Extract from Women and
Equalities questions
The Minister for Women and Equalities (): As the Minister for Women
and Equalities, it would be remiss of me not to reflect on the
way religious communities in the UK have been impacted by the
terrible events in the middle east. All our citizens have a right
to feel secure and at peace in Britain. One of the reasons we
have been able to integrate people from all over the world is an
unwritten rule that people with roots elsewhere do not play out
foreign conflicts on the streets of this country. We owe a duty
of care and civility to our neighbours, whatever their ethnicity,
religion or background. All of us are free to practise our faiths
and celebrate our cultures, but we must do so in a positive way,
consistent with fundamental values that are the bedrock of
Britain.
I am afraid to say that in recent days we have seen that social
contract being breached. In particular, I believe that the
hostility directed towards our Jewish communities, the calls for
jihad, the ostentatious indifference to the victims of terrorism,
the aggressive chanting by mobs brandishing placards of hate, and
the odious people ripping down posters of missing children do not
reflect our values as a nation.
We must all stand firm on the boundaries of acceptable behaviour,
particularly in the public space that we all share. That is why
today I am reminding public sector organisations that they have a
legal obligation, as part of the equality duty, to consider how
they contribute to the advancement of good relations in
communities as they deliver public services. Where organisations
are having difficulty doing that, I urge them to write to me as
soon as possible for advice on how they can fulfil their legal
obligations.
Extracts from
PMQs
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP): Two million people just cannot be
sustained from 20-odd aid lorries. Utter catastrophe is being
unleashed in Gaza. Does the Prime Minister not now see that only
a humanitarian ceasefire can bring about the scale of emergency
aid that is needed? Of course Israel has a right to
defend itself in line with international and humanitarian laws,
but we must also speak out when those laws are breached. Surely
he agrees that depriving 2 million civilians—a million of them
children—of food, water, medicines and fuel is not in accordance
with international law. Will he press Israel to
restore the supply of these essentials for the sake of innocent
civilians and the future of the entire region?
The Prime Minister: It is important that we do everything we can
to get humanitarian aid to those who need it in Gaza, which is
why, on Monday, we announced a doubling of our international aid
to the region and why the Development Minister is actively
engaged with our partners on the ground to ensure that that aid
gets to those people as quickly as possible.
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
South) (SNP): Yesterday, the UN warned that hospitals in Gaza had
just 48 hours of fuel left to keep their electricity going. That
was 28 hours ago; the electricity runs out tonight. We have a
human responsibility to all the people in Gaza, but we have a
particular responsibility for UK citizens, some of whom are in
those hospitals, with no food, no water, no medicine and no way
out. How much worse does the situation have to get before the
Prime Minister will join us in calling for a humanitarian
ceasefire?
The Prime Minister: From the start, we have said that the first
and most important principle is that Israel has the
right to defend itself under international law—our support for
that position is absolute and unchanged—but we have also said
from the start that we want British nationals to be able to leave
Gaza, hostages to be released, and humanitarian aid to get in. We
recognise that, for all that to happen, there has to be a safer
environment, which of course necessitates specific pauses, as
distinct from a ceasefire. We discussed that with partners
yesterday evening at the United Nations, and we have been
consistently clear that everything must be done to protect
civilians in line with international law and to continue getting
more aid flowing into Gaza.
: The growing calls for a
ceasefire are also about calming the situation in the broader
region, especially the west bank. UNICEF has reported over 2,000
fatalities and over 5,000 injured children since the conflict
began, due to unrelenting attacks. If we ignore that, we risk
pouring petrol on a fire in a place that only requires a spark to
ignite. Can the Prime Minister understand that joining calls for
a ceasefire is now the best—and maybe the only—way to stop this
conflict escalating beyond all control?
The Prime Minister: We have to remember that Israel has suffered a
shockingly brutal terrorist attack. Hamas are responsible for
this conflict, and Israel has the right to
protect itself in line with international law, as the UN charter
makes clear. We will continue to urge the Israelis to follow
international law, but we also have to remember that Hamas
cruelly embed themselves in civilian populations.
We are doing everything we can to get aid into the region. I am
pleased to say that an RAF flight left the UK for Egypt this
morning carrying 21 tonnes of aid for Gaza. The relief supplies
include more than 75,000 medical kits, solar lights and water
filters for families, and warehousing equipment. Our team are on
the ground, ready to receive. We will continue to do everything
we can to increase the flow of aid, including fuel, into Gaza.
(Foyle) (SDLP): A few short
months ago, the world came to Belfast to celebrate the Good
Friday agreement. At the heart of that agreement was the
realisation that we could not use violence as a tool for revenge
or to achieve our political aims. As 1,400 Israelis and almost
6,000 Palestinians lay dying or dead, when will the Prime
Minister say enough is enough? When will he call for a ceasefire?
When will he tell Israel to stop meting
out collective punishment to the people of Gaza, and when will he
and other world leaders insist on a political solution that
involves a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people?
The Prime Minister: As I said, an important principle is that
Israel does have the
right to defend itself under international law, to ensure that
attacks like this one—which was brutal and horrific for its
citizens—cannot happen again. We continue to support that
position, but, as I said, from the start we have also wanted to
ensure that humanitarian aid can go in and hostages and foreign
nationals can come out. We recognise that that means there has to
be a safer environment, which of course necessitates specific
pauses, as distinct from a ceasefire. We discussed exactly this
with our international partners yesterday at the United Nations
and will continue to do so. As I made clear on Monday, we have
doubled down on our efforts to find a better future for the
Palestinian people. That has been a feature of all our diplomacy
in the region, and we will continue to give all our efforts to
making that happen.
(Bolton South East) (Lab):
There is an email in my inbox from a constituent who has family
in Gaza. It reads:
“My heart can’t handle this anymore. We are being massacred,
relentlessly bombed. Homes destroyed. No water, no food, no
electricity.”
Save the Children reports that one child is killed every 15
minutes. As I speak, the lives of 130 babies in incubators are in
danger if fuel does not reach their hospital in time. This is
collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza, for
crimes they did not commit. How many more innocent Palestinians
must die before the Prime Minister calls for a humanitarian
ceasefire?
Point of Order
(Hayes and Harlington)
(Lab): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The House rises tomorrow
for 10 days, I believe. Regrettably and sadly, it may be likely
that a ground invasion of Gaza will commence during that period.
This not only has consequences for the Palestinians and the
Israelis, but could create turmoil and destabilise the whole
middle east. I appreciate that it is the Government who determine
whether or not Parliament is recalled but, in your conversations
with the Government, will you advise them that the House should
be recalled to debate such a serious issue?
Mr Speaker: You are absolutely right that it would not be for me
under the normal rules, although I recognise the importance of a
major escalation and what could happen in the middle east. You
are correct that it would be for the Government—not for me,
unfortunately—to recall the House. I will work through the usual
channels to try to ensure that, quite rightly, we look to see
what can be done in what would be special circumstances, because
obviously the House will have prorogued. I do not lose sight of
what you have said, and I take it on board. I will work with
others behind the scenes to see how we would manage such a
situation.
The Leader of the House of Commons (): Further to that point of
order, Mr Speaker. I can assure the House that the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office, my office, and other
Departments across Whitehall are very aware that this House will
want to be kept updated about the ongoing situation. Many right
hon. and hon. Members will have constituents directly affected,
and we are working with the House of Commons Library to ensure
that people are updated about the situation during the
recess.
The Prime Minister: I welcome the unity across the House on
Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of an unspeakable act
of terror, but it is also clear that we must support the
Palestinian people; they are victims of Hamas, too. Hamas use
innocent people as human shields, and we mourn the loss of every
innocent life of every people, every faith and every nationality.
We are working as hard as we can to get as much humanitarian aid
into Gaza as quickly as practically possible.
Remaining stages of the
Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill
The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill
completed its passage through the Commons
Economic Activity of Public
Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill - report stage
Extract from Lords
repeat of Commons statement on Ukraine
of Newnham (LD):...My Lords,
as the noble Lord, , pointed out, eyes are all
turned towards Israel and
Gaza at the moment. What assessment have His Majesty’s
Government made about the impact that that is having on President
Putin and whether he is taking an opportunity to engage further
in Ukraine while we look to Israel and
Gaza? Beyond that, the House was told last night by the
noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, that there has been a British deployment
of support to the eastern Mediterranean of two Royal Naval ships,
RAF surveillance aircraft and a company of Royal Marines—and we
have bolstered forces in Cyprus and across the region. All that
is in many ways welcome, but can the Minister explain what
assessment is being made in the MoD about our own resilience to
make sure that we can continue to support the training of troops
in Ukraine as well as in the eastern Mediterranean, because both
those fronts are vital?
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence () (Con): The noble Baroness
is absolutely right to indicate that there is nothing that Mr
Putin would like better than to imagine that everybody is
distracted by another dangerous conflict and that somehow or
other he is off the radar screen. For the United Kingdom and our
allies, the tragic situation with Israel and
the Gaza Strip and the situation in Ukraine continue to be deeply
worrying conflicts. We will do our level best, as we have
indicated, to provide support where we can. The noble Baroness
designated the support that we have indicated we can make
available in the eastern Mediterranean. I can confirm to her that
that is not impugning our resilience on other fronts. As she will
understand, the support that we are offering to Ukraine is
somewhat different in character, but we are able and absolutely
committed to continue doing that. I hope that there will be
opportunities to update the House in forthcoming months as to
exactly how that support will continue.
(Con): My Lords, we witnessed
Putin in China last weekend, a guest of honour at the Chinese
celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the belt and road
initiative. He noted that they had common threads bringing
together Russia and China and, as we know, China has offered
economic and diplomatic support to Russia the whole way through.
Neither state has condemned the atrocities that we have seen by
Hamas on Israel Are we
witnessing a growing coalition of authoritarian states, including
Iran and North Korea? What is His Majesty’s Government’s
response, especially with regard to the future of Ukraine?
