Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I think people would see it as very curious that a country that voted to take back control was choosing to cede control in a number of areas of vital national interest. I think they would also be concerned that it would not resolve the national debate on Brexit, because many of the people who voted for Brexit would not see this as delivering a true Brexit.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Secretary of State recognise the incredible action by thousands of young people across our country in striking for action on climate change? Will he not only recognise that we are facing a global emergency on climate change, but declare a national emergency on climate change, just as the Labour party has done?

[Mr Hunt]

I very much welcome young people being involved in climate change issues; I do not welcome quite so much their missing school to do so. I would say that we are making a lot of progress in this country—in fact, I think we have done more than anyone else in the G20 on climate change—but it is not enough. As a global community, we still need to do more, which is why we want to host COP 26 and galvanise the world to take more action.

Counter-Daesh Update

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I absolutely do agree with that. I think we have to be aware of the limits of our power and of the mistakes that we have made in our own foreign policy over the years in the middle east. As a new Foreign Secretary, I am very conscious that this is not an area of the world that someone can come to understand quickly, so we need some humility as we approach policy in this area. He is right, however, that one of the challenges we have is the involvement of Russia, which has become a more influential player in the region, and we should also say that about the activities of Iran. Taken together, these do present real risks to stability in the region of which we need to be aware.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the ongoing efforts to defeat Daesh in the field, but he will be aware of the wider strategic need to promote reconciliation. I would reflect on the post-invasion picture in Iraq, particularly the strategic blunder of de-Ba’athification, as it was then seen, and the huge vacuum and stoking of sectarian tensions it created. Is the Secretary of State aware of the growing concern about the continuing judicial processes in Iraq that may be stoking sectarian tensions, and what efforts is he making to impress on the Government in Iraq that that ought to be avoided at all costs?

[Mr Hunt]

This was exactly the topic that my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East talked about when he met President Salih and Prime Minister Mahdi on his recent visit to Iraq. I do not want to pretend that we have magically moved to a totally robust and stable democracy in Iraq. None the less, I think it is encouraging that the country is getting used to the process of elections and that the new Government are committed to reconciliation in the way that the previous Government were. However, it is a very fragile new democracy, so if we are going to do what Prime Minister Mahdi wants, we have to give him all the help we can.

Yemen

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 19th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Gentleman has a lot of experience of this from his time on the Foreign Affairs Committee. He is absolutely right. A Government of national unity has to cover the whole country. It has to give confidence to the Houthis that despite being a minority, their rights are going to be respected, but it also has to give confidence to all minorities, so I agree with him.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Given accusations that gratuitous war crimes have been perpetrated by both Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the key regional proxies in this conflict, and their failure to honestly and openly investigate those accusations, why will the Secretary of State not support an independent UN-backed inquiry into allegations of war crimes perpetrated by all sides in the Yemen conflict? Why is that not included in the United Nations draft resolution?

[Mr Hunt]

Because the draft resolution has to have the consensus of both sides. I support fully independent investigations into everything that has happened. That is right, and it must happen, but we have to go step by step. At the moment, getting agreement to a ceasefire—the first ceasefire that we have had in the entire history of this terrible conflict—is a huge first step, and we would not want to compromise that.

Yemen

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 21st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for championing his constituents’ cases. I want to reassure him that the lack of progress we have been able to make is not through a lack of effort or desire on the part of the FCO; it is simply a function of the fact that we cannot get consular staff into Yemen. Our ambassador is based in Riyadh. I met him when I was there last week. As soon as we are able to offer more assistance, we will.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Foreign Secretary talks about the need for robust oversight of humanitarian obligations in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. A report by The Sunday Post revealed that 366 war crimes allegations in Yemen have been tabled, but only 79 investigations have been undertaken by the Saudi-led joint incident assessment team. That is a 21% rate. Does the Secretary of State view that as an acceptable rate, particularly as British munitions may have been involved in those incidents?

[Mr Hunt]

The entire humanitarian situation in Yemen is totally unacceptable. I agree with the hon. Gentleman and the shadow Foreign Secretary that there needs to be full investigation of all crimes that have happened. To do that, however, we need a climate that makes that possible. That is why the peace process is so important.

Death of Jamal Khashoggi

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 22nd October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We have had extensive discussions with the Turkish authorities about their investigation, and we are encouraged that they think it will only be a matter of a few days before the full results are announced. I would be happy to meet the International Federation of Journalists.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Foreign Secretary is correct to say that the full facts of this barbaric murder have not emerged yet, but key facts have emerged. It seems utterly implausible that the top forensic pathologist from Saudi Arabia is dispatched, equipped with a bone saw, when this is something to do with a fist fight. I was also shocked to learn that that named individual who visited the consulate in Istanbul was a graduate of Glasgow University, which raises questions about the unhealthy relationship between higher education institutions in this country and Saudi Arabia. Will the Foreign Secretary consider calling on Glasgow University to strip this barbarian of his degree in the first instance?

[Mr Hunt]

I am sure that the university will consider doing exactly that if he is found responsible for the crimes that are being alleged, but obviously that would be a matter for the university. I take the hon. Gentleman’s point; he is saying what many hon. Members have said, which is that the accounts we have heard from Saudi Arabia as to why this happened do not seem to match the facts on the ground.

NHS Staff Pay

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 21st March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I would not dare to talk about an area outside my own Department’s responsibilities, even to such an eminent person as my right hon. Friend.

Flexible pay is at the heart of what we need to do differently in the NHS. This is really about two types of NHS worker. First, many people find that the shift patterns in the NHS are very unpredictable. Every six weeks their lives are turned upside down as they are given a new set of times when they have to work. People want regularity and predictability, and we do not offer that at the moment, which makes life much tougher for those who are trying to achieve a work-life balance. Secondly, we make life hard for people who want to do extra shifts at the last minute. Both those factors are important, and they will be helped by this new pay deal.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

We have already heard about the 14% real-terms fall in NHS staff pay since 2010. There have been eight long years of pay restraint, and this deal does not go far enough to offset that historic deficit.

The Secretary of State is having to deal with the massive problem of an ageing population and the need to increase the capacity of the NHS to deal with it. Does he agree that alienating an entire generation of junior doctors was not a productive way of achieving that?

[Mr Hunt]

We do not recognise the figures that the hon. Gentleman has given but, in any event, he cannot say that the deal does not go far enough without asking why that has happened. It happened because in 2008 we had the worst financial recession since the second world war, which was made an awful lot worse by the Labour Government’s loss of financial discipline. What I think is most disturbing for people in the NHS is that the hon. Gentleman’s party seems set on repeating the same mistake.