Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Yvette Cooper and Lorraine Beavers

Tuesday 3rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

I say to the shadow Foreign Secretary that this Government believe that decisions should be made in the UK’s national interest and according to UK values, not according to any other Government’s national interest, whether in Europe, the US, the middle east or beyond. We will take decisions on the Chagos islands in the interests of our national security. She knows the national security issues that are at stake here. Instead of simply travelling round the world trying to undermine the UK’s national security and the decisions that we are taking, perhaps she should start standing up for the UK’s national interest.

[Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

T5.   My eight-year-old grandson Ronnie, along with his mum and dad, spent Sunday night on the bathroom floor at RAF Akrotiri until they got the all-clear at 3 o’clock in the morning. Will the Foreign Secretary assure me that this country will not be dragged into another illegal war by the Americans, putting the lives of British servicemen and women, and millions of innocent civilians, in danger?

[Yvette Cooper]

I want to praise the UK armed forces in Akrotiri for their huge professionalism, and for the work that they do to defend the UK’s national security. We have already increased the deployment, with additional defensive capabilities including radar, F-35 jets, and air defence and counter-drone systems, and we work closely with the Cypriot Government on safety and security issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Yvette Cooper and Lorraine Beavers

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

T4. Settler violence and expansion in the occupied west bank is a daily threat to Palestinian communities. In the face of persistent violence, entire villages have been forcibly displaced. This is ethnic cleansing, enabled by the Israeli state. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that a ban on trade with Israeli settlements would show Israel that we are serious in opposing this disgraceful activity?

[Yvette Cooper]

We are deeply concerned about the escalating settler attacks and the fact that they have reached new heights, with more attacks last year than any year since the United Nations began recording such incidents. We need the Government of Israel to abide by their obligations around settlements and settler violence, but we also need to ensure that we pursue this as part of the broader peace plan process—the 20-point plan process—to build the greatest possible co-ordination around delivering not just peace for Gaza, but a two-state solution.