Point of Order

Tim Farron Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In Foreign Office questions earlier today, the Minister for International Development, the hon. Member for Midlothian (Kirsty McNeill), answered a question from the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson). I have informed both Members that I would be mentioning them. They spoke about the matter of returning Eritrean asylum seekers to Eritrea, and of conversations between the Foreign Office and the Eritrean Government. At no point during their exchange was it remarked upon that Eritrea is widely regarded as the North Korea of Africa, and that under its murderous dictator, Isaias Afwerki, it has become the fifth most dangerous place on planet Earth to be a Christian or a member of any other minority faith. What can we do to ensure that the Minister and her officials are aware of these facts and come before the House to explain the extent of these conversations with the Eritrean regime, given that it would be an act of extreme wickedness to return any asylum seeker from Eritrea to Eritrea?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I thank the hon. Member for giving notice of his point of order and for ensuring that Members were alerted before they were mentioned in the Chamber. This is not a matter for the Chair, but he has got his point on the record; those on the Government Front Bench will have heard what he has said and will pass his point on.