(7 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberThere is no hiding from the fact that the loss of a British judge on the International Court of Justice is a major failure for British diplomacy. What lessons will the Foreign Office learn to ensure that this does not happen again?
I cannot quite agree with the construction my hon. Friend places on events, but I repeat my congratulations to the Indian judge. As the House will know, a long-standing objective of UK foreign policy has been to support India in the United Nations.
(7 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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As I have said, I think that the best course for us all is to try to minimise the political point-scoring and concentrate on getting Nazanin home.
Like all other Members, I want to see this poor lady, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, back home as soon as possible. However, while reflecting on the proposal that she be given diplomatic protection, will my right hon. Friend reassure us that no steps will be taken that would jeopardise the safety of British diplomats around the world today, and indeed the diplomats of any other western country, who must be our main priority in this case?
I pay tribute to the work of the British diplomats who put themselves in harm’s way and in danger across the world all the time. We will, of course, bear that consideration in mind.
(7 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe new element is the increasing desire of the North Korean regime illegally to test nuclear weapons and threaten its neighbours and those further afield, and the acquisition of what looks like an intercontinental ballistic missile with what could be a hydrogen bomb capability. That is the new element, which requires international co-ordination to defeat.
North Korea’s regime is partly financed by money laundered through Chinese regional banks and companies. In the US, the Treasury Department has taken decisive action to cut off those organisations—even those that are Chinese—from the financial system, and prosecutions have been launched in the past few days. Will the UK Government do exactly the same to those organisations operating out of the City of London?
We are certainly in favour of ensuring that all the sanctions that are currently in place are fully applied. If it is necessary to take action in respect of the City of London, we certainly shall do so.