Live Foreign and Commonwealth Office Questions House of Commons

committee to be considered.

Consideration what day?

Wednesday

the 20th of February at 4pm.

Wednesday the 28th of February at

4pm. Questions to the Secretary of

State for foreign and, love affairs.

Question number one Mr Speaker.

The

Foreign Secretary has spoken to the

Turkish Foreign Minister about the

operation, we have called for

de-escalation for the protection of

civilians whilst recognising

Turkey's legitimate interest in the

security of its borders and it

remains in our shared interest to

achieve a political settlement in

Syria.

Thank you for that answer but

does the Foreign Secretary

recognised the Kurdish led

administration in Afrin has built a

secular democratic system that has

worked collaboratively with the

international community to defeat

so-called Islamic State most

recently in Raqqa and does he accept

the international committee owes a

debt of honour to the Kurds and

wealthy step up the efforts to stop

the bloodshed in and around Afrin. I

understand what is being said but we

must recognise the legitimate

security interests of Syria and

having launched operation olive

branch in January it is in response

to attacks from the Afrin area and

they believe they are in compliance

with Popper at UN standards.

When we make representations to our

Turkish Nato allies can we make

representations on the half of the

tens of finalists of journalists and

others locked up by the Turkish

government?

I can assure my right

honourable friend we do, and we do

so in all the meetings we have at

all levels with our Turkish

counterparts.

Does the government

agreed the Democratic union party

and the people's protection units

should be included within the Geneva

process to end Syria's war and

discuss the country future?

That is

praise merrily a question on Syria

but I would point out that of course

the PKK is a prescribed organisation

in the UK whereas the organisations

she principally refers to are of

course not and so can spoken to.

Will the Minister make

representations to the Turkish

Foreign Minister to asked the

Turkish navy to cease obstructing

vessels seeking to extract

hydrocarbons in the Eastern

Mediterranean?

I understand the

issue to which my right honourable

friend referrers which is the issue

of drilling for oil and gas on the

edge of Cyprus. We are assessing

what has been reported over the last

day or so about what exactly is

happening in that area.

Mr Speaker

we on this side of the house

unequivocally condemn Turkey for

their disgraceful assault on Afrin

and we are especially appalled they

have enlisted in the Army the very

jihadists demolishes the Kurdish

forces have worked so hard to drive

out of Northern Syria. If the

Foreign Secretary is unable to join

me in condemning Turkey today will

be Minister of State at least

explain why he believes and I quote,

Turkey 's legitimate interest in

securing its own border gives them

the right to brutally attack the

innocent Kurdish community in Afrin?

I don't think it is exactly as the

Right Honourable lady says. We need

to recognise Turkey 's legitimate

interests but condemn any kind of

attack on civilians and we wish to

see a de-escalation but the

legitimate rights of Turkey should

be recognised.

The truth is that the

Turkish assault as part of a broader

pattern where too many foreign

parties engaged in the Syrian civil

war are now acting just like the

Assad regime itself with out regard

for international law. David Cameron

guaranteed this house that it was

exclusively, exclusively to combat

the threat from Daesh. Can I ask

when will he seek a mandate from

this house?

I find the right

honourable ladies and analysis

extremely bizarre particularly as

the YPG have been looking to align

with the Assad regime.

What is the

assessment of the Assad regime and

the Kurds joining forces motility to

resist the Turkish incursion?

That

is the issue to which I just

referred, we are assessing it and I

am sure there will be for the report

but it's too early to say what may

be happening.

Question two.

With

permission Mr Speaker I will answer

a question two and nine together.

Girls education is a moral

imperative, women and girls have the

right to be educated equal and

empowered and safe. This is one of

the Foreign Secretary's top

priorities and he has instructed his

officials to put girls education at

the heart of their work.

Given the

appalling revelations about some

employees in Oxfam and the

subsequent attempts to cover it up

to the Minister assure us that any

organisation which is asked to

deliver education for girls

programmes anywhere in the world by

the British government is fit for

purpose.

I share the assessment that

this is an utterly despicable

example and I hope he agrees with me

that my right honourable friend the

Secretary of State for International

Development has shown real

leadership on this in terms of

writing to all the organisations

with which we contract to ensure

safeguarding levels are raised and I

believe she has been allowed by you

Mr Speaker to make a statement on

the subject later on this afternoon.

During his recent trip what

discussions did my right honourable

friend have with Burma, Thailand and

Bangladesh on the government policy

of education of women and girls?

My

right honourable friend champions

this issue at every opportunity

including at the opportunity that my

honourable friend mentions. He will

be aware that not only has he shown

tremendous leadership on this issue

but he is appointed a special envoy

for gender equality and has really

put this work at the heart of the

diplomatic network.

Provides

education and the Northeast Frontier

province of Pakistan, incredibly

dangerous environment for women and

girls. The UK friends try to bring

people to the UK to provide human

rights support however at the Home

Office often blocks them, what

discussion has she had with the Home

Office?

She is right, highlighting

Mr Speaker the important work a

range of organisations do, often in

partnership with us. Certainly if

she has specific examples were she

would like me to make

representations to my right

honourable friend the Home Secretary

then I'd be to receive

correspondence.

Further to that

previous question what discussions

as the minister had with the

government of Pakistan on the

education of girls in that country

and could she tell the house what

proportion of UK aid to Pakistan

goes towards the education of women

and young girls?

It's certainly very

significant Mr Speaker, I had the

pleasure last month to meet with two

very impressive education ministers

from different parts of Pakistan, as

he will be aware it's quite devolved

across parts of Pakistan, to do with

the specific statistics he wishes me

to provide I will follow up in a

letter to him.

Could I welcome the

work my honourable friend is doing

in this field but would she agree

with me that in places like Africa

there is a huge amount more work to

be done.

Well my honourable friend

is absolutely right Mr Speaker,

there is a huge amount to be done,

something like 136 million girls

around the world are not in

education and of course it is as my

right honourable friend the Foreign

Secretary has said, it is truly the

Swiss Army knife of development

because not only, it works in so

many different ways. It helps to

resolve issues of conflict but also

it's important to advance global

prosperity.

CNN recently reported

the story of a 12-year-old from

Yemen who wants to become a doctor

but her father is being forced to

make the choice to marry her off to

make ends meet, he will receive

£2000 for marrying of his daughter,

what will she do to to prevent

conflict in Yemen so that young

women near campus of potential here?

The honourable lady is right to

highlight a particular example which

illustrates the challenges faced by

girls around the world. I think the

UK Government has demonstrated a

significant leadership position not

only in terms of this issue as a way

of progress in peace and on and

around the world but also in terms

of urging all parties to the

conflict to make a political

solution.

Question number three.

Secretary Boris Johnson.

Mr Speaker

the conclusion of the highly

successful Anglo-French summit, it

was a agreed that a committee of

wise people should be established to

look at reviving the great tradition

of UK- France collaboration in such

matters as security, defence, space,

genomics, infrastructure and indeed

infrastructure projects such as the

idea of a new connection between our

countries. An idea that I can tell

was welcomed by my counterpart and

by -- run himself.

I noticed the

Foreign Secretary did not say if you

would be on this committee of" wise

people". He will be aware of the

warning that the travel ports face

gridlock if a transitional

arrangement for Brexit not urgently

put in place so can I ask the

Foreign Secretary what is the point

of a 20 mile bridge if there will be

a 20 mile queue to get onto it?

I congratulate the honourable member

for crow barring Brexit into that

question. I think most people would

appreciate that the Eurotunnel, the

existing channel Tunnel, is likely

at the present rate to be full

within the next seven years. That's

a very short time in the lifetime of

a major construction project, and

it's a curiosity that two of the

most powerful economies in the

world, separated by barely 21 miles

of water, are connected by just one

railway line. I think it's a matter

for legitimate consideration by our

two countries going forward.

In

terms of links across the Channel

with France and many other European

partners, yesterday the Brexit

select committee saw Michel Barnier,

Guy Verhofstadt and many others, and

it's absolutely clear that the deep

partnership are looking for with the

European Union will be a unique and

specific agreement that will benefit

both sides of the channel

enormously. Does the Foreign

Secretary agree with me that this

should be the outcome of the talks

that we will start again shortly?

Order, order, on the subject of crow

barring and shoehorning, can I

remind the honourable gentleman that

the question is about a fixed link,

it's not about Brexit, it's about a

fixed link across the Channel.

That's the purpose of the matter

upon which the Right Honourable

gentleman will focus. If I may say

so, I think my right honourable

friend has

sit on a metaphorical

fixed link, a great, swollen,

throbbing, umbilicus of trade

between us. Each side mutually

nourishing the other, and I approve

the note of optimism he strikes.

Jay

Simpson.

I am generally in favour of

building bridges instead of walls,

but can I urge the Foreign

Secretary, instead of indulging in

fantasy engineering probe gets, to

focus on the important work he

mentioned on building metaphorical

bridges with nations who share our

values, like France, and in

particular our other European

neighbours to prevent Brexit Britain

becoming isolated and increasingly

reliant for trade and influence on

regimes who have dubious human

rights records.

I think the

honourable lady raises an important

point, but she will recognise we are

beefing up our diplomatic

representation in the EU and seizing

our opportunity to build new links

and revival partnerships around the

world. I don't think anyone could be

more eloquent about our

unconditional commitments to our

friends and partners in the EU than

the Prime Minister in Munich last

week.

In 1971, the French and their

English counterparts started talking

about the Channel Tunnel and they

were mocked. Can we have more

visionary and less mockery about

ideas of how we can take forward

future relationships?

I would remind

honourable members opposite during

from a sedentary position great

infrastructure projects, it's

invariably Conservative

administrations that come forward

with it. The Conservatives revive

the East End of London with Canary

Wharf and it was Margaret Thatcher

who reignited the first channel

Tunnel.

It's estimated that we can build the

Foreign Secretary's Channel bridge

at a cost of £120 billion. He wants

to build bridges and at the same

time is pushing for a hard Brexit to

push us away from the European

Union. Instead, does he think that

money could be well spent for the

next six and a half years, we could

use the same money to give the

national health service £350 million

per week? Can I ask the Foreign

Secretary what he would prefer.

The

honourable gentleman opposite is

possibly too young to remember, but

when the first Channel Tunnel was

commissioned, it was the vision of

the then Prime Minister Margaret

Thatcher that it should be entirely

privately financed. There is no

reason why we should not have the

same ambition this time. On his

point about the Brexit dividend, as

the Prime Minister herself has said,

there will unquestionably be

substantial sums of money available

for spending in this country on the

priorities of the British people,

including the NHS. If the party

opposite is opposed to that, let

them stand up and say so now.

I

would if the Foreign Secretary can

tell us of any economic analysis he

has had done on the infrastructure

that he is talking about. And where

does it sit in terms of the

government's mad Max dystopian

barometer?

I hope the honourable

member will forgive me if I'd

deferred the economic analysis to

the committee of wise people. But I

do think it is... The first Channel

Tunnel will be full within the next

few years, by the middle of the next

decade. I think it's incumbent on us

to be responsible enough to reflect

on the future developer of our

economies and I look forward to the

findings of that committee.

I would

like to thank the Foreign Secretary

for his response. In terms of the

economic analysis he mentioned, does

he agree with me on the importance

of evidence from impartial civil

servants? Does he agree with me that

evidence in terms of the

relationship with France and the

rest of Europe is important. And in

terms of a relationship with France

and the rest of Europe, would he

agree with the former first

secretary of state that the problem

of politicians who don't accept

evidence?

On the point about civil

servants, I wish to assure the

honourable gentleman I have nothing

but admiration for the hard work and

dedication of Whitehall civil

servants who are preparing the

Brexit negotiations, and believe me,

they are doing a superb job.

Question number four, Mr Speaker.

Mr

Speaker, with permission I will

answer questions, four and 13

together. The United Kingdom will

host an ambitious high-level illegal

trade conference in London in

October of this year. And I believe

it's the ambition of cracking down

on illegal wildlife trade that is

shared by the entire British people.

At the conference in October of the

IWT, will my right honourable friend

ensure that Great Britain remains at

the forefront of the efforts to

stamp out the trade in ivory?

We

were coming to the conclusion of a

consultation period about a total

ban on ivory. I think many people in

this house and in this country would

agree a total ban is to be wished.

We will see where we get to, but I

think my honourable friend can count

on us once again to be in the lead

and we will have, I believe, some

very substantive conclusions on

saving elephants from that summit in

October.

What discussion listed my

right honourable friend have on his

recent trip to Southeast Asia with

palm oil producing countries on the

illegal wildlife trade and

deforestation?

I am acutely aware of

the problems caused by palm oil

cultivation, and we are in urgent

dialogue with our partners to

discourage them from deforestation

and the consequent loss of species.

We have come a long way in terms of

the ivory trade discussions. What

other discussions is the team having

with Vietnam and some of the other

countries in that region?

I had

discussions only the other day with

Thailand, forum instance, and we

absolutely appreciate the importance

of not simply divert in the flow of

ivory from China to other countries

in south-east Asia.

Will the

Secretary of State assure the house

and the people of the United Kingdom

that an international approach is

being taken to ensure nations across

the developed globe take a similar

position so we can ostracise and

alienate those engaged in this sort

of trade?

The honourable gentleman

is absolutely right. That's why we

are hosting a global summit and

participation rates are already very

high indeed.

Question five.

With

permission, I will answer questions

five and 11 together. I was able to

meet with both Prime Minister

al-Abadi and the Kurdish Prime

Minister in Munich at the weekend,

when our behalf of the United

Kingdom I encouraged continuing

dialogue recently begun between them

individually, which is essential to

the long-term stability of Iraq. We

have no current plans with observers

from the UK to attend the elections

in May but we are working with

others to assure ensure effective

monitoring.

Will dish diplomats

oversee the implementation of the

Iraqi constitution? -- will British

diplomats. Especially in regions

where that autonomy is under threat?

It is no doubt both sides see the

opportunity under the constitution

to ensure the relationships are

strong and good between them. There

has been a great deal of

conciliation in an area that could

be of much greater conflict and the

United Kingdom is encouraging that

dialogue in order to minimise the

risk on matters my honourable friend

raises.

Will my honourable friend

except the foreign affairs select

committee's observation that many

Kurds feel threatened in a country

that is not fulfilling its

commitments to them. And with Lee

five month long blockade of flights

from Kurdistan has been and needless

outrage? Would he encourage Baghdad

to lift the blockade?

There is

little doubt the issue of the

airport is foremost between in the

discussions between the respective

prime ministers. There is a

recognition that if arrangements can

be made for the airport it would

make a difference. In relation to

that, the future of a Kurdish region

in Iraq is essential that it's

stable and secure and rights are

honoured on both sides and the

constitution is seen to be

effective.

I have just returned from

Iraq myself. I monitored the

first-ever elections in Iraq. While

elections are important, I think the

Iraqis particularly would like more

assistance, technical assistance,

advice. They are doing a good job

there at the moment, but they do

need more UK help in order to bring

about reconciliation and progress

between various factions.

Can I

thank the right honourable lady for

her steadfast support on Iraq over

many years. Indeed, she and

colleagues from the IPU went over to

Baghdad to talk about governance

issues and the contribution she has

made over many years has been

invaluable. Assisting from the UK is

part of our support and I will look

into what mode in relation to the

elections.

I know the Minister to be

a fair-minded man. When any of these

negotiations take place, will he

balance the loyalty as allies with

the Kurdish people over many long

years, and balance that with the

track record of President the

President Erdogan.

In relation to

the Turkish issue, right right

honourable friend made reference to

that earlier. There is the needs of

Kurdish peoples, which are

represented by a number of different

parties, are recognised. The United

Kingdom is always conscious of the

relationship we have with those

peoples and the people of Iraq.

A

noted expert on the region, it's a

pleasure to see him representing Her

Majesty'sgovernment in the Middle

East. That he perhaps bring clarity

that the Foreign Affairs Committee

asked for on the difference between

the white PG and the PKK. We

received evidence at evidence that

there is no real difference. -- the

YPG. It appears we are supporting

that we are only slightly supporting

a group that is a proscribed

organisation.

Can I thank my

honourable friend is not only for

his question but the leadership of

the Foreign Affairs Committee. We

will study that report very

carefully. I appreciate it was

asking for clarity in some

situations that are genuinely

difficult to provide that clarity.

There will be a full written

response from the Foreign Office in

due course. But we do recognise the

PKK as a proscribed organisation.

That is the situation at present. We

are deeply concerned by recent

reports of chemical weapons used in

Syria. UK officials are in contact

with the organisation for the

Prohibition of chemical weapons

which is investigating. We condemn

all use of chemical weapons and are

working with international partners

to identify and hold to account

those responsible.

Anyone who seeks to draw a false

equivalence between this gassing

risks aiding and abetting this

activity but the government's

concern is not enough. Words are not

enough. What is the UK actually

going to do to take action to stop

this what was supposed to be a red

line for the international community

which has been walked over time and

again?

The right honourable

gentleman is correct to express

concern and anger about not only the

use of chemical weapons but the

increasing use, we think there has

been four occasions since the turn

of this year and if chemical weapons

come back into the norm of use in

war it goes against the century of

united response by the world against

them. I took part in the recent

conference in Paris led by the

French Foreign Minister and the

United States Secretary of State to

counter activities in the UN where

the joint investigative mechanism

has been vetoed on three occasions

to try to create some other

mechanism but he is right, we will

continue to work through the UN to

ensure the International Convention

on chemical weapons once again

becomes properly effective.

I thank

the Minister for his responses, 2018

has proven to be an absolutely

brutal year so far for a Syrian

civilians. What can we do, we can

put in place monitoring and will the

Minister say more about UK

Government resources for monitoring

and collecting evidence of these

terrible crimes?

Mr Speaker since

the beginning of the conflict in

Syria the UK has been working to

equip civilians on the ground with

the tools they need to collect

evidence which could be used in

future to ensure there was

accountability and justice. We have

been doing that for some years and

will continue to do so but what she

calls attention to is the increased

use of chemical weapons in the past

few weeks and that is an outrage.

The world community is entitled to

be outraged by it but must indeed

ensure that through the UN it does

something effective to bring the

perpetrators to justice.

Mr Speaker with permission may I

answer this question and question 17

together? The United Kingdom

supports the concept of an

international fund for

Israeli-Palestinian peace. The £3

million people to people programme

has similar aims and brings together

individuals from both sides to

support, to build support for a

durable solution. We also remain

concerned about the provision of

health care in Gaza and are working

to large all parties to take

necessary to improve conditions.

I

thank the Minister for his response,

with the UK's increased response,

something many in the house have

long supported, we have an

opportunity to lead the way on a

global stage, will the Minister

therefore pledge the UK's diplomatic

support to help create that

international fund which will ensure

our funding is matched by others as

part of a sustainable international

initiative to build peace in the

Middle East which we all long for?

Many of us over the years have

worried that one of the worst aspect

of the conflict is the separation of

people. We are following the concept

of the development of this fun and

very carefully and I will continue

to take a strong personal interest.

The sentiment behind it is why we

have the £3 million programme but we

will be watching the development of

that international fund and giving

it support where we can.

A couple of

weeks ago I was humbled to meet a

group of young Palestinians and

listen to personal stories about

restrictions on health care and now

there is a report from the World

Health Organisation is saying 54

patients died in 2017 waiting on

exit permits to get treatment

outside Gaza. Will the Minister

press is real to remove these

restrictions to prevent more

Palestinians dying waiting for

medical treatment?

The circumstances

of Gaza remain dire in many ways but

the free movement of patients and

medical personnel is vital to the

effectiveness of care. We regularly

raise concerns about ambulance and

permit delays with Israeli

authorities and we will continue to

do so.

Since September 2015 some 58

Israelis, four foreign nationals,

have been murdered by Palestinian

terrorists in more than 400 separate

stabbing, shooting and car running

incidents. The terrorists have been

rewarded with honorary titles,

monthly salaries and other

opportunities. Can my right

honourable friend make clear to the

Palestinian Authority that until

such time as glorification of

terrorism ends there can be no peace

in the Middle East.

As my honourable

friend is a way we continued to

condemn these activities in the

region at all times and some of the

attacks he mentions are absolutely

not conducive to peace and should

not be celebrated. But the context

of the situation means we must

continue to work for an end to the

conflict between Israel and the

Palestinians because it's only when

that happens that the seeds of

conflict will be taken away. After

the US half its funding president

Trump explained the decision as

follows.

The Palestinians

disrespected us by not allowing our

great vice president to see them.

That money is not going to them

unless they sit down and negotiate

peace. Can I ask the Minister to

state under half of this house that

extorting the Palestinian Authority

to bend the knee to Mike Pence by

removing essential health care and

education from impoverished

Palestinian families is nothing

short of a disgrace.

Well the

actions of the United States

government in this case have nothing

to do with us, our review... Our

view remains clear and I met with

the director this morning at DFID.

We will continue to and fund it and

leave refugees in Lebanon and Syria,

sorry, Lebanon and Jordan without

support would be a disaster and it

needs to continue to get the support

and it will do from the United

Kingdom.

Number eight that Speaker.

No cost

to the public purse!

Come off it!

You must think we will or born

yesterday, sorry, the honourable

member must think we will all born

yesterday. This was private party on

government premises sanctioned by

the Foreign Secretary. He has been

trying to dress up a ten point bunch

of ideological crackpots against the

law and he's broken the ministerial

code, he has been caught!

Mr Speaker

I am under the unhappy duty of

contradiction the gentleman

opposite, he is talking the most

perfect tripe. Events took place, it

was completely nonpartisan. Members

of all parties were present.

Including the Labour Party. There

were EU and non-EU ambassadors

represented. It was fully in line

with FCO rules on hosting such

events and I have a letter from the

Cabinet Secretary to confirm that

here. I will be happy to pass that

to the honourable gentleman. And it

was, I'm afraid to say, the Cabinet

Secretary has been pestered with

complaints from the Labour Party

about this blameless event which

finally Mr Speaker was there to

support free trade and the

encouragement of free trade which is

a major objective of government

policy and should be an objective of

the gentleman opposite, or isn't it?

Can I ask my right honourable friend

if that excellent agreement, the

continental free trade area

agreement of the African union was

discussed because that will bring

great prosperity and if it was not

discussed could it be discussed at

the next meeting which I'm happy to

pay for...

They think it was a booze

up?

Mr Speaker I hesitate for an age

before speaking you Mr Speaker but

it was a serious discussion of the

advancement of free-trade and the

subject my honourable friend raises

of free-trade in the African union

is a very good one, the only advice

I would give to the African union is

not to acquire a parliament or a

court or a single currency.

I

deferred to the Foreign Secretary 's

knowledge of this important event. I

don't know how long he was there. I

cannot say I greatly care. Mary

Robertson?

At the last forest of his

questions in January I explained the

UK is leading by example on ocean

conservation. The government is on

track to meet its manifesto bluebell

pledge which will deliver protection

across almost 4 million square

kilometres of the water around our

overseas territories. This will

happen by 2020 and we are working

through the Commonwealth Marine

economies programme to enable small

island Commonwealth seats to

conserve and use maritime space

sustainably.

I welcome the ban on

beads and other measures taken by

the UK Government to detect the

marine environment but this needs a

global approach. What diplomatic

steps is my right honourable friend

taking to engage with the United

Nations and other countries to push

the bluebell charter?

I thank my

honourable friend for recognising

the stands on micro beads and my

main point we are closely involved

in developing a UN treaty on Marine

biological diversity and areas

beyond national jurisdictions and as

chair of the Commonwealth for the

next two years we will work with

member states to create a

Commonwealth blue charter. In the

G-7 we are working closely with

Canada during the presidency to

deliver our shared an addition to

tackle the threat facing our ocean.

I welcome the significant

contribution made by the British

Council and regularly witness this.

My officials and I are in regular

contact and dialogue with British

Council across the globe to discuss

the scope of their important work,

we will continue to work with them

to establish compliance and place

the British Council only secure

feuding.

I thank the Minister for

his response and given the

importance of the British Council

when it comes to our soft power what

are the implications of possible

cuts in funding to the council 's

work and how might these affect the

government plans for a global

Britain?

May I thank my honourable

friend for his question, the council

has agreed to reduce the official,

sorry, reduce the non-official

development assistance grants from

the Foreign Office to zero by the

end of the spending review period in

exchange for additional funding as

part of the vision for a global

Britain we want a properly funded

and affected council which projects

British values across the world. I

believe the council will continue to

deliver throughout the income

generated from other sources such as

its commercial income.

Question 14

Mr Speaker?

With permission I will

answer 14 and 22 together. We are

speaking a special partnership with

you, we have a strong foundation for

vital continued cooperation on

global challenges. We are working to

strengthen, reinvigorate and reshape

our bilateral relationships with our

European partners focusing on shared

values and interests.

Mr Speaker the

Foreign Secretary's 5000 word speech

and Brexit last week was described

by one of his own ministerial

colleagues as follows, he is

completely in denial about the

complexity of the exit and the

negative economic consequences. Can

the Foreign Secretary clear this up,

is he in denial or is he just wrong?

LAUGHTER

If I may respectfully resist the

alternative is the honourable

gentleman has laid before me, what I

was trying to do last week was make

the point that we now have a massive

opportunity to come together, people

who voted to remain, people who

voted leave, to get a positive

arrangement, positive Brexit done

that I think will be a massive

benefit to people in this country

and in the hall of the European

continent. If we are ambitious and

positive I have no doubt we can pull

it off.

Mr Speaker the Foreign

Secretary claimed last week it would

be intolerable for the UK not to set

its own regulations after Brexit.

The next day the Harvard business

school server UK imports and the

said last thing we want is jewel

regulatory burden with the UK and EU

rules to comply with, can he tell us

who is right?

I think the Harvard

business school survey is right,

nobody wants to have two sets of

regulations imposed on the UK

economy which is why the Prime

Minister was completely right wasn't

she at Lancaster House and indeed at

Florence and in sundry other places

when she said Brexit means taking

back control of our money, our

borders and above all of our laws

which is what were going to do.

Will

my right honourable friend take this

opportunity of praising the work

done by Her Majesty 's diplomatic

service and is he contends that the

embassies we have in 27 remaining EU

countries are sufficiently resourced

to represent the Night King them

well after Brexit?

I am pleased my

honourable friend asked that

question because we are not only

upgrading seven ambassadorial posts

in the 27 other EU countries we are

also increasing staffing across the

network in the EU by 50 and I can

tell the house and again I am

getting some negativity from a

sedentary position opposite, in

addition to beefing up our relations

with our EU friends and partners we

are delivering 15 embassies in

Africa. At

last week was 5000 words long but

they did not once include the words

Northern or the words Ireland.

This

is perhaps the biggest problem the

government needs to answer and yet

the Foreign Secretary did not even

seek to mention it so could he

belatedly take this opportunity to

explain in simple terms how is it

possible for the UK to diverge from

the EU in terms of regulations

tariffs and other aspects whilst

retaining the current arrangements

on the Irish land border? Could he

enlighten us, what is the plan?

Is the right honourable lady knows

very well, there is no reason

whatsoever why we should not be able

to exit both the customs union and

the single market whilst maintaining

frictionless trade, not only north

and south in Northern Ireland, but

with the rest of continental Europe

as well. And that is exactly what

this government will be spelling out

in the course of the coming

negotiations.

Question 15, Mr

Speaker.

The UK champions

peacekeeping, financially and

militarily. There are now more than

700 UK personnel deployed eight UN

peacekeeping missions in seven

countries.

In light of ongoing

reports of sexual abuse by UN

peacekeepers, does the Minister

agree that increasing the number of

women peacekeepers is a vital part

of addressing this crisis in the

long term? Can she also tell us the

proportion of peacekeepers from the

UK who are women, and what plans she

has to increase their representation

on UN deployments.

I appreciate the

honourable lady's leadership on this

issue and the work she does in all

aspects. I think she will admire the

leadership role the UK has played in

terms of not only putting this on

the United Nations agenda last year,

but also with the Prime Minister of

our country being appointed to the

Secretary-General's circle of

leadership. I can assure her we will

continue to champion this agenda at

every possible opportunity. It has

to be something we will continue to

do. And on the topic she raised

about women from our own Armed

Forces, she will know the impressive

agenda the Armed Forces flexible

working bill, and also the

proportion we are aiming to increase

from 11% to 15%.

Topical questions,

Henry Smith.

Question number three,

Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, my immediate

priority is to take forward

Britain's response to the

humanitarian crisis in Burma and

Bangladesh. I was deeply moved by

the plight of Rohingya refugees who

I met in Coxes bazaar earlier this

month. I went to Burma with the

express purpose of raising this

tragedy with State councillor Aung

San Suu Kyi. The goal is to help

create the conditions for the safe,

voluntary and dignified return of

refugees to their homes. The house

will also join me in welcoming the

Gambia back to the Commonwealth,

providing an excellent preludes to

the Commonwealth summit in April.

Can my right honourable friend say

what discussions he has had with the

government in Wellington with

regards to UK and New Zealand trade

and cooperation on Brexit?

I have

just returned from a sun-kissed New

Zealand, where I had fruitful

discussions... LAUGHTER

Indoors in the name, I have to say.

With a range of political figures,

including my counterparts in the

Foreign Ministry and trade select

committee. We have the broadest and

deepest friendship with New Zealand.

The UK is joint guarantor with

rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,

yet we have seen book-sellers

abducted, elected legislators

barred, and student straight is

imprisoned. In December, ten people

were tried in a sports stadium

before they were being executed. Why

didn't the Prime Minister raise

human rights in public in Beijing?

Was it because she doesn't care? Or

is it because she is so desperate to

get a trade deal?

Let me reassure

the Shadow minister that the Prime

Minister did raise these issues. But

we do it through not through

megaphone diplomacy but in private

meetings. We relentlessly raise

human rights issues, not least in

Hong Kong. It is vital that those in

Hong Kong have their rights and

freedoms respected on the latest

six-month report states the 's one

state, two systems must continue to

work well. What steps has the

department taken to highlight

concerns about North Koreans sent to

other countries to work effectively

as a slave labourers, and with what

result?

We fully supported the UN

resolutions that have imposed

increasing sanctions upon these

DPRK's overseas labour. Many such

workers operate in slavery like

conditions while the DPRK regime

takes a large slice of their wages.

This includes the latest resolution

which was adopted on the 22nd

December last year.

The Foreign

Secretary mentioned earlier his

visit to Bangladesh and to Burma.

And his meetings with the Rohingya.

We hold the pen at the UN on this

issue. Will the British government

bring forward a resolution referring

Myanmar to the International

criminal Court, given what happened?

I appreciate the interest in this

subject. The difficulties he knows

is in the UN Security Council there

will be those who would not support

such a resolution at present. What

we want to do, and I think the

crucial thing is that everyone in

the region and around the world

makes it absolutely clear to the

government that the only way forward

now for Burma is to create

conditions for a safe and dignified

voluntary return. That must mean

paying independent UN lead agency to

oversee their repatriation.

Otherwise those people are going to

be too frightened to return. That's

the priority on which we should

focus.

The people of the Democratic

Republic of Congo have suffered far

too long. 6 million people have died

in the last 20 years, probably more.

4 million were internally displaced

last year, more than any other

country in the world. Good might

honourable friend speaking for the

government say what the British

government is doing to ensure we do

all we can to see this suffering is

brought to an end?

My honourable

friend is absolutely right to raise

this absolutely disastrous

situation. He is also right to

highlight the importance of the UK's

role. He will be aware that it's an

extremely dangerous place for the

United Nations peacekeepers, some of

whom were killed last year. The UK

Government is calling on the

president to respect the

constitution, to fulfil the

commitments that were made in the

accord and to continue with the

implantation past two elections this

year.

Since the Saudi led coalition

began air strikes, over 10,000

civilians have been killed in the

Yemen. Norway and Germany recently

suspended arms sales to Saudi

Arabia. What will it take for the UK

Government to do the same?

We have

one of the strictest arms-control

regimes in the world. Governed both

by this house and by the law. We

will continue to abide by that. In

the meantime, we do everything we

can to encourage a diplomatic

solution to end the conflict in

Yemen, which is the only thing that

will bring the suffering of the

people of Yemen to an end.

In the

light of the recent vote 100

submissions in this house and the

launch of the equality party in

Redditch, it can it be assured that

international partners are also

supporting women and girls?

We are

totally aligned with what is taking

place in Redditch in the sense that,

as my honourable friend was saying

earlier to the house, the ambition

of 12 years of quality education for

every girl in the world, which I

believe is the universal spanner

that will help unlock so many other

global problems is at the heart of

our Commonwealth summit, the

universal spanner.

It's like the

sonic screwdriver.

The universal

spanner, it's a device that will

solve almost any problem. I truly

believe that female education is at

the heart of solving so many other

problems. That's why we're putting

out at the very centre of the Conroe

summit in April, at the G-7 coming

up, and across our network, female

education is at the heart of

everything we do.

Some chortling in

the chamber. We will have an update

on the spanner situation for which

we are indebted to the Foreign

Secretary. Jim Shannon.

That the

Minister confirm what steps is

Department are taking to provide

training for freedom of religion for

officials of his department?

I thank

the honourable gentleman for his

question. He has this very much in

his heart, as I am well aware. We

liaise regularly on this issue with

high commissions and embassies. I am

very encouraged that the network

takes this issue as seriously as I

know the honourable gentleman does.

If Britain is to assume a more

ambitious global trading role as we

leave the EU, we will surely need to

expand the depth and reach of the

high commissions and in disease in

regions like North America. What

assurances can my right honourable

friend for the house that critical

diplomatic missions are being

expanded and not cutback in

countries like Canada?

I am

delighted to tell my honourable

friend that is to the best of my

knowledge, we have just in the last

18 months opened three new trade

missions in North America. I can't

comment about Canada specifically

but in the United States we are

certainly beefing up our presence in

advance of doing a great free-trade

deal.

The UN High Commissioner for

human rights described what is

happening to the Rohingya people as

a military campaign in which you

cannot rule out the possibility that

acts of genocide have been

committed. Having met the victims in

Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Foreign

Secretary has now said earlier to my

honourable friend that a Security

Council referral is too difficult.

Can he show some leadership and work

with our EU partners next week at

the foreign affairs Council to try

to build support for a referral,

because the act of a referral will

make a difference.

As the honourable

lady I'm sure knows, Myanmar is not

signed up to the ICC. But there must

be no doubt about the gravity of

what has taken place. Anybody who

flies over northern Rakhine as I did

last week will see hundreds of

villages that have been burned and

destroyed. 600,000 people displaced.

This is ethnic cleansing on an

industrial scale and it may also be

genocide. It's vitally important

that the evidence is acquired to

determine whether any prosecution

can be mounted in the future.

The

increasing extension of the state of

emergency, the arrest of the former

president and two Supreme Court

Justice has seen a tightening of the

grip by the current president and

further distinguishing of the

democratic institutions there. Given

the fact that at any one time there

are literally thousands of British

holiday-makers on those islands, and

they were until recently a welcome

member of the Commonwealth family,

will the Secretary of State agreed

to head up a mission there, or

encourage the UN to do so, because

it also has the potential to bring

China and India into an unwelcome

regional conflict.

Like my writable

thread, I am deeply troubled about

the state of emergency in the

Maldives on February five and the

accompanying suspension of

fundamental rights. I met with the

former president in London in

November one appears on time in

office was turbulent but I discussed

the deteriorating situation with him

and we will take on board the

suggestions made by my right

honourable friend.

Is the secretary

of state concerned by weekend

reports of human rights observers

that citizens have been subject to

chemical rights attacks by Turkish

forces. Is this the conduct we

should expect from a so-called Nato

ally?

As I mentioned earlier, any

suggestion of the use of chemical

weapons has got to be independently

verified. The degree to which they

have been more used in the Syrian

conflict by a number of different

sources is a matter of great

concern, not least what the regime

has been doing. But any suggestion

must be properly identified and

verified.

The Good Friday Agreement has

brought about peace for almost 20

years in Northern Ireland. Could the

Foreign Secretary give an

unequivocal assurance that Her

Majesty's government will not do

anything that undermines the

agreement, including pursuing any

policy that not only undermines the

agreement, or in any way undermines

the principles that led up to the

creation of that Good Friday

Agreement?

Has the Secretary of State had the

chance to speak to the Sri Lankan

ambassador regarding his defence of

-- attache and his behaviour on the

4th of February, when he made stoat

slitting gestures to Tamil

protesters? If somebody else incited

hatred in this way on our streets,

they would be interviewed by the

police. Can you make arrangements

for this person to be interviewed by

the police about this crime?

Can I

reassure the honourable gentleman

that the UK takes this incident very

seriously. When I spoke recently to

the Foreign Minister, he left me in

no doubt the Sri Lankan government

is treating it with the seriousness

it deserves. The government has now

informed us that they have ordered

the defence attache to return to

Colombo from London for immediate

consultations while this event is

thoroughly investigated. I hope the

UK and Sri Lankan bilateral

relationship will remain strong and

cooperative.

The Foreign Secretary

shares my view that our leadership

in Green conservation is a source of

real national pride, but can I

please urge him to use the

Commonwealth heads of government

meeting in April to press our

Commonwealth allies, more than half

of whom are island states, to make

this a high priority and discussion

of there?

I thank my honourable

friend and congratulate him on the

pioneering role he has played in

championing the Blue Belt

initiative, which is a consecrated

-- has consecrated, I believe,

millions of square miles of ocean,

protecting habitat and species

around the world, and the UK

Government, as he knows, has put a

further 20 million into that scheme.

It is our ambition at the

Commonwealth summit, as he rightly

foreshadows, to go further with

those ambitions.

The Foreign

Secretary will be aware of the

plight of my constituents Mr Mrs

Westwood. They were first of all

defrauded of Aaron Tyr possessions

in Zimbabwe, and then forced to flee

for their lives from armed gangs

with links to the Mugabe regime. Can

he explain why recently they X there

were received a letter that said the

Commonwealth office would no longer

be willing to give them assistance?

Would he be willing to meet with

them and make to give them their

assurance that the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office are not going to

abandon them?

I am happy to give the

honourable gentleman that assurance.

, cast my right honourable friend,

what his view is on the position of

the Ecuadorian Embassy in London?

The situation that has been going on

since the 19th of June, 2012, and in

the first three years, estimated to

cost the Metropolitan Police extra

£11 million. When are we going to

take some action?

Julian Assange

breached his bail conditions in

2012, and in upholding the arrest

warrant on the 13th of February,

judge Arbuthnot said, he appears to

consider himself above the normal

rules of the law and wants justice

only if it goes in his favour. Our

view, Mr Speaker, is that he is not

a view of arbitrary detention. He is

avoiding lawful arrest, he should

step outside the door, face justice,

and that would bring an end to the

matter.

Almost two years ago, a constituent

of mine was murdered in Trinidad.

Since then, his mother and I have

been working with officials in both

countries to secure justice, but

progress has been grindingly slow.

The case in Shannon and has now been

27 times. -- in Trinidad. Will the

government ensure this is in Dallas

on the agenda when the president of

Trinidad lizards in April, and will

they allow time during the official

visit to meet with Sharon and I tell

her secure justice?

Can I commend

the honourable gentleman for the

manner in which he is defending the

interests of his constituents. I am

acutely aware of this case, where

Adrian was murdered in Trinidad, and

we can't interfere in the judicial

process, but we are extending every

possible support we can, and I can

advise the house that we understand

that a preliminary trial to

determine if there is sufficient

evidence to charge the accused with

murder will be held on the 8th of

March, and I hope this will mark

some progress in what he is seeking.

... The seventh anniversary of the

start of the Libyan uprising and the

ousting of Colonel Gaddafi. The

Prime Minister of nearly two years

has seen painfully slow progress.

Would my right honourable friend

update the house on what his

department are doing to help the

government of national accord to

bring about a prosperous and more

importantly peaceful Libya?

I'm very grateful to my honourable

friend for his interest in a country

that is still bedevilled by

factional feuding between a very

small number of men, who have it in

their power to come together and

build a better future for Libya.

About half a dozen of them, have the

maximum. And what we are trying to

do is back the efforts of the UN

special representative to bring the

eastern and western parts of Libya

together with a plan for the whole

country, a new constitution, to be

followed by election is.

That's what

we're working for.

Can I ask the Middle East minister

what representations have been made

in the case of the president of the

Bahrain Scent Of The Human Rights,

who is facing another long prison

sentence tomorrow simply by taking

to social media to criticise in

torture Bahrain's prisons and the

Saudi led war in Yemen?

There are a small number of those

who have been arrested and had

lengthy trial in Bahrain. The UK has

made representations in a number of

these cases, including the ones you

mentioned, we continue to monitor

the trials and processes very

carefully.

Estimates suggest that 12 million

tonnes of plastic go to our oceans

every year, causing immense damage

to our ecosystems. Would my right

honourable friend agree that not

only do we need to get involved in

this on the global stage to

influence cleaning it up, but we

need to lead by example in the UK,

not least, it might only be a small

thing, but in giving up plastic as

far as we can for Lent, which many

honourable members are doing?

I

think the honourable lady speaks for

millions of people in this country

who feel ashamed to see the state of

our oceans and wish that they could

be cleared up, and I think that this

country is actually showing a lead,

and cracking down on plastic waste

will soon tell it surely be at the

heart of the Commonwealth. I don't

know how easily I can give up

plastic for Lent. I see I have a

plastic spiral in my right hand. I

propose to take it out and dispose

of it in a suitable manner, but