Middle East

Debate between Keir Starmer and Imran Hussain

Monday 2nd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and now this illegal war on Iran—the reality is that time and again we are dragged into conflicts that are illegal, make the region less stable and result in devastation and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Have we not learned the lessons of the past? Will the Prime Minister make it clear from the Dispatch Box that Britain is not Trump’s poodle and never again will we be a launch pad for illegal and endless wars that have no plan and no end, and will he make it clear that any final decision will be made by this House?

[The Prime Minister]

I give my hon. Friend and the House my assurance that I will always act in the British national interest. That is the basis of the two decisions I took this weekend.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Imran Hussain

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that really important case on behalf of really important victims, and I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House are with those victims. Every report of a sexual offence should be treated seriously, every victim should be treated with dignity, and every investigation should be conducted professionally. The safeguarding Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), is meeting the victims, and if the hon. Gentleman gives me the full details, I will make sure that his constituent is part of and included in those meetings.

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

Q9. We have all heard the horrific news that a man entered Manchester Central mosque last night in this, the holy month of Ramadan, carrying weapons including a hammer, a knife and an axe. Violent and Islamophobic attacks against the Muslim community are becoming far too frequent in our country. Prime Minister, is it not the case that every single politician in this place, and I mean every politician, especially that lot over there—[Interruption.] They may nod their heads, but this morning we could have woken up to news of a horrific terrorist attack, in which innocent Muslim worshippers were killed only for being Muslim. Prime Minister, is it not the case that every single politician in this place, and every single journalist, has a responsibility to stop fanning the flames of hatred against the Muslim community?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important case. Let me tell him that I share his deep concern, and the deep concern of the community, over the incident at Manchester Central mosque—particularly as it took place during the holy month of Ramadan—and that we will not, and must not, relent in the fight against anti-Muslim hatred. We must not.

I remember visiting Peacehaven mosque in the wake of the awful attack there, and when I did, I committed £40 million to protecting mosques and community centres. It is a shame that we have to do that, but we do have to do it, and we are establishing a new fund to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and to support victims. I want to reassure my hon. Friend and the House that we will fight hatred and protect freedom of worship in this country.

Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Debate between Keir Starmer and Imran Hussain

2nd reading
Monday 3rd November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will just make a bit of progress, and then I will take further interventions.

Finally in relation to the duty of candour, it is underpinned by a new criminal offence of misleading the public, which is aimed squarely at public servants who wilfully mislead the British people in a reckless, intentional or improper way. In cases such as Hillsborough, lies and dishonesty from the state grievously harmed the very people it was supposed to serve, and that must never happen again.

However, the Bill is not just about the duty of candour, because anyone familiar with how justice failed families and victims must also recognise that the lack of parity in our legal system played a significant role. I remember Margaret Aspinall—I met her many years ago now, and she is with us today—telling me that she had to scrape together every last penny for legal representation, including the money paid out by insurers for the death of her son James, who at the time was pretty much the same age as my son who comes to football with me. That is what she had to do, and we have to recognise that injustice piled on the other injustices.

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

I join others across this House in welcoming this important Bill, and I welcome and align myself with all the points the Prime Minister has made. Will he join me in paying tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) for his tireless campaigning to push for this law to reach the statute book? The Prime Minister is absolutely right that grieving families have faced the might of the state alone, and were forced to crowdfund lawyers while public bodies hired whole legal armies. Does he agree that, by guaranteeing legal aid at inquests, we can finally end those David and Goliath battles for justice once and for all?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely extend that tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne), who I think was at the game and who has campaigned tirelessly in this place and beyond to help us get to the position today where we can introduce the Bill. I do pay tribute to him and I am very pleased to do so from this Dispatch Box, as we introduce this important legislation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Imran Hussain

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

From looking at the Opposition Benches, I think most Conservative Back Benchers are already on their summer recess. We are very proud of our manifesto—it was a very successful manifesto, giving us a landslide victory—and now we are very proud to be implementing it.

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

Q13.  Let us be clear in this House: Israel is starving Palestinian children. That is a war crime. Israel is killing Palestinian children as they queue for food. That is a war crime. Our Government have quite rightly imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia for its war crimes in Ukraine. How many more horrors must we witness before the Prime Minister acts with the same scale of sanctions against Israel to stop this genocide? Do Palestinian lives not matter?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, I am appalled by reports of more civilians being killed in Gaza, particularly when they are trying to access aid. Each of those incidents needs to be fully and transparently investigated, with accountability for any failings. That, of course, has to happen alongside the ceasefire that is desperately needed and that we are working hard with others to achieve, in order to release all of the hostages who remain, but also to protect civilians and get much more aid into Gaza at speed and at volume.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Imran Hussain

Wednesday 12th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 12 February.

[The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)]

This week, we progressed our Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to deliver counter-terrorism style powers to bring vile criminal smuggling gangs to justice. We announced a further £350 million to get Britain building and deliver 1.5 million new homes that our country desperately needs, including more affordable homes. We have also slashed the red tape that holds businesses and working people back, creating 10,000 more apprentices.

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Imran Hussain]

I am proud to have played my part in helping to draft what has become the Employment Rights Bill. A new poll shows that three quarters of the British public back the stronger workers’ rights in the Bill, including better sick pay, yet that lot over there—the Tories and Reform—disgracefully voted against it. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition does not even believe in maternity pay or the living wage. Our statutory sick pay is ranked as one of the lowest in Europe; it needs to be brought in line with the living wage. Will the Prime Minister back my campaign to strengthen the Bill further so that sick pay is at a level that will finally stop punishing workers for being sick?

[The Prime Minister]

Our plan for change delivers the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation through our Employment Rights Bill, ending exploitative zero-hours contracts and the scandal of fire and rehire and expanding statutory sick pay to 1.3 million employees. Of course, that is on top of the pay rise for 3 million of the lowest paid. I would have thought the Leader of the Opposition might support the protection of day one employment rights, given where she is going, but she thinks maternity pay is excessive. Our plan is pro-worker and pro-growth.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Imran Hussain

Wednesday 27th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the right hon. Lady has just read out the charge sheet against the last Government. Everything is broken, but the Opposition come here every week with absolutely nothing to offer except complaints—nothing constructive; no new ideas. They do not know what they are doing from one day to the next. They are living in a fantasy world in which everything was fine, apparently, for 14 years. Well, the country is fed up with those fantasies. It has got rid of those fantasies. We are going to take the hard decisions. The Opposition are jumping on every passing bandwagon, while we are taking the country forward.

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Ind)]

Q8. As we enter the last week of Islamophobia Awareness Month, the Prime Minister will know that this year has been extraordinarily difficult for British Muslims on the receiving end of society’s most deplorable attitudes. They have been considered easy prey for the far right, and scapegoated by politicians endorsing institutional Islamophobia. The reality is that the emboldening and normalisation of Islamophobia, as highlighted in a number of reports, led to the race riots that we saw on the streets of Britain this summer, when mosques and those who are visibly Muslim were subjected to despicable attacks, with many left fearing for their lives. Will the Prime Minister condemn those in public office and positions of power who actively promote Islamophobia? Will he commit to adopting a definition today, and will he further outline what concrete steps the Government are taking to rip out Islamophobia at its roots, including in this place?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise Islamophobia. There has been a concerning rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism over recent months, and we are committed to tackling all forms of hatred. We will work with others on an ongoing basis to make sure that we do.