Iraq and Syria: Religious and Cultural Heritage

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

This is a commitment the Government have made. It is for the parliamentary managers to decide exactly what is done when. All I can say is that we regard it as a priority. The Secretary of State regards it as a priority. The circumstances around the world today make it all the more important. I look forward to debating it in due course with colleagues on all sides of the House.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, is it really the view of Her Majesty’s Government that the principal source of revenue for ISIL is illegal trade in oil? Do they have an estimate of how much is paid in protection money by Gulf states and other rich Arabs to ensure that none of the refugees lands in Muslim states but that they are all pushed into western Europe?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My noble friend makes a strong point, which goes beyond the cultural area that we are mainly discussing today. I stand by what I said: the assessment I have had is that the revenue stream from illegal oil is a much more serious source of money for ISIL than the cultural items that we are talking about, important though they are.