Ukraine: 1,000 Days
Debate between Matt Rodda and David Lammy(1 month ago)
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Mr Lammy
The hon. Member asked me a number of questions. He raised the issue of licences, which I have also seen mentioned in the papers. I can assure him that we have looked at that matter thoroughly. There is no sense of our holding anything up. We have the most robust export licensing regime in the world. We stand by that regime, which was actually put in place by the previous Government, and there is no sense at all of it holding things up unnecessarily.
The hon. Member is right to raise the issue of technology. Drone technology in particular has enabled both the UK and Ukraine to target Russian attacks with precision. I can reassure him that we will continue to lead on the matter of seized Russian assets, and, over the coming months, I intend to redouble my efforts with our allies who are not as advanced as we are on this issue.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement and the details that he has outlined today. Will he provide a little more detail on the discussions that we have had with our friends and allies across the west? Can he also reassure residents in Britain about the part that they can play? He has spoken very eloquently on that. Indeed, my local Ukrainian community centre has played a very important role in our area.
Mr Lammy
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I say to the British people that they should take heart from the fact that this Parliament is speaking with one voice. If we as a country do all that we can to ensure that, militarily and economically, Ukraine can get through 2025, and if we are able to push and nudge our allies to ensure that we are in that place, then things will get a hell of a lot tougher for our Russian opponents, and we should take heart from that. In thinking about the winter, we should continue to do all that we can to send equipment over to Ukraine and to support Ukrainians in this country. It is tough for the people in Ukraine at this time. Some are still leaving the country, for obvious reasons. All of our efforts are not in vain—they are hugely, hugely important, and I am hugely, hugely grateful.
Ukraine
Debate between Matt Rodda and David Lammy(2 years, 7 months ago)
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Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is completely right. As the world recovers from a pandemic that the global south is still in the midst of, and as the world faces rising food prices and rising inflation, it is extraordinary that we heard the Secretary of State say that we would have to wait until the spring. If one went outside, one might think it was the beginning of summer. Where is the strategy? We need to see it.
The latest figures suggest that the UK has issued 70,000 visas for those displaced and fleeing Ukraine. The Secretary of State will know—she will no doubt have got this from the emails coming into her own constituency postbag—that there are still thousands of families saying that they want to offer a home who are still waiting to be connected by her colleague the Home Secretary. The rhetoric is not meeting the ambition of the British people.
Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)
My right hon. Friend is making an excellent point. Like many colleagues, I have been approached by British people trying to help refugees. They are desperately trying to get them into this country and to safety. In one awful case, two large families are sharing a single room in Poland, with no money. Everything is ready for almost every member of the party to come to the UK. One piece of the documentation is lacking, and that is holding up the whole group. They are suffering terribly as a result. Please can the Foreign Secretary refer this matter on to her colleagues? I thank my right hon. Friend again for raising this point.