Counter-Daesh Update Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebatePhilip Hollobone
Main Page: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)Department Debates - View all Philip Hollobone's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(3 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberI am happy to write to the right hon. Lady with the specific numbers that we have, but as I have said, our focus has been first and foremost on prosecuting in the region—where that is possible, that seems to be the right thing to do on jurisdictional grounds and for the victims—but also when they return. I will see whether we have the breakdown of numbers that she wants and write to her, if I may.
Médecins sans Frontières, the wonderful medical charity, has just announced that one of its staff members has sadly been killed in the giant al-Hawl camp, which houses families of Islamic State fighters in Syria. That brings to 30 the number of people who have died in attacks in the camp. This sprawling hotbed of ISIS discontent houses 65,000 people. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to contain the threat posed by this number of people in that location?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is not just a strategic danger; we also have to think of the vulnerable people who are at risk. We are working closely with all our partners. Of course, those camps are a target not just militarily but for the warped propaganda and narrative that Daesh and others seek to sow.