Republic of Belarus (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Martin Docherty-Hughes Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2022 General Committees

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

It is good to see you in the Chair, Mr Hosie.

Let me reiterate a point made by the hon. Members for Basildon and Billericay, and for Cardiff South and Penarth, and the right hon. Member for Maldon. First of all, in terms of the Suwalki gap, it is clear to me, as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Estonia, that the Government and our allies need to go a lot further to ensure that nothing happens to the Baltic states, who valiantly kept their freedom and the idea of their nations alive during the Soviet occupation. In terms of the demands highlighted by the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay, the House is clear that this is not enough. The Belarus state is a vast monolith of the Soviet era; it is not just 50—forgive me—lackeys. There is an entire state structure, from local government, national Government, all the way down to the health structure, that needs to be tackled.

I certainly will not move against the motion; I think everyone is totally in agreement, but the Government need to move forward quickly to ensure that the Belarusian regime understands that we all mean business.