Extract from Commons
statement on US Immigration Policy
(Islington South and
Finsbury) (Lab): I am sure that the whole House will join
me in expressing sorrow at last night’s gun attack on a Canadian
mosque, which left six dead and eight injured. They were all
victims of hate, and we all have a duty to stand up to hate
whenever, and in whatever form, it appears...
...Forty-six hours after the Executive order, we got
clarification that UK nationals and dual nationals would not be
affected. If that was because the wheels in Washington were slow
to turn, it might be understandable, but Canada was immediately in touch
with its American counterparts on Saturday and by that evening it
had secured the travel rights of Canadian nationals, a full 17
hours before we had secured the travel rights of
ours. Canada is supposed to be five hours
behind the UK, so why was it a day ahead of us in resolving this
issue?
(Bethnal Green and Bow)
(Lab): President Trump’s decision to issue this
Executive order is deeply divisive and dangerous. It has sent
shockwaves around the Muslim world, including in Muslim
communities across Europe and here in this country. As a Muslim,
I find it deeply worrying and disturbing. Living in this country,
I am deeply fearful of reprisals like the attack in Canada. When
political leaders amplify tensions, when they fail to show
courage and leadership, and when they fail to stand up in the
face of division and hatred, we send the wrong message. I appeal
to the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister to show courage
and leadership, and to take steps to provide protection for those
communities across Europe who are feeling very, very worried
about their safety after this Executive order.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs (Boris Johnson): I agree very much with a lot of
what the hon. Lady says, which is why the Prime Minister and I
have taken the line we have on this measure. She speaks of hate
crime and is absolutely right to do so. I do not want to see
anything that stigmatises, entrenches divisions or causes
communities to feel unwelcome, whether in this country or
elsewhere. That is absolutely wrong. We take hate crime very
seriously in this country. We can be proud of some of the
achievements we have made in the past 10 to 20 years in cracking
down on those who foment mistrust and division between our
communities.
(Nottingham East)
(Lab/Co-op): Why did the Foreign Secretary make no
reference at all in his statement to the Americans’ suspension of
their refugee programme? Should not our Prime Minister have
echoed the words of the Canadian Prime Minister by saying that we
welcome those who are fleeing persecution, terror and war,
regardless of their faith?
: Our policy on
receiving refugees has not changed, and we have a good record.
The United States, to the best of my knowledge, has taken about
12,000 Syrian refugees alone. As I said earlier, I do not think
that anybody could reasonably fault the United States of America
as a great recipient of migrants from around the world. If we
look at the numbers—45 million people in the US were not born in
that country—we see that it has a very distinguished record.
Mrs (Washington and Sunderland
West) (Lab): In the hope that he will now answer it, let
me repeat the question put by the shadow Foreign Secretary that
the Foreign Secretary did not answer. In the light of our special
relationship with the United States, why did it take the
Government of the United Kingdom over 17 hours longer to get the
same assurances that the Canadians got much quicker?
: It is our duty to
secure the best possible deal for citizens of the United Kingdom.
What Canada does is a matter for Canada, and I have no knowledge
of what deal the Canadians may or may not have secured. It is
important for the House to understand that this is an Executive
order that caught many Departments of the American Administration
on the hop, as it were, and it has taken them some time to
elaborate the policy that we now have.
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Extract from Emergency
Debate on Changes in US Immigration Policy
(Stratford-on-Avon)
(Con):...I know that I will have vast amounts of support
from hon. Members across the House when I say that the Executive
order is not only wholly counterproductive in combating terrorism
and the narrative of Daesh, but will worsen the situation,
playing into the hands of those who would see more terrorist
atrocities, not less. Those sympathetic to Daesh will link the
order to abhorrent recent events—most notably, the burning of a
mosque in Texas and yesterday’s tragic shootings at another
mosque in Quebec, Canada. They will link it to rhetoric
surrounding the so-called Muslim ban, and to the President’s
comments revealed by the former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani,
to which the right hon. Member for Doncaster North referred. On
Fox News on Saturday night, Rudy Giuliani confirmed that the then
presidential candidate approached him and, after announcing his
intention to impose a total shutdown on all Muslims entering the
USA, instructed him to
“Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it
legally.”
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