK citizens stranded on board the Coral Princess cruise vessel near Montevideo to facilitate their return to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 2 April, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working relentlessly with the cruise company to facilitate the return home of UK passengers on the Coral Princess and enable them to take advantage of available onward flights to London. We are doing all we can to help British people on board and have contacted them directly.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the written statement of 26 February 2020, HCWS126, on Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, whether interested (a) groups and (b) individuals may make submissions to that review; what the (i) format, (ii) word limit and (iii) deadline for those submissions should be; and when that review will be completed.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The review will engage with a range of stakeholders here and abroad to ensure proper consultation and challenge. The Government will utilise expertise from both inside and outside government for the review, ensuring the UK's best minds are feeding into its conclusions and challenging traditional Whitehall assumptions and thinking as needed.
The consultation process will include a variety of methods both formal and informal including meetings, roundables, workshops and focus groups. The review will be closely aligned to the Comprehensive Spending Review and an announcement of the timings will be made in due course.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is (a) on support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and (b) Turkish military intervention in northern Syria; what armed forces in Syria the Government supports; what recent assessment he has made of the implications for Article 5 of the NATO Treaty of conflict between (i) Turkish and (ii) other forces in Syria; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), we pay tribute to courage and sacrifices made by the SDF, as partner of the Global Coalition against Daesh, in successful efforts against Daesh in Syria. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have regular contact with representatives from different Kurdish political groups about the situation in Syria. The UK was clear in its opposition to Turkey's military operation in north-east Syria in October 2019, and welcomes the fact that the ceasefire in this area is broadly holding. On Idlib, we welcome Turkey's diplomatic efforts to seek an urgent and lasting ceasefire which is urgently needed. No request to trigger Article 5 has been made, and any decision on this would be taken collectively by allies at the North Atlantic Council. Finally, I responded to an urgent question on the situation in Idlib on 24 February.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the (a) names and (b) political composition are of all groups fighting in Idlib against the Assad regime in Syria; what recent assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of (i) Islamists and (ii) democratic pluralists among those groups; and whether the estimated 70,000 moderate rebel fighters referred to in the oral contribution of the former Prime Minister of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1491, have been located in Syria since that date.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Given the complex and evolving situation on the ground in Syria, it is difficult to assess the political composition, names, and numbers of all groups believed to be fighting in Idlib against the Assad regime or to determine where the moderate fighters referred to by the then Prime Minister in 2015 are now located.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what lessons his Department has learned from UK (a) diplomatic and (b) military involvement in the removal of Colonel Gaddafi from power in Libya in 2011; what assessment his Department has made of the compliance of that involvement with the Resolution of the House of 21 March 2011 on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 establishing a no-fly zone to protect Benghazi; and if he will make it his policy not to endorse no-fly zones to facilitate UK military intervention in Syria in support of Islamist fighting groups.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK participated in the international military action in Libya in 2011 in order to protect Libyans against Colonel Qadhafi's regime, which was intent on violently suppressing their uprising. The Qadhafi regime subsequently fell, and since then we have been working to support a political transition in Libya. The UK supports UN-led efforts as the best way of securing an end to the conflict and delivering the stability and security that all Libyans deserve. In Syria, the UK does not believe that a no-fly zone is currently a feasible option.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date he will reinstate his proposed visit to the BBC Monitoring Service at Caversham Park, together with the chairmen of three select committees, formerly scheduled for 19 October 2017.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign Secretary hopes to visit BBC Monitoring at Caversham Park as soon as diaries allow. Officials are working to arrange a suitable date.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the risk of restrictions being placed on BBC personnel based in Russia in response to restrictions being placed on Russia Today in western countries; how capable the BBC Monitoring Service is compensating in the UK for any restrictions placed on its personnel in Russia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The BBC are aware of these risks and have contingency plans in place for ensuring the continuity of their services, including BBC Monitoring, and the safety of their staff.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK is under any obligation to provide military support to the Republic of Korea in the event of a resumption of hostilities on the Korean peninsular under the terms of (a) the Joint Policy Declaration on the Korean Armistice, signed in Washington DC on 27 July 1953, (b) any resolution of the UN Security Council or (c) any other international treaty agreement.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is not under a legal obligation to provide military support to the Republic of Korea. We continue to be an active member of the United Nations Command which, since the end of the Korean War, has continued its important work to maintain the armistice agreement between the two sides. We also enjoy a strong and growing bilateral security and defence relationship with the Republic of Korea.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty are in relation to (a) Guam and (b) Hawaii; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Article 6 of the Washington Treaty defines the geographical scope of Article 5 primarily as 'the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America' or 'islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic Area north of the Tropic of Cancer.' However, any attack against the United States, whether directed against Hawaii, Guam, or another US state or territory, is likely to be part of a major conflict. In such a case, either the consultation provisions of Article 4 or the collective defence provisions of Article 5 would plainly apply, and the decision of the North Atlantic Council would determine the response of the Alliance.