Iran-Israel Update

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Brendan O'Hara

Monday 15th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know that the whole House will have rightly been appalled by the allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in 7 October. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel policy and procedures to ensure that nothing like that can ever happen again. We are actively working with allies to try to bring the situation to a rapid conclusion. We are expecting final reports from the UN and others on what happened by the end of April, and we intend to clarify the UK’s position on funding once we have reviewed those final reports.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

Israel has indicated that it intends to respond to Iran’s attack, against the advice of the international community, including the UN and the United States. Such a retaliation could tip the region into a catastrophic all-out war, so in terms of leverage to persuade Prime Minister Netanyahu against further retaliation, will the right hon. Gentleman say that, should Israel choose to escalate, there will be no further UK military support for its endeavours in this conflict?

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman meant also to condemn Iran for what happened over the weekend. We will continue to urge de-escalation and for calm heads to prevail on all sides.

Defending the UK and Allies

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Brendan O'Hara

Monday 15th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

The right of innocent passage is a fundamental principle of international law and cannot be interrupted by non-state actors. However, although the Prime Minister might wish that this was not the case, international law is not a menu. It comes as a package; we cannot pick and choose which bits we want to uphold and which we want to ignore. Is he unable to see how ignoring Israel’s egregious breaches of international law in Gaza, while purporting to act in defence of it in Yemen, actually undermines international law and the rules-based order?

[The Prime Minister]

No. Israel has the right to act in self-defence against Hamas, who conducted a terrorist attack on it, and we continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and for civilians to be protected in that conflict.

Israel and Gaza

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Brendan O'Hara

Monday 23rd October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Qatar is an important ally to the UK. We have a wide-ranging bilateral relationship, and because of that it is helpful to discuss with the Emir of Qatar their efforts—they are taking a lead on this—to secure the release of hostages. I welcome and commend Qatar’s leadership in helping to secure the release of the first two hostages, but I know that the Emir and Qatar are focused on securing further releases, and we will continue to work closely with them.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

I was disappointed that nowhere in this statement did the word “ceasefire” appear. Of course, we absolutely and unreservedly condemn Hamas embedding themselves within the civilian population, but that surely is a compelling reason for a ceasefire, because only by ending the killings can progress towards a political solution take place. So why, even at this late stage, will the Prime Minister not join the growing number of voices calling for an immediate ceasefire, before this catastrophic conflict engulfs the entire region?

[The Prime Minister]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to what I said previously. Israel has the right to defend itself. It is facing an appalling terrorist organisation, which has committed appalling acts, and it has the right to ensure that those acts stop and do not hurt its citizens again.

Israel and Gaza

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Brendan O'Hara

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Hamas are fully responsible for the appalling act of terror that has taken place, but Iran does pose an unacceptable threat to Israel, including through its long-term support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. I reassure my hon. Friend that we are working with our allies, as we have been for a while, to decide how best to deal with the destabilising actions of the Iranian regime in the region.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

I echo the Prime Minister’s unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and their appalling acts of terrorist violence. International humanitarian law demands that any Israeli response must be legal and proportionate. Does the Prime Minister agree that, regardless of the circumstances, the collective punishment of an entire civilian population—one that involves forced displacement and the cutting off of water, food, fuel and medicine—can never be legal or proportionate?

[The Prime Minister]

I believe that we must support absolutely Israel’s right to defend itself, to go after Hamas and to ensure its security in the long term and that such acts cannot happen again. As a friend, we will continue to call on Israel to take every precaution to avoid harming civilians.

Economic Update

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Brendan O'Hara

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My right hon. Friend knows this area better than most. She is absolutely right. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate global leadership, and she can rest assured that we will do so, particularly on the finance track, which I am responsible for. I am working closely with Mark Carney, who is the Prime Minister’s envoy, and we are trying to put in place an ambitious set of goals that we can help deliver. She also talked about our leadership in particular areas, and those are things that we must double-down on. With offshore wind and carbon capture and storage, we can lead the world in developing those technologies.

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) [V]]

Although I welcome the temporary reduction in VAT, it does not go nearly far enough to help the tourism and hospitality businesses in my already economically fragile Argyll and Bute constituency. Surely to ensure that these otherwise robust businesses are still there and are ready to go again next year, they need an extension of furlough to be able to retain their staff and to have access to grants, rather than having to rely on the business interruption loan scheme.

[Rishi Sunak]

I will not repeat my comments on an ever-extending furlough scheme. I do not think that that is the right thing to do. With regard to grants, we provided grants—£10,000 or £25,000—specifically to businesses in the retail, hospitality and tourism sector, and that is why those businesses did not necessarily have to use loans if they did not want to. They received that support early in this crisis, because we acknowledged the particular difficulty that they would face. The hon. Gentleman referred to the VAT cut, which was one of the significant asks—if not the significant ask—from industry, but there is also the “eat out to help out” discount that will drive tons of businesses and protect millions of jobs.

Economic Update

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Brendan O'Hara

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

I know that my hon. Friend knows those businesses well. He should rest assured that we are already in contact with them, through both the Treasury and the Department for Transport. As I said, we will work with them as quickly as possible to put in place what measures are necessary.

[Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)]

This afternoon, Lochfyne Langoustines, which employs 20 people in the village of Tarbert, told me that it did not have a single UK or export sale today. Soon, the company’s boats will be tied up, processers will be laid off, and the business could close. The far east markets are beginning to reopen and there is a glimmer of hope, so will the UK Government work with the Scottish Government to help to arrange cargo flights to get into the reopening markets as soon as possible?

[Rishi Sunak]

I am happy to ask my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for International Trade and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to have a look at that.