Business of the House

Keith Vaz Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work that she is doing in and around youth engagement, which is very important to all of us from all parts of the House. Undoubtedly, this will be debated seriously, as indeed it should be because it is a very real issue, given the fact that 16 and 17-year-olds have the vote in Scotland. There are different views in this House, so of course the matter should be given the proper attention that it deserves.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

Last week, the Tunisian national dialogue quartet received the Nobel prize for peace, but that country faces huge economic difficulties, especially in the tourism industry, in part owing to the travel advice of our Foreign Office. May we have an urgent debate or a statement on what we can do to help Tunisia, especially with regard to tourism?

[Chris Grayling]

We all have the greatest admiration for the prize winners in Tunisia and for all those who have worked so hard to make Tunisia a stable and peaceful country. The decision of the Foreign Office was taken with a heavy heart, because we understand the implications of it, but we also have a duty to look after the safety of British holidaymakers. The Foreign Secretary will be here on Tuesday, and I will ensure that he is aware of the right hon. Gentleman’s concern. This is a matter that will be under continuous review, as we all want to do the right thing by Tunisia.