Oral Answers to Questions

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

The reason that we are setting up the dedicated team is to look at all the options. That is why it is so important to work with the Select Committee to try to find solutions to this problem, which has been going on for far too long.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK’s continued commitment to tackle Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Gavin Williamson)]

The UK is as committed as ever to working through the global coalition to eliminate the danger posed by Daesh. We continue to undertake air strikes against Daesh targets, and we have been building the capacity of the Iraqi security forces, including the peshmerga, to deal with a potential insurgency. For as long as they want and need our support, we will continue to train Iraq’s security forces, enhancing their ability to respond to the threat and carrying out security sector reform in Iraq.

[Rehman Chishti]

Apart from military action, what steps are being taken to help to tackle the sectarian tension in Syria and Iraq, and in the wider region, which in part led to the rise of Daesh?

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend highlights an important element. This is not just about support through the military; it is also about international development support and about building civil law enforcement, which involves the police and, equally importantly, the courts, in order to give people confidence that the courts are fair and just.