Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alistair Burt

Wednesday 1st May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is right to draw attention to the dangers of the anti-vaccination campaigns. In addition to thanking health workers across the world for their bravery in countering them, will she ensure the UK leads a vigorous response internationally to turn back a tide that is threatening not only those who would be vaccinated themselves but the communities around them, as we all depend on vaccination for our common safety?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend and would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to him for leading the humanitarian work in my Department and for his tenure as Minister for the Middle East. I recently commissioned new programming to look at how we can help communities have trust in immunisation programmes. We are so close to eradicating polio from the earth and it would be appalling if we pulled back and rolled back from that now.

Counter-Daesh Update

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alistair Burt

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State mentions the suffering of the Syrian people; does she agree with the constituents who came to see me at my surgery last Friday that that suffering has been compounded by the British Government’s shameful timidity regarding Turkish aggression in northern Syria?

[The Minister for the Middle East (Alistair Burt)]

Perhaps the vote in 2013 had something to do with it.

[Penny Mordaunt]

Yes; my right hon. Friend points to the answer. I think hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber regret that we took military action off the table in the vote in 2013. It was not a vote on taking military action; indeed, there was an undertaking that if military action was sought, the Government would come back to the House and ask it to vote on that. What we did that day was remove the option for this country to take military action. That is a lesson that sometimes inaction is not the right answer.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Alistair Burt

Monday 15th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Absolutely. We are very clear in the ministerial statement that we have tabled today and in the guidance that will accompany it that that is what we expect to happen. In addition, because I recognise that firefighters need those safeguards, my Department will carry out an audit.

[Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.