UK Ambassador to the US: Appointment Process

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I would also like to offer my support to my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson). That incident follows a number of others that she has experienced this week. It is out of order.

I thank the Minister for his statement, and I am really pleased that Lord Mandelson has been sacked, but I would like to know what due diligence was undertaken prior to his appointment. Everybody knew about his relationship with Epstein before it.

[Stephen Doughty]

As I have made very clear, it was in the light of additional information and emails written by Lord Mandelson that the Prime Minister asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador. In particular, Lord Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information. I know my hon. Friend well, and I know that her thoughts and the thoughts of us all will be with the victims of Epstein’s appalling crimes.

Qatar: Israeli Strike

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

President Herzog is in the UK on a private visit, so I would not characterise the visit as one for which the red carpet has been rolled out. I reiterate that so many colleagues on the Government Benches, and I am sure colleagues on the Opposition Benches as well, are rightly very conscious of the urgency of helping people out of Gaza, ensuring that aid gets in, and ensuring that there is a ceasefire. President Herzog is the Head of State; he is not a functional part of the Government. He is an important conduit for raising those concerns. This morning, among other things, the Foreign Secretary sought to ensure greater support from the Israeli Government for getting children with injuries, and students, out of Gaza. These are difficult, practical matters on which we are focused. I understand that some Opposition Members would perhaps prefer that we did not conduct such talks, but the Government and I are focused on the practical problems of helping people in Gaza, and the Foreign Secretary has already raised them with the President this morning.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

This morning on Radio 4, an Israeli politician, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, offered no apology for the Israeli attacks on Qatar and could not explain what makes Israel exempt from international law and able to act with impunity. How does the Minister justify the genocidal comments of President Herzog? These individuals must be held accountable. What we are seeing is not diplomacy—it is shameful complicity. Does the Minister agree that today’s meeting with Herzog should never have taken place?

[Mr Falconer]

I set out the position in relation to President Herzog’s visit just a minute ago. I am not familiar with the Israeli politician in question, but I can say that the UK considers international law to be binding on all states.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

T8. Given that the UK is the penholder for Yemen, will the Minister explain why the Government continue to support Israel when it has admitted to the killing of Yemen’s Prime Minister and other Ministers and is causing widespread devastation? What steps have the Government taken to support Yemen in achieving peace, reconstruction and development, and in ending the humanitarian crisis?

[Mr Falconer]

Mr Speaker, as there has been a number of different reports on this, let me clarify that we believe that it is the Houthi Prime Minister, rather than the Yemeni Prime Minister, who has recently been struck. The Houthis, as the House knows, are a threat not just to the people of Yemen and to the region, but to international shipping. I have engaged closely with the Yemeni Government, including with both the previous Yemeni Prime Minister and the current Yemeni Prime Minister, who I am happy to report is still alive.

Middle East

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

It would be wrong for me to go into detail about that, but of course it has come to my attention. I also put on record my grave concerns about the reports that Iran’s Parliament is preparing to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which would further isolate Iran.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

Further escalation in the middle east could have devastating consequences, not only for the region but for global stability. Given the provocative and inflammatory rhetoric from President Trump and the risk of unpredictable US action further destabilising the situation, can the Foreign Secretary set out what steps the Government are taking to work with international partners to de-escalate tensions and protect UK interests? Can he also give a definitive answer to the question of UK involvement?

[Mr Lammy]

We were not involved. Over the weekend, I spoke to my Cypriot and Lebanese counterparts, and in the days before that, I spoke to all counterparts in the Gulf. Of course we are working to de-escalate at this time.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend, both for her kind words and her commitment to these issues; I can reassure her constituents that she raises them with me regularly. With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I am sure I will return to the House next week to talk about the conference and the next steps. I hope that the situation improves: that we see aid reaching Gaza, that we see a ceasefire, and that we can start to talk about these issues in a more measured way in this House, reflecting that the situation is not as urgent as it is today. Until that time, I am sure I will be returning to the House with further updates, as I have been doing.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s announcement of the sanctions on these two racist and extremist Ministers, but they do not go far enough. They are not going to stop the expansion of settlements or the settler violence, because we know that that expansion is state-funded, state-sanctioned and state-supported. What we need now is recognition of a Palestinian state, and I hope that the Minister will come back to the Chamber next week to inform the House that that has happened. If that is the case, what is the next step once recognition is agreed?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend is committed to these issues, although I am sure she would not expect me to speculate at this point about what hypothetical next steps might be. I am sure I will be returning to this House, and I am sure I will continue to discuss these issues with her.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

We have talked about these issues many times. They are in the high courts being discussed in a judicial review at the moment. I do not see that this could be any further scrutinised and litigated or what an independent inquiry on the position of the F-35 parts would achieve.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I was very proud to join thousands of protesters surrounding Parliament today, demanding to know what this Government’s red line is. Can the Minister tell this House what his red line is, and when he will stop arming Israel and stop F-35 bombers dropping bombs on schools and killing innocent children?

[Mr Falconer]

I think I have addressed most of those substantive points already. We are clear in our position: we have set it out repeatedly, privately and publicly, and no doubt I will be back in the House shortly.

Gaza: UK Assessment

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I recognise the concern that my hon. Friend’s constituents will be feeling, but I can reassure him that we are considering all measures to try to ensure that aid gets into Gaza. I regret that there is no alternative to road access, given the scale of the aid required, but we will continue to work on these questions with the urgency that he has described. I am grateful for his words about British diplomats. Let me reassure the House that not only the ministerial team but the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom works on these questions each and every day, includes in yesterday afternoon’s session of the UN Security Council.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

The 10 long weeks since the Israeli blockade began have brought famine to the region, while food is rotting across the border and the Israeli Government are lying and denying the scale of the atrocities. Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has been quoted as saying that the blockade is a “main pressure lever” to secure victory. When will the UK Government, as a member of the UN Security Council, impose meaningful sanctions to stop the genocide that we are seeing?

[Mr Falconer]

We have covered sanctions and determinations, but I can reassure my hon. Friend that we consider our position on the Security Council to be an important responsibility, which is why we called the meeting yesterday that has led to so much of the discussion this afternoon.

Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

Conscious of time, I will not relitigate the many points that the hon. Member has raised with me in the past. I will simply say that I stand by the remarks in the statement, and we have made our displeasure known.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

The detention and the deportation raise some serious questions. What is Israel trying to hide? If Israel has not already crossed a red line, what more does it need to do for this Government to take some action? The alleged execution of the 15 humanitarian aid workers was bad enough. What are this Government going to do? Actions do speak louder than words.

Gaza

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West]

I thank the hon. Member for his question, which has many aspects. He is aware that the majority of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, the economy has collapsed and the delivery of basic services, including energy and water, has been badly affected. Over 60% of the electricity distribution network has been damaged or destroyed. Over 90% of main roads are damaged, profoundly limiting the mobility of people, aid and goods. That is why the underlining of the $53.2 billion is so welcome. We are supportive of regional efforts cohering around a single workable reconstruction plan for Gaza, and we support the regional expertise in construction to get going on that.

On the hon. Gentleman’s question about orphans, he is perhaps aware that one of the Foreign Secretary’s main areas of concern is the welfare of children, particularly children who are orphans or in need of adoption or fostering. I will take back the concern that he expressed about that workstream, on which we do quite a lot in the Foreign Office, and emphasise its importance.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

The suffering of Palestinian children who have been attacked by Israeli drones is devastating, and the fact that those children are denied medical support and assistance is even more so. The Minister has said that we are looking at medical evacuations, but does she agree that actions speak louder than words? When will enough be enough, and when will these children get the attention that they so desperately need? Other countries are providing support right now.

[Catherine West]

My hon. Friend is quite right to talk about children. Whether it is in Sudan, Ukraine or anywhere else, we know that children suffer deep trauma as a result of conflict, and we are deeply alarmed by the disproportionate impact of the conflict on children in Gaza. Half of Gaza’s population are children, and the consequences of tens of thousands being killed, injured or separated from their parents threaten not only their individual futures, but the very fabric of Palestinian society for generations to come. Most, if not all, students in Gaza have not had access to education since 7 October, and at least 88% of school buildings will need full or major reconstruction.

My hon. Friend is quite right to ask what we are doing. The UK is supporting the restoration of education services in Gaza, including through the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East. She will be aware of the important work to maintain the ceasefire so that we have a hope of realising the reconstruction dream.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 12th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) for securing this debate, which comes at a critical time for the Palestinian people, the future of Gaza and the very foundations of international law. Those things are under direct threat from the recently elected so-called leader of the free world, who has proposed ethnic cleansing that violates the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland and live free from occupation. His threat to withdraw aid to Jordan and Egypt if they reject his so-called Gaza development plan has ignited a sharp backlash.

Those proposals are a blueprint for a crime of historic proportions, and our Government must condemn and resist them. That must, of course, mean accepting in full the historic advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, made in July last year, which confirmed that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful and which found Israel guilty of violating the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.

Let us be clear: following the advisory opinion is not optional. As a UN member state and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK has clear obligations under international law. For a year and a half, I and other hon. Members have called for urgent action to hold Israel accountable for the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the near total destruction in the Gaza strip. We must stand unequivocally and unashamedly for upholding international law and, in doing so, for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Any further delay or refusal to do so risks the escalation of crimes of unimaginable proportions, as well as continuing to abnegate our responsibilities to meaningfully oppose the decades-long crimes of occupation.