Israel and Gaza Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Cabinet Office

Israel and Gaza

William Cash Excerpts
Monday 16th October 2023

(1 year, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

I have specifically spoken to President Sisi about the importance of opening the Rafah border crossing, both for humanitarian purposes and to provide for the safe evacuation of British nationals. Today, we have announced an increase in our aid funding to the region by around a third, and we will figure out how best that money can help those who need it as quickly as possible.

William Cash Portrait Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)
- View Speech - Hansard - -

On international law and media impartiality, will the Attorney General be asked to provide a legal note, if not a full opinion, given, for example, that one of Ofcom’s directors—Ofcom having full statutory and regulatory responsibility for all visual and oral media, including the BBC—is reported to be supporting posts this week arguing that the Government’s support for Israel is a “vile colonial alliance”, and referring to

“ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians”?

Ofcom must surely be told that it must deal with this at once as a matter of impartiality, quite apart from any criminal action that may be needed under terrorist or criminal law.

Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I will ensure that the Attorney General looks into it, and more generally, I will just say that I absolutely endorse those describing these attacks as what they are, which is acts of terror by a terrorist organisation. Obviously the BBC is editorially and operationally independent of Government, but the Culture Secretary raised that specific issue with the BBC director general last week.