Venezuela: Political Situation

Stella Creasy Excerpts
Tuesday 5th September 2017

(6 years, 7 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Simon Clarke Portrait Mr Clarke
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That is absolutely right. We all share horror and repugnance at what is going on in Venezuela. The right hon. Gentleman who purports to be the alternative Prime Minister of our country bears a heavy responsibility, and Labour Members have to account for—

Stella Creasy Portrait Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
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The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case for the importance of standing up to these people. Will he therefore join Labour Members in calling for the Government to do what the American Government have done and introduce a travel ban? Perhaps they could come up with some practical suggestions for sending a strong message that this House universally condemns human rights abuses, and then actually act on those suggestions. The need to take the plank out of one’s own eye before looking at the splinter in somebody else’s is a wise thing to remember in this place.

Simon Clarke Portrait Mr Clarke
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On this issue, the splinter in the eye of the right hon. Member for Islington North is a large one. However, I am perfectly happy to look at practical steps that could be taken to bring the regime to some form of account. I see the Magnitsky Act in Russia as an encouraging precedent that we should seek to follow. We need to hold those at the very top of the regime to account for their actions, but it is also important that the moral lead set by the Opposition—