Israel and Gaza

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Gareth Bacon

Monday 23rd October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think that is a mischaracterisation of some of what some of those countries have said. I spoke to the President of France last night and also leaders from the US, Canada, Italy and Germany. We are united in supporting Israel’s right to self-defence, acting in accordance with international law, and committed to getting humanitarian aid into the region, as we are now doing.

[Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)]

I pay tribute to the statesmanlike actions of my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary on this terrible issue. At the weekend, shocking footage travelled the world showing flags of proscribed organisations on the streets of London, with extremists proclaiming Allah’s curse on the Jews and others calling for jihad. British Jews are increasingly feeling unsafe in their own country. But what has made that worse is the apparent refusal of the Metropolitan police to do anything about it, other than stand to one side and then issue a self-justificatory tweet that, frankly, was an insult to the intelligence of anybody who read it. What steps has my right hon. Friend taken to ensure that the leadership of the police will in future enforce a zero-tolerance policy for incitement and extremism on our streets, for the good of all our people?

[The Prime Minister]

Hateful extremism has no place in our society. Calls for jihad and Muslim armies to rise up are a threat not only to the Jewish community but to our democratic values. Of course, the police are operationally independent, but the Home Secretary has raised this with them. Anyone who commits a crime—whether it be inciting racial hatred, glorifying terrorism or violating public order—should expect to face the full force of the law.

Economic Update

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Gareth Bacon

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

With regard to nurseries, for example, we have already included them in the business rates holidays for this year, and also ensured that the funding that they receive from Government remains constant throughout this crisis. On top of that, they have access to our other areas of support—bounce back loans and others—but of course we keep everything under review.

[Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend’s support for business and workers has safeguarded the livelihoods of thousands of my constituents in Orpington. Now more than ever, it is vital that we stick to sound economic principles to help our nation’s recovery. Will my right hon. Friend therefore reject the Leader of the Opposition’s hard-left call for a raid on people’s hard-won homes and savings in the form of a new wealth tax, and offer reassurance that the Government will continue to focus instead on policies aimed at creating wealth, rather than simply plundering it?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: at this stage, that is absolutely not the policy that we should be pursuing. What we should be pursuing is policies that will get people back to work, encourage and incentivise businesses to take on new employees and new apprenticeships, and ultimately—he is right—create the wealth that funds our public services.