Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Duncan]

The hon. Lady is labouring under a serious misapprehension: yesterday’s hearing provided an advisory opinion, not a judgment. We will of course consider the detail of the opinion carefully, but this is a bilateral dispute, and for the General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion by the ICJ was therefore a misuse of powers that sets a dangerous precedent for other bilateral disputes. The defence facilities in the British Indian Ocean Territory help to keep people in Britain and around the world safe, and we will continue to seek a bilateral solution to what is a bilateral dispute with Mauritius.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

2. What steps he is taking to enhance UK soft power overseas.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to enhance UK soft power overseas.

[The Minister for Asia and the Pacific (Mark Field)]

We should be proud of the UK’s soft power and the contribution that independent institutions such as the BBC and the British Council make to it. That is why the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has trebled its investment in Chevening scholarships since 2015, helped to fund the biggest expansion of the BBC World Service in 70 years and provided additional funding for the British Council’s work in developed countries. It is also why my Department is developing a cross-Government soft power strategy to further project our values and advance our interests overseas.

[Peter Heaton-Jones]

The Minister rightly mentioned the BBC World Service. Will he join me in celebrating the excellent work that that organisation does, given how important it is for expressing the UK’s soft power overseas, and in calling on the BBC to expand and enhance its reach?

[Mark Field]

I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in recognising the excellent work of the BBC World Service, which brings the UK and its values to the world at large. Since 2016, Her Majesty’s Government have been funding the World 2020 programme, which has seen the World Service undergo its biggest single expansion in the past 70 years, with 12 new language services opened in 2017-18, and I have been very proud to watch some of that excellent work in India.

Venezuela

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Thursday 7th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I am very happy to say that I agree with the hon. Lady in all respects. On humanitarian aid, while I was in Ottawa I spoke at some length to my right hon. Friend the Secretary State for International Development, and I will be meeting her again next week. We are discussing how we can anticipate the way in which aid might be delivered once the country is, as we hope, again opened up. We are planning to try to work with multilateral organisations for when Venezuela can be properly assisted. I rather think that, although we know there is a humanitarian problem, when we lift the lid and look more deeply into what has been wrought upon the Venezuelan people, we are likely to find out that it is far more severe than we even contemplate at the moment. We need to be ready for that eventuality, and I know that the International Development Secretary and the whole Department for International Development apparatus are now looking at this very deeply.

On the question of helping Venezuela to get up and running in a legitimate way, I would make one simple point, which is that the country does have a constitution. The problem is not the constitution, but that Maduro has not upheld the constitution. He holds up the little book and then bends all the rules that are written inside it. All we need is to uphold the proper process and principles of that constitution. That is exactly what Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly are doing, and they are now the foundation for reasserting the proper workings of the constitution through free, fair and effective legitimate elections.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend the Minister for his statement, which is extremely welcome. It stands in stark contrast to the contribution by the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Liz McInnes), which was regrettably, I am afraid, ill-judged in both its tone and content. Will he assure me that we are doing everything we can to condemn the persecution and intimidation being meted out by this socialist regime to opposition activists?

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

It’s not socialist—it’s Marxist.

[Peter Heaton-Jones]

In particular, can we also ensure that we are doing everything we can to secure the safety of journalists, who need to have the freedom to report what is happening there safely and securely?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I am sure the House will hope that I do not get into a semantic argument about the use of the words “Marxist”, “socialist”, “Leninist” or “Trotskyist”. I am not as great an expert on such words as some Opposition Members are. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The freedom of journalists who are getting in is absolutely essential. We will do our utmost to uphold human rights there, but also to bring to account those who have abused them.

Let me say two things. First, on the use of the Magnitsky clause, I apologise to the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Liz McInnes) for not answering her question about that, but let me do so now. We would like to be able to do this now, but the process of getting the application of the Magnitsky clause workable within the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 will take a few more stages of parliamentary approval. It needs to go through certain statutory instruments and things like that, so it is not yet up and running, but we would like it to be. We would obviously like to do that as soon as we can, within the broader snowstorm of Brexit SIs.

Secondly, the Lima Group countries have referred Venezuela—the state and not just individuals within in it—to the International Criminal Court, citing some 18,000 extra-judicial killings and many other such instances that they believe create a very strong case against Maduro and his entire regime under the rules of the ICC.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 4th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mark Field]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. We remain appalled by the conflict and deteriorating humanitarian situation in South Sudan. We welcome the regionally led peace agreement signed on 12 September. We believe that that is the only real chance and opportunity for the people of South Sudan, who have suffered for so long. There are positive steps, but I accept, as the hon. Lady points out, that progress is very slow and inconsistent. We welcome reductions in violence, and we work with our mission there to try to move towards ceasefire violations coming to an end.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

11. What steps he is taking to protect the rights and freedoms of journalists throughout the world.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We are very concerned at the increasing number of attacks on journalists throughout the world, which is why next summer we plan to host a major conference in London on protecting media freedom.

[Peter Heaton-Jones]

I am grateful for that answer. This issue is close to my heart. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm that the UK Government will continue to press other countries to protect the freedoms, rights and securities of journalists, wherever they might be working and however inconvenient their reporting might be in those jurisdictions?

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

12. What his policy is on global ocean conservation.

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

Last Friday, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary announced that he personally will lead on drawing up an international oceans strategy for the Government. Our ambitious Blue Belt programme is protecting waters around the overseas territories and we are championing the establishment of science-based marine protected areas across the Southern ocean, including in the Weddell sea.

[Peter Heaton-Jones]

Global ocean conservation must begin at home, so will the Minister join me in welcoming many local initiatives around the coastline of Britain, which are playing such a vital role—particularly, I am bound to say, around the beautiful coastline of North Devon?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

We all commend the efforts of local communities. Growing awareness and subsequent personal choices and actions are crucial for preserving the marine environment, and we all need to assess our own habits as consumers and play our part in safeguarding our oceans.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2018 Ministerial Corrections

The following is an extract from Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 15 May 2018.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

T8. Residents of North Devon regularly raise with me their concerns about the continuing illegal international trade in wildlife and wildlife products. Will my right hon. Friend please update the House on how we are tackling that?

[Boris Johnson]

I can tell the House that this is a subject that arouses the grave concern of the entire British people. The illegal wildlife trade is currently worth about £1.7 billion, and it is of course associated with many other criminal activities. That is why, in October, we are holding a global summit in London on that very matter, which I think will attract the interest of the world.

[Official Report, 15 May 2018, Vol. 641, c. 132.]

Letter of correction from Boris Johnson.

An error has been identified in the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Peter Heaton-Jones) during Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

The correct response should have been:

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 15th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

The right hon. Lady had an opportunity to be clear about what Labour wants to do. Conservative Members have been absolutely clear. The Prime Minister has said it time and time again: we are coming out of the single market, we are taking back control of our borders, our laws and our money, and we are coming out of the customs union. In her Mansion House speech, she gave plenty of indications of how we will deal with the problems that the right hon. Lady has described.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

T8. Residents of North Devon regularly raise with me their concerns about the continuing illegal international trade in wildlife and wildlife products. Will my right hon. Friend please update the House on how we are tackling that?

[Boris Johnson]

I can tell the House that this is a subject that arouses the grave concern of the entire British people. The illegal wildlife trade is currently worth about £1.7 billion, and it is of course associated with many other criminal activities. That is why, in October, we are holding a global summit in London on that very matter, which I think will attract the interest of the world.[Official Report, 16 May 2018, Vol. 641, c. 3MC.]

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

The case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a very difficult consular case, and that is how we are treating it.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

A number of my constituents have contacted me expressing concerns about the case. Can my right hon. Friend assure them that he and the Government are doing absolutely everything possible to exert influence to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and does he agree that that should be our one and only priority and our one and only focus, in the Government and in the House?

[Boris Johnson]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance, and I can also tell him that our ambassador —our excellent ambassador—in Tehran is working on the case daily.

European Union Referendum Bill

Peter Heaton-Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech in this debate. I had imagined making my maiden speech in some obscure late-night debate on a piece of legislation when the House was half empty, so this is nice.

I am immensely proud to have been elected to represent the people of North Devon and I am particularly proud to have been part of the blue tide that has swept through the south west. We are known for strong tides in our part of the world, but not all of them are as welcome as this one.

Let me begin by paying tribute to my predecessor, Sir Nick Harvey. Sir Nick served North Devon and this House with diligence and distinction for 23 years and served in the previous Government as well. We owe Sir Nick a debt of gratitude for spending so long in public service during his career.

Although I always hoped to take the seat of North Devon, there was a lot of uncertainty, as there was with the election as a whole. That was summed up for me perfectly on one sunny afternoon when my campaign team and I went into the front garden of a cottage in a lovely village called North Molton. The lady approached us and, seeing blue rosettes, said, “You won’t want to talk to me. I am a committed Marxist.” Then she took a deep breath and, with perfect comic timing, said, “And I’m never voting Liberal Democrat again.” We knew from that moment that all the pieces were in flux.

My overriding priority in this House will be to stand up for North Devon. The overall theme is that we need our fair share. For many years now, under Governments of all colours, we have not had our fair slice of the funding cake in North Devon. I am here to say that that is something up with which we will not put. We need investment in our infrastructure, especially the North Devon link road, the A361. We do not look on it as our only link to the rest of the country; we look on it as the only means that the rest of the country has to be lucky enough to visit us. It is not fit for purpose, it is dangerous, it is slow and it is inhibiting economic growth and investment in North Devon. I have lobbied my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on many occasions, to the point that I think he is getting bored with me, but I am happy with that and I will keep lobbying. I am delighted to say that he has now made commitments, and I will see the project for the North Devon link road through. It is a long-term ambition; dare I say perhaps it is aspirational, to use the word du jour, but I am sure that we will achieve that.

The other main issue is rural broadband, or should I say the lack of it. The information superhighway should not stop just because we are west of Bristol and north of the M5, and I will do all that I can to ensure that we achieve improvements.

The tourism industry in North Devon is also high on my list of priorities. I shall unashamedly use this opportunity to promote everything that North Devon has to offer. We have quite simply some of the most beautiful coastline and countryside not only in the south-west but in the United Kingdom. We have some of the rugged north-facing coasts and the surf beaches that face west. The place where the two meet is called Baggy Point, which is derived from an old English word that means “full of holes”. I am told that some parties considered launching their manifesto there.

We also have Exmoor national park. We have beautiful towns such as Ilfracombe, South Molton and Chulmleigh and the biggest village in England, Braunton—woe betide anyone who thinks that it is not a village. We have our principal town in Barnstaple, an important commercial and economic centre, and a driver of the region’s economy, which is undergoing welcome redevelopment, with a major riverside development of shops, hotels and restaurants, homes and businesses now taking shape.

Obviously, it never rains when people take their holidays in North Devon, but I remember as a young boy more than 40 years ago being on a family holiday on the North Devon coast and retreating to the cinema in Barnstaple when the rain at the seaside became more horizontal than vertical. Little did I know that all these years later I would be representing North Devon.

It is a particular privilege to be making my maiden speech on the same day as my hon. Friends the Members for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully) and for Havant (Alan Mak), with whom I have family connections. Indeed, more than 60 years ago my mother and father met at the Young Conservatives in the seat of Sutton and Cheam, so the Whips will be delighted to hear that I am literally a product of the Conservative party.

I will work hard every day to repay the trust that the people of North Devon have put in me. I will do the very best that I can for everyone in the area that we are so lucky to call home.