Conflict in Sudan

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. I understand the importance of this urgent question, but we have substantial business to get through today, so I ask that questions are short and, Minister, that answers are just as short and on point.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the aid that the Minister has outlined for this horrific crisis. He is right that we must be precise about what military involvement, if any, the UK may have via arms sales. He will have also heard the concern about the UAE and what is happening. Amnesty International has described it as a

“hub for arms diversion for years”,

affecting conflicts not just in Sudan, but in Eritrea. Can he update the House? He says that the Government are looking closely at the reports about arms sales. Can he update us on what conversations he has had with our counterparts in the UAE on that? How can we close those loopholes so that everybody can have confidence in this matter?

[Mr Falconer]

We have looked closely at the reports in The Guardian and the associated documentary evidence that it has provided. I have tried to set out our assessment of those reports. We are still looking in particular at this question of the engine and the licensing arrangements by which it may have made its way to Sudan. However, unlike some of the reports that I have seen online and elsewhere, this is not large-scale British arms; this is three specific components, and the dossier of documents included a range of other countries. That is why I have focused my remarks more broadly. I can also reassure my hon. Friend that the UK and the UAE continue to discuss these issues, including discussions on Friday between the Foreign Secretary and her counterpart.

Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles) for securing this important debate.

George Orwell said:

“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”

I am not mad when I say that the debate on leaving the ECHR is nothing to do with immigration; I am telling the truth, which is something I hope the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) will finally come to realise. The convention is not designed to interfere with immigration policy; it says nothing about immigration, and the Court has long acknowledged the right of states to control their borders. That is why Oxford University data shows that only 3.5% of deportations of foreign criminals were successfully appealed on human rights grounds. That is the truth.

The fundamental purpose of the ECHR is to protect people from Governments of all colours. It stopped the Georgian Government arbitrarily detaining people. The Polish state has had to compensate thousands of citizens who had property taken away. Children in the Czech Republic were given rights to school. The failures of the French Government to tackle modern slavery were addressed. That is why apologists for authoritarian Governments such as the Russians hate it, and why they use immigration as a cover for their attacks. Now people want us to make the same mistake again—of walking away, not being in the room and isolating ourselves, as we did in Europe through Brexit—by walking away from the protection the ECHR offers our citizens: the protection that helped the Hillsborough families get justice, the protection that helped the victims of the black-cab rapist John Worboys, the protection that secured human rights and abortion access in Northern Ireland.

Even if people do not care about victims of crime or of miscarriages of justice, or about those who have been forced out of our armed forces for being gay, they might care about taxes. In February this year, the Court forced the Italians to stop a series of tax raids on companies because it was against their human rights. All of that—those basic rights—are at stake. And that is before we even get to the fact that it is the foundation of our trade agreements, and why other countries want to do business with us, that we follow the rule of law and hold ourselves accountable to a shared standard. That is why the ECHR is the foundation of the Good Friday agreement and is written into the EU trade and co-operation agreement, especially the deals on crime and policing.

[Sarah Russell (Congleton) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Ms Creasy]

My apologies, but I will not.

The Court also recognises the jurisdiction of nations. I reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) that if he has problems with how the ECHR is interpreted, we can pass domestic laws to address that. I know that some in this room want the Court to be a bogeyman, but the truth is that it actually respects our rights, including democracy. That is why we were able to vote on the issue of prisoner voting.

What is not true is that any Government writing their own Bill of Rights would offer the same protection to our constituents. Any fool can see that a Government who set out what rights we have one day can take them away the next. A Bill of Rights without someone external to ensure that it is enforced is not worth the paper it is written on. That is why the international rule of law matters. Leaving the ECHR would give a future Government the power to weaken the rights of our constituents. It would bring us back to the chaos of Brexit. It would be an attack on our freedoms, not an advance of them. The truth may hurt, but it also sets you free.

Gaza and Hamas

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

For the reasons I gave earlier, I am reluctant to be drawn into a day-by-day commentary on the actions of both sides. What is key is that we keep the ceasefire going, and that is what the Americans have been clear is still in place. This is going to be difficult. The events of the last 24 hours have been difficult, and I am sure that we will have further difficult days ahead. This is not a straightforward path, and if the right hon. Gentleman doesn’t mind, I will not be drawn on an individual instance today.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is now 19 days since 10 October, and there are still hostage families who cannot grieve for a loved one, and still people starving in Gaza because there is not enough aid, and now we are seeing the west bank deteriorate. In the last 24 hours, Vice-President Vance has argued that “skirmishes” are somehow inevitable. With the greatest will in the world, the death of 35 children and possibly more is not a “skirmish”. If the international community can do anything, it is to be involved in the detail of ensuring that the ceasefire holds. If the Minister will not tell us what the Government’s response is, will he at least say what possible justification the Israelis have given for the latest incident?

[Mr Falconer]

I do not wish to spend too much time at the Dispatch Box repeating the statements of others. I am sure that my hon. Friend, who follows this issue closely, will have seen what the Israeli Government provided as justification, the statements from Hamas denying that they were involved in the shooting in Rafah, and the considerable uncertainty that has surrounded some of those events. The key question for the British Government is whether or not we think the ceasefire can hold, and whether we think we can make all the progress, that my hon. Friend describes, on reopening the aid crossings, disarming Hamas, and transitional governance arrangements. I am not for one second taking away from the gravity of these incidents—lives have been lost, children have been killed—but the role that stands before the British Government at the moment is to ensure that the ceasefire does not break down. That does not mean that we do not get into the detail. We have a major general in the Civil Military Co-ordination Centre who is part of the efforts to ensure that when violence and threats to the ceasefire occur, we understand the who and the why, but I will not give a running commentary from the Dispatch Box until we are in a position to do so.

Qatar: Israeli Strike

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Gentleman says “15%”, when in fact he means 15% of components of the total F-35 supply. The truth about the total supply to Israel is that it is less than 1%.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Minister is absolutely right to call for a session at the United Nations—nobody can think that attacking the people trying to broker peace is going to lead to a ceasefire—but ahead of that, this country must have made some assessment of the case for the session and the motion. Will the Minister tell us what assessment his officials have made about the civilian casualties and whether this strike is proportionate under the boundaries of the laws of armed conflict, as set out in international law? If we go to the UN, what case will we be making?

[Mr Falconer]

I would not want to be drawn on a casualty tally from the UK. As I set out in my response, Qatar has been clear about its own assessments and these things tend to develop in the immediate aftermath of a strike, so I will not be drawn on casualties or the number of people struck. Qatar, quite rightly, will release that information when it is available. My hon. Friend asks about the international law tests against which this strike must be judged. Those tests are self-defence and imminence, and in any session of the UN Security Council those are the tests that we would expect Israel to be able to satisfy.

Middle East

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I reassure the right hon. Gentleman that this is an open procurement. No decisions have been made, and no decisions will be made until 2026. The whole House will have heard what he said.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I think we all hear the frustration of the Foreign Secretary. He is leading in a way that other nations have not on this challenge, but it is that leadership role that we are looking to as a House. I think we all understand that nations individually have limited impact but that pressure can be brought to bear collectively. Can he tell us, for example, what more he is doing with his colleagues in the world community to stand with the Israeli opposition to Netanyahu and the Israeli hostages calling out his murderous behaviour?

The Foreign Secretary comes to the House and tells us that the famine is man-made, which is a war crime. What more is he doing to report the Israeli Government to the ICC or to say that we will recognise Palestine not as a threat but as a statement of positive intent with our colleagues? Above all, how are we working with our colleagues in Europe? The honest truth is, not a single child from Gaza who urgently needs medical assistance has yet come to the UK, but the European Union and World Health Organisation programme is getting children out at pace and at speed. What more could we be doing to work with them so that those children could come within days? They have already been cleared by Israeli officials. No, we must not judge ourselves by other countries; we must judge ourselves by whether we have truly done every single act we can. There is more that we could do.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. Lengthy questions just deny other colleagues the opportunity to speak.

Middle East

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

Most licences are not for military use. Most do not go to Israeli authorities. Many are for civilian use, such as product testing or body armour for journalists and NGOs. I am quite sure that the hon. Member would not want us not to support those organisations. Some are for components going to Israeli companies that are then re-exported to third countries, including NATO allies.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) is right; we have been waiting weeks for this statement. The truth is that our constituents do not understand—and neither do we—how we can track our stolen mobile phones to China or Algeria but we cannot track F-35 components in the multimillion-pound arms trade. They do not understand why we have not reported Israel directly to the International Criminal Court for what has been happening to aid workers, and they do not understand why, given that this House voted in 2014 to recognise the state of Palestine, that has not been enacted. I hear the Foreign Secretary’s frustration, and I do not doubt his frustration with his partners, but tonight we could say, “We do not need a conference—we will recognise the state of Palestine.” Will he join us—yes or no?

[Mr Lammy]

Again, I understand my hon. Friend’s strength of feeling. She knows that there will be a two-state conference on 28 July, and of course we will participate. But she will have also detected that at that conference our French and Saudi Arabian colleagues are talking not about recognition but about how we get to two states and get an enduring ceasefire. It may be that as we head to September and the United Nations General Assembly the issue of recognition is raised once more.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I think my hon. Friend refers to the two-state solution conference that was due to take place in New York last week. It has been suspended for understandable reasons, given events in the region, by its French and Saudi co-hosts. We expect that it will be rearranged, and I have been in conversation with my Saudi colleagues about when that might be.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

15. What recent progress he has made on securing the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

I am committed to securing Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s release—I was committed to this before coming to power, and I remain committed now. The Government are engaging intensively on this case. I raise Alaa’s imprisonment every time I am in contact with my Egyptian counterpart, and the Prime Minister has raised it in several conversations with President Sisi.

[Ms Creasy]

I think everybody in this Chamber, including the Foreign Secretary, is desperately worried about the health of Laila Soueif, who has felt that she has no choice but to be on hunger strike since her son Alaa should have been released last September. She is in and out of hospital, desperately ill, “dying in slow motion”, as her daughter says. I welcome the work that the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have done on this case and the commitments they have made. As the Foreign Secretary knows, the Egyptians have remained steadfast in their objections. Can he confirm that he is considering all options to secure Alaa’s release, including changing the Foreign Office travel advice for Egypt to highlight the risk of arbitrary detention, so that no other family is put through this kind of anguish?

[Mr Lammy]

This case and Laila’s condition concern me greatly. It has been a top priority every week that I have been in office. At every single level—Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Minister, National Security Adviser—we are engaged with the Egyptians. I believe that our strategy is working, but clearly, given Laila’s health, we must see progress at pace with the Egyptian Government.

Middle East

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

We have UK nationals in the region. We have UK bases in the region, and force protection is at its highest level. We have several thousand troops in the region. Of course their welfare is our priority. Of course we have moved assets in a precautionary way into the area, and of course we will work alongside our allies to protect them and to protect our people. I can give the hon. Member that assurance wholeheartedly.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

We all share the Foreign Secretary’s concern about getting back to considering how we end the horrors we see in Gaza and about getting clarity on the dangerous risks that Iran presents, but that means asking some difficult questions about how we get the negotiations going. We have seen today that the Israeli forces have deliberately targeted the Evin prison in Tehran. It was the prison in which Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held. What conversations has my right hon. Friend had with the Israeli Government about whether they are now moving to target non-military installations? What does he think that would mean for the ability to restart negotiations?

[Mr Lammy]

I reassure my hon. Friend that I spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister yesterday. I spoke to him briefly again this morning, and he reassured me that the military targets and the nuclear facility remain their objective and their focus at this time.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. I am planning to run this statement for a further 30 minutes, but Members should think carefully about how many of their colleagues they wish to help to get in, and ask short questions—and short responses, please.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Let us be short and frank, then. For many of us in this House, this is no longer complicated. Time has run out for claiming ambiguity of action. Since 20 May, we have seen 22 more settlements. It is deliberately made dangerous for people to access aid, and the Israel Defence Forces have declared the roads to the aid distribution centres “combat zones”. The Minister says that the Government have raised concerns and have called for immediate independent investigations, but those have not happened—not just in this incident, but repeatedly. He will not tell us what he will do. This is on the consciences of us all, so we have to ask him to be clearer. Will he tell us what is not on the table? Will he rule out things? He has told us that he is talking about the future, but will he rule out immediate recognition of Palestine, which many of us have been calling for, the sanctions that many of us have been calling for, and a final resolution of the F-35 farce? If he does, at least we will get sense of where this is going.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. During statements, we need briefer questions.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I do not think that on any of the six occasions when I have made a statement on this subject at this Dispatch Box, I have not condemned Hamas, what they did on 7 October and those who are keeping hostages. Let me be clear: I believe that Hamas are holding hostage the Palestinian people, but just as we can hold to that, we can hold in our heart and mind that it is morally reprehensible to continue this blockade, and to reduce 400 humanitarian aid points to four. That is impossible and intolerable, and the United Kingdom must speak up against it.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

This statement is welcome, but I believe that the Foreign Secretary has heard the strength of the feeling on the Government Benches that more needs to be done. I believe that he is more in tune with the families of the hostages who were at the border yesterday, protesting against what the Israeli Government are doing; we should show solidarity with them for standing up to Prime Minister Netanyahu. If solidarity matters, let the Foreign Secretary hear Labour Members call for a vote on recognising Palestine; he has heard Members of other parties call for that vote. We held a vote on that in this place in 2014, but it is fair to say that a minority of the people who supported the motion are in the House today. The conference is before him; would not a vote on the issue in the House show that we speak as one in calling for an end to what is happening in Gaza, and in calling for recognition of the Palestinians’ right to exist?

[Mr Lammy]

The British people made a determination when they voted Labour at the last general election. My hon. Friend knows that in our manifesto, we committed to Palestinian recognition in the right circumstances. I have said a lot about the conference that is coming up on a two-state solution, and she will no doubt read a lot about it. Given that we are only days away from it, that is what should concentrate minds at this time.