Middle East and North Africa

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Gentleman will be familiar with the deliberations of the ICC already in relation to this conflict. The ICC is supported by the UK, but it operates independently and at a distance, rightly, from the Ministers of this country and any other country.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his statement and his continued work in the region, but the IDF continues to deliberately target children in Gaza. The ongoing genocide and the systematic destruction of medical facilities in the region mean that desperately sick and injured children are unable to access the medical attention they need, but I thank the Minister for meeting with Obaida and Mahmoud, two medically evacuated children hosted by the Prime Minister in No. 10 just before Christmas. Will the Minister update the House on what work is going on to increase the number of Gazan children medically evacuated to this country for the support they need?

[Mr Falconer]

I was deeply moved to meet the injured Gazan children with my hon. Friend. As I said during that meeting, it is vital that we ensure that children in Gaza have access to the healthcare that they need. It is vital that the supplies to provide that healthcare can get into Gaza. It is in most cases going to be more appropriate that children who currently have to leave Gaza to get medical assistance are provided with that assistance in the region, but there clearly are specialised cases where the UK can make a real contribution. We continue to look at that and I will return to the House shortly on it.

Venezuela

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

Yes is the answer to the hon. Member’s questions. We are continuing to raise and promote international law through the United Nations and the Security Council; we are continuing to raise the importance of international law with the US Administration on a range of issues; and we are continuing to argue for a democratic transition in which Venezuelan assets should be used for the Venezuelan people.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

If the Foreign Secretary believes that the rules-based order is important, why have she and the Prime Minister not condemned the actions of Trump? Does she agree that he is nothing more than a megalomaniac and that this is imperialism by another name?

Sudan: Humanitarian Situation

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore]

I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for her opening remarks and questions. She is right to say that there should be no politics in this. We all want to see an end to the unimaginable suffering that is taking place in Sudan, and as was mentioned by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan), the idea that we can see that from satellite imagery shows its unimaginable scale.

On sanctions, we will not rule anything out and we will keep the issue under constant review following the announcement on Friday—that was the second round of sanctions that the Government have issued in relation to Sudan. We are continuing to work with all members of the Quad, and we want to be as clear as we can be that all sides must come together in ensuring what will hopefully be a humanitarian pause, and more broadly a wider ceasefire.

On the specific points about support for refugees and people on the ground in Sudan, the funding so far has supported over 1 million people, including 98,000 children, in tackling severe malnutrition; in food assistance for 744,000 people; in vital protection for services for 350,000 people in relation to victims of international humanitarian law violations; and indeed in cash assistance. I am confident that the money is reaching the people it needs to reach. On more support, the additional £20 million—or the £146 million—is about aid directly on the ground and supporting 800,000 people. Some of that is supporting refugees in Chad and other countries that people are moving to, but fundamentally it is about support.

We are absolutely working on the wider points about work in the multilateral space with the United Nations. This is a personal priority for the Foreign Secretary, and she is in pretty much constant dialogue with Secretary Rubio, including last week. Baroness Chapman, the Minister for Africa in the other place, is in regular dialogue with African near neighbours, and she is having broader conversations to ensure that we find a humanitarian ceasefire and the broader ceasefire that is so desperately needed.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

The Minister has just mentioned doing all we can to exert pressure, but with all due respect to him, I think we need to be doing far more than exerting pressure. As UN penholder for Sudan, the UK has a moral responsibility to ensure that the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing is brought to an end as soon as possible. Most importantly, we must end all arms trade with the UAE, because it is evident that UK arms are ending up in Sudan.

[Chris Elmore]

On arms exports, the UK has one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world. All export licences are assessed for the risk of diversion, and we regularly prevent exports that might be diverted to an undesirable end user or end use. As I have said, in recent reviews that has not been deemed the case from any other nation. On our role on the Human Rights Council and the Security Council, I agree with my hon. Friend: we do have a moral imperative, and that is exactly our approach. This is a personal mission for the Foreign Secretary. She convened the emergency meeting of the Human Rights Council, and the meeting of the Security Council was brought forward. The UK, as penholder, has been at the very forefront of trying to end these most appalling atrocities against the Sudanese people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I will. I was delighted to see my Emirati counterpart just yesterday. We had a Minister representing the British Government at the Emirati National Day. It is a key partner. I welcome its investment all over the country, and we will take the relationship from strength to strength.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled in its advisory opinion that Israeli settlements and occupation are illegal and needed to be ended and dismantled retrospectively. Can the Minister explain why the UK Government still have not responded to the advisory opinion after 17 months?

[Mr Falconer]

The advisory opinion is an important piece of international legal opinion, so we are taking our time and ensuring that we have an adequate response. But I remind my hon. Friend that it is not like nothing has happened over the course of those 17 months: we have recognised the Palestinian state. That is absolutely central in the deliberations of the advisory opinion, and we have done many other things, too, as have been discussed over the course of this session.

Conflict in Sudan

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I remind the hon. Gentleman that, yes, we have called for an emergency meeting in the Human Rights Council today, and we have also been in discussions with our partners today. Over the weekend we announced the provision of a further £5 million. The Foreign Secretary has been extensively engaged in discussions with all those with influence, and I have been playing my part in the region this weekend as well. We will continue to be as imaginative and as determined as the House would expect us to be.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

Rape and violence against women and girls has been used as a weapon of war in El Fasher, with militias acting with impunity. What support has been given to non-governmental organisations working on the ground to support the victims, and does the Minister agree that diplomatic efforts must be ramped up to end this horrific situation?

[Mr Falconer]

I do agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of diplomatic efforts. We have provided support specifically to deal with sexual and gender-based violence, which has included sending out a special team under the auspices of UN Women, and we are working closely with international NGOs through the Sudan Humanitarian Fund and other partners.

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.