Middle East

Debate between Yvette Cooper and Joe Morris

Tuesday 9th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we make ongoing assessments. We take immensely seriously our obligations relating to strategic export licences under international humanitarian law and ensure that assessments continue to be made. That is one of the reasons we suspended arms exports to Israel in a series of areas soon after this Government came to office—it was exactly because we took that so seriously—and, as I understand it, why we also published legal advice at that time.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

I add my voice to others across the House in urging for stronger actions on Israeli war crimes. Fertiliser is a key issue, not just in my constituency but across the world. I have spoken to a lot of local farmers who are deeply concerned that not only do they feel the pinch already, but that that will shortly pass on to UK consumers and drive up the already spiking cost of living. Will the Foreign Secretary outline some steps that she is taking to make sure that more fertiliser is available in our part of the world and, indeed, across the world to combat global hunger?

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is exactly right, and he is right to champion the farmers in his constituency. The closure of the strait of Hormuz risks impacting on the cost of living right across the globe. That is why we have made the reopening of the strait central to what needs to be achieved in a peace settlement. It has to be full and unconditional, and not just a partial reopening, because it is so important to get the fertiliser, the oil and the different commodities flowing again. We must also look further at our economic security and supply chains more widely, because we should be seeking, internationally, to avoid choke points where any country can hold the global economy to ransom in the way that Iran has done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Yvette Cooper and Joe Morris

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

We have been clear about the importance of mobilising the Russian sovereign assets in order to invest in and support Ukraine. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the proposal put forward by the EU, which we support, is for reparation loans based on those sovereign assets that would allow us to maintain the appropriate stability and approach to the financial markets, and also to mobilise those assets to support Ukraine. The purpose is to ensure that Russia pays for the damage that it has done, as it should, and we will continue to press for those Russian sovereign assets to be mobilised for Ukraine.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

5. What steps her Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What steps her Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Yvette Cooper)]

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire as winter weather draws in, while thousands of families do not have proper shelter. This weekend, after more than a year’s delay, we were finally able to get UK-funded tents into Gaza through Kerem Shalom, working with UNICEF. Those tents will provide critical shelter for 12,000 people, but more support is needed, so from today the Government will also match, pound for pound, new donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s middle east appeal over the winter, with an additional £3 million of support through those charities to help the people who are most in need and get support to families in Gaza.

[Joe Morris]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for her response. I am very concerned about recent reports that over 1,000 tents that were consigned were prevented from entering Gaza. Can she assure me that we are doing whatever we can to get this aid from the UK—tents to provide shelter as winter approaches—through the border to those who need it the most?

[Yvette Cooper]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We are continuing to press to get increased humanitarian aid in. The level of aid is increasing, and as we have seen, we have been able to get the UK-funded tents into Gaza. However, I have seen some of the warehouses in Amman that still hold UK-funded aid—wheat that could feed hundreds of thousands of people—that we need to get into Gaza, which is why we need all the crossings opened.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Yvette Cooper and Joe Morris

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

We have provided an additional £200 million for neighbourhood policing as part of more than £1 billion of additional funding for police forces across the country. That is how we are putting an additional 3,000 neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers on our streets this year, after the decimation of neighbourhood policing under the Conservatives.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

T5.   I associate myself with the Home Secretary’s comments on 7/7. Recently, the town of Prudhoe was shocked when Islamophobic graffiti was found on a building. Such graffiti has no place in Prudhoe, my constituency, Northumberland or this country. Can the Home Secretary assure me that upholding the safety and security of everyone in rural communities, no matter where they are from or what their background, is of the utmost importance to this Government?

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is right. That sort of graffiti and serious hate crime divides communities and needs to be taken seriously by police across the country. It is one of the reasons we are strengthening the law to give the police stronger powers to prevent intimidating protests around not just synagogues but mosques.