Counter-Daesh Update

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

As chair or the all-party parliamentary group on explosive weapons, I thank my right hon. Friend for the £5 million of additional funding he has supplied for the United Nations Mine Action Service’s de-mining activities in Iraq. May I ask him to go further and speak to his colleagues in the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development to ensure that mine deactivation and removal is a priority? In places such as Fallujah, which was the first city to be freed from Daesh control, people’s daily lives are disproportionately affected by these terrible weapons. Even though Daesh has been routed, it has left behind a terrible legacy.

[Mr Hunt]

As the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), has just told me, the reality is that if the mines remain long after the war, the war lasts longer. The truth is that people cannot get back to their normal lives and the tragedy continues, so we very much support the work that my hon. Friend describes. I am sure that there is more we can do, so we will look at that.