Counter-Daesh Update

Kevin Foster Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We do understand that Turkey, too, has a right to territorial integrity, but we are very concerned about what might happen with regard to the issue the hon. Gentleman raises if the US withdrawal is too precipitate, and if it was not clear what outcomes would be unacceptable both to the US and to us. That is why there has been a huge amount of discussion between Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom and our other allies, precisely to avoid the outcome he is talking about.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

It is reassuring to hear what the Secretary of State has said today and to have an indication, for those of us who supported military action against Daesh, of what needed to be done to ensure that these fascists, as they are rightly called, would be defeated and not allowed to fester. Will he reassure me that we will continue a long-term engagement in Iraq and Syria, because defeating Daesh in the long run is also about rebuilding those devastated communities, supporting Christians to return home and ensuring that funds are available, through aid, to redevelop those countries?

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend that our commitment to that part of the world is for the long term. Our military commitment is finite—it is restricted to the mandate given by the House of Commons—but we are committed in every possible way, because we recognise that if the region is unstable, we will pay the price back here, through terrorism, disruption to our economy and any number of ways. He is absolutely right that our commitment must remain.