Participation of Arabs in Public Life

Lord Tomlinson Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble Lord clearly does not know me as well as perhaps other noble Lords do. I am a Minister in both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government, so I am simply doing my job.

[Lord Tomlinson]

Going back to the serious part of the original Question, would the noble Baroness agree with me if I suggest that the best way for the 240,000 people who describe themselves as being Arab to participate in public life is to go through the normal procedures for gaining citizenship of this country and then participate on the same basis as any other citizen?

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble Lord will be aware, as will other noble Lords, that there are many people from the Arab community—people who identify themselves as Arab—resident in this country who were born here or are British citizens. Many are extremely successful, such as Dr Hany El-Banna, the co-founder of Islamic Relief; a rower from the Arab community took part in the Olympics. I go back to the approach that this Government have, which is not to engage with communities purely on the basis of their race and religion. It is right for the Government to create the conditions by ensuring that there are no barriers to integration and equipping people with the appropriate language, opportunities and spaces to meet people of different communities and achieve their full potential.