Saudi Arabia: RAF Support
Debate between Tessa Munt and Calvin Bailey(1 week, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Bailey
I know that the hon. Gentleman has spoken on these matters with great passion and consistency during my time in the House. We urge the Houthis to return to a UN-led political pathway, and we will continue to work with regional allies. It is also important that we provide our allies with the support that allows them the space and capacity to engage in that activity and provide much-needed sanctuary for the Yemeni people.
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
We are constantly reminded of the importance of plans and planning, so what specific political and diplomatic conditions would need to be met for the Government to withdraw this defensive support, and how will Parliament be kept informed on progress?
Mr Bailey
We insist that all the support from the UK is in accordance with international law and IHL—international humanitarian law. I have had the great privilege of working in the Department on the application of such processes in the past, so I can speak here with great comfort, knowing that we will ensure that those processes are met, and that our rules and values are upheld by our allies and partners.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Tessa Munt and Calvin Bailey(3 months, 4 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
Last month the former Defence Secretary said that he believed he was misled by his own Department while he was Defence Secretary. Former Scotland Secretary Baroness Liddell, who sat on the Philip review panel, said that she was misled. Given that, surely the Secretary of State must support the Chinook Justice Campaign families’ long-standing pleas for a fresh inquiry into why their family members were put on that particular flight?
Mr Bailey
I should declare that I am very close to some of the families who lost family members on that Chinook, as the hon. Lady well knows. I am sympathetic to the point that she makes. We are looking at this matter at the moment. I have to be very careful about my involvement, but I will make sure that the questions she raised are answered, and I agree to meet her.