China

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Northover]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of their relationship with the government of China; whether they intend to alter that relationship; and if so, how they intend to do so.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, our approach to China is rooted in our values and strategic interests. As a leading member of the international community and as a major economy, China has to be involved in solving global issues. However, when engaging China, we stand up for our principles, including international law, human rights and national security. We want a mature, pragmatic relationship with the Chinese Government, which means collaborating where our interests align, being clear where they do not, and working to resolve our differences.

[Baroness Northover (LD) [V]]

Given China’s economic and political dominance, its threats to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and in the South China Sea, and its eternal suppression of human rights, do the Government still think that there can be a golden age of engagement with China? Given that we cannot do this alone, with which countries are the Government working to achieve this?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, as the noble Baroness knows, I am an eternal optimist: there can of course be a new golden age, in every sense. We are working with China on the important issue of Covid-19; indeed, China has helped not just us but others with PPE procurement. Other areas where there is scope for collaboration include issues around trade and the environment, a cause close to the noble Baroness’s heart. We are working collaboratively on COP 26, because, without China’s participation, COP 26 will not achieve its ambitions. We work constructively in all these areas. As I said earlier, where we have differences, we raise them—privately, at times, but in international fora at other times.

Press Freedom

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD) [V]]

When did the Government last raise the harassment of BBC Persian staff with Iran or on the international stage?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness that this is very high on our agenda in our direct bilateral conversations with Iran, and we have also had that discussion at various levels within the Human Rights Council. Iran is very much a state that suppresses media freedom and indeed other human rights, and it continues to be a country of concern in the human rights report that we issue every year.

Hong Kong: Human Rights

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

I thank the noble Baroness for this debate. There is clearly widespread agreement that this move potentially breaks the 1997 Sino-British agreement. The Chinese Government have been criticised internally over coronavirus; this will send key messages to their citizens. Carrie Lam has stated that her Government will fully co-operate and that the law would not affect legitimate rights in Hong Kong or the independence of the judiciary. Those two positions look totally contradictory.

I welcome the Government’s offer to BNO passport holders. However, it needs to be extended to all Hong Kong citizens, not just those with BNO status and their dependants. How will the UK work with its allies, particularly its closest allies in the EU, to protect Hong Kong? Will it rework its economic and foreign policy in relation to China?

Hong Kong

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

I remind Members that, if we are to get through all the questions, both questions and answers need to be short. We are two-thirds of the way through the allotted time.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

The noble Lord clearly recognises that this move potentially breaks the Sino-British agreement. Will the path to UK citizenship therefore be extended to all Hong Kong citizens, not just those with BNO status, and their dependents?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Baroness makes an important point. We have had many discussions on this. I assure her that, if China continues down this path and implements this national security legislation, we will be required to change the status of BNO passport holders. The Foreign Secretary was quite specific: we would set in train arrangements allowing BNOs to come to the UK for longer than the current six-month period and apply for extendable periods of 12 months to work and study, which will in itself provide a pathway to citizenship.

British Citizens Stranded Overseas

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Northover]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for bringing back British citizens who are stranded overseas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video call.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading efforts to repatriate British travellers and their families who normally live in the United Kingdom. On 30 March, the Foreign Secretary committed £75 million for charter flights where commercial routes are not an option, prioritising the most vulnerable. We have now brought back more than 31,000 people on 146 flights from 27 countries, organised by the Foreign Office. More than 19,000 British passengers who were aboard 60 cruise ships on 17 March have all disembarked.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for all his and the FCO’s work. However, by early April, the EU had brought home half a million citizens. Under the EU scheme, Germany had chartered more than 100 flights for 20,000 citizens; the UK had chartered only six for 1,000 people. Why did the UK not play a full part in what the EU offered, and are we doing so now? I note that there has just been an EU flight back from the Gambia.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her remarks about the work of the Foreign Office. The teams both in London and in post have been working around the clock on the repatriation effort. We have taken the view that it is right to keep commercial flight options open, which has resulted in a larger number of British nationals—for example, in Pakistan—returning. Where there have been no commercial flights, we have then embarked on charter options. I believe that that that was the right decision and we have had a successful operation which continues today.

Syria

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord raises an important point on Resolution 2504. Most recently, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary had a call with the Minister about the importance of keeping those corridors open. We hope that not only will this happen but that we will be able to open up additional humanitarian corridors.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

Will the Government consider time-limited sanctions relief for Syria to permit international transactions and supplies and to make the health of the civilian population a priority?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I have already made clear the Government’s position on sanctions, which is taken together with our EU colleagues. These will not be lifted until such time as we see meaningful engagement from the Assad regime.

Israel: West Bank

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 6th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I have already stated the Government’s position and I am happy to restate it. We believe in a two-state negotiated peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, the Israel Attorney-General’s office has warned the Israeli Prime Minister that annexation could trigger an International Criminal Court investigation into senior army officers and others. Will the Government co-operate if such an investigation occurs?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I am not going to speculate on what may or may not happen. It remains very clear that we support a negotiated settlement between both sides, as I have said. As for anything which the ICC brings forward, we are supporters of the ICC, as the noble Baroness will know.

Syria

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)]

The noble Baroness, Lady Stroud, is not here. The noble Baroness, Lady Northover.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

What realistic assessment has been made of the incidence of the coronavirus in Idlib and in Syria as a whole, and how can testing be increased? Does the Minister agree that an urgent, comprehensive and co-ordinated emergency response plan is now required?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, if I heard the noble Baroness correctly, I stand with her in condemning the actions taken by different groups on all sides on the ground, which have caused great suffering to people in Syria. We continue to work to alleviate the human suffering there. I share with the noble Baroness that because of the fragile ceasefire, there is a glimmer of hope—35,000 people have returned to the region—but we also continue to investigate, including with the OPCW, events that have taken place in the past, including the 2017 attack. Again, I reassure the noble Baroness that anyone responsible should be held to account by the international community.

Covid-19: Repatriation of UK Nationals

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for repeating the Statement. First, I thank him and all the FCO staff for their tireless efforts to support those stranded. I know from the cases I have referred and raised how committed they have been to help, and it has been much appreciated. However, it is difficult to fully grasp the scale of the repatriation still required. Even if we consider only those who have reached out to their MPs, the issue is clearly an enormous one.

There used to be a system for recording data on UK citizens abroad, but it was scrapped. Last month, in questions to James Duddridge, my honourable friend Stephen Doughty asked that, at the very least, medical or vulnerable cases should be recorded immediately, so that they could be prioritised at a later stage when repatriation started. Sadly, that did not happen. Can the noble Lord confirm that the FCO is now fully recording numbers, and will he publish these at regular intervals, so that we can better understand progress? In the absence of data at present, is he able to estimate how many UK nationals are currently stranded abroad, or is the 57,500 estimate from Monday still applicable?

The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee reported yesterday that it has been conducting a survey asking people about their experiences of being repatriated to the UK. The main issue it found is the difficulty some people encountered with communications when they were abroad, or the inability to receive communications, with one problem area being the High Commission in India. What is the FCO doing to address this issue, both in the short and the long term?

The announcement that 19,000 people have been brought back on 93 charter flights is welcome, but Germany, for example, had repatriated 60,000 citizens on 240 charter flights by early April. I appreciate that the noble Lord will be keen to stress that more than a million have returned to the UK on commercial routes, but when we consider IATA’s estimate that air traffic is currently down by 90% over Europe, it is clear that we can no longer rely on commercial flights. Will the Minister therefore commit his Government to urgently scale-up the number of chartered flights available? In response to reports of UK nationals being priced out by the cost of flights home, can he offer an update on the recent steps taken to remove that financial barrier?

Many UK nationals have been unable to travel to the airports which are still operating, due to either ill health or problems with internal travel, and so require consular support to help them in this journey. The Foreign Office must be equipped and prepared to support any UK national abroad in any aspect of their return home. I welcome what the Minister said about that support, but we need to address the issue of isolated people.

When UK nationals arrive home, it cannot be considered “job done”. If the Government are to contain the virus, there must be rigorous testing, tracing and isolation. It is therefore regrettable that the Government have yet to confirm any intentions to test or quarantine arrivals to the UK, despite press reports suggesting that such plans are in the pipeline. Can the Minister therefore confirm whether UK nationals, and others, will be asked to quarantine on arrival in the UK and, if so, for how long? Can he also confirm whether the Government will introduce testing of those arriving in the UK?

Finally, I very much welcome the pledge of support to Gavi. I hope that the Minister will be able to advise noble Lords what that pledge means for encouraging others; we do need more. I also welcome the commitment to, and investment in, CEPI. On Tuesday, I met its chief executive in a seminar, and I welcome its efforts to establish a vaccine. However, time is short, and action is necessary now.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord for repeating the Statement. I welcome the financial contributions to Gavi, the WHO and others, whose efforts are clearly vital in this crisis. As we know, their work saves lives. I also welcome the contribution to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, something which no Government after this must neglect. I pay tribute to the huge amount of work undertaken by the FCO, DfID and our embassies and high commissions during this crisis. However, we seem to be behind other countries in getting people home.

On 27 March, the EU had brought home half a million citizens. The United Kingdom chartered six flights for 1,000 British citizens through the EU crisis scheme; Germany chartered over 100 flights for over 20,000 German citizens. On 1 April, the Independent reported that Air France had flown more than 200 rescue missions but that

“the UK has yet to reach double figures in government-sponsored repatriation flights.”


By mid-April, only 5,000 out of 20,000 UK citizens in India had been brought back. Why did we lag so far behind our EU colleagues? The Government emphasised —and still do—that they were working with other countries, yet we seemed particularly unwilling to work with our EU colleagues. Why was that? Looking at where we are now, can the Minister answer the question from the noble Lord, Lord Collins: how many more people need to be brought home?

The Minister mentioned Nigeria in the Statement. I am sure he will know that there has been a surge of deaths in Kano state, an indication that coronavirus may be more widespread there than the Nigerian authorities are admitting. Are we making quarantine plans for those who come back from Nigeria?

The Minister mentioned that we have tripled our capacity in consular centres. That is obviously welcome, but we have brought home many diplomats and their families from countries with weak health systems. Are we working jointly with the EU to maximise our capacity? There have been many complaints about inadequate capacity and communication.

The Minister mentioned PPE. Again, we all knew from reports on Twitter, if nowhere else, that the United Kingdom had been invited to join the original EU scheme. No one can say that we did not know about it. So why did we not? The Minister will know that the Government’s latest Statement on this is not persuasive.

However, I am very glad to hear that we intend to act globally. Some countries appear to be using the cover of this crisis. Some are taking authoritarian measures. In Hong Kong, human rights campaigners such as the esteemed lawyer Martin Lee have been arrested. What will we do to challenge these actions? Israel has just formed a coalition Government who may now plan to annex the Occupied Territories. Can the Minister assure us that we will make it plain that this is contrary to international law and will be resisted? I look forward to the Minister’s response.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Collins, and the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, for their questions. I start by thanking them for their kind remarks acknowledging the work that has been done. As a Minister responsible for a particular part of the world—south Asia—that has seen thousands and thousands of British travellers being impacted, I am acutely aware of the challenge that has been posed by the repatriation efforts. Again, I commend the efforts of our diplomats on the ground, and the consular efforts being made through countless numbers of emails and telephone calls. Both the noble Lord and the noble Baroness mentioned the ramping up of consular support. We have certainly seen this in the inquiries made by parliamentary colleagues on behalf of their constituents and in response to direct cases. The current level is circa 3,000 calls—to put that in context, around 45% of those calls cover south Asia. A substantial number of calls are coming in for that part of the world.

I acknowledge the support of both the noble Baroness and the noble Lord on the issue of vaccines. This remains a key priority. We are all watching closely the recent developments in Oxford and we wish well everyone around the world who is seeking a solution. I am proud that, notwithstanding the domestic challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis, the support that we are giving to Gavi and CEPI underlines the United Kingdom’s commitment to standing up with partners in the global fight against coronavirus, as well as against other viruses.

I took part in a multilateral conference organised by our German and French colleagues—the Foreign Ministers of both countries—which, again, underlines the level of co-operation. Picking up on a point made by the noble Baroness about working with our EU partners, the UK will be hosting a joint conference with the EU on our response to Covid-19. Whether on repatriation or our general response internationally, I assure the noble Baroness and the noble Lord that we will continue to work with our EU partners as well as other international partners on this global crisis.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, raised the various communication challenges with various posts. He mentioned India specifically. I put on record my thanks to our acting high commissioner, who has taken to her task in an admirable fashion. I know the volume of British nationals that she has been challenged with repatriating. It is notable that with 52 charter flights from India we will have returned more than 10,000 British travellers to the United Kingdom. That is no small feat. It is down to our consular efforts in India and to the support that was subsequently given. The noble Baroness and the noble Lord mentioned that we started our charter flights later than other partners. As a former Aviation Minister of two years standing, I know all too well the challenges posed by securing charter permissions. I stand by our actions, as does the Foreign Secretary, when we sought to keep using commercial routes where they were viable. A good and notable example of that was Pakistan, from where we were able to return more than 7,500 people on commercial flights because the national carrier PIA continued to operate.

On pricing, which the noble Lord raised, as it relates to some commercial carriers, we have addressed this directly with the airlines. For example, PIA has restarted its flights and its current charging is reflective of the charter flights that we are deploying from Pakistan. We will continue to employ these flights. We have extended flights to other countries, including Bangladesh. Through charter flights, we have returned 800 people from Nepal and, on commercial flights, 600 people from the Maldives. That gives an example of how a combination of commercial operations and charter flights has resulted in the substantial success thus far of the policy.

However, I am not complacent. Both the noble Baroness and the noble Lord raised the issue of British travellers who are still abroad. There are a large number, running into the thousands, in India alone, as well as in Pakistan. It is a patch I know well. I assure noble Lords that we are working around the clock to ensure that flights are laid on. Some people are undoubtedly making decisions to stay in-country. They are looking at the domestic profile of the coronavirus spread in the UK compared with in the country they may be visiting, or where they may be staying with friends or family. We are stressing to anyone who has booked a charter flight that, once they have booked it, they should get on that flight; otherwise, they will be denying an opportunity to someone else to return.

The noble Lord also raised the issue of the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and issues of repatriation, communications and commercial routes, which I have already addressed.

The noble Baroness asked about partnership and working on the issue of PPE with all partners. I have referenced a couple of countries, including in my patch of south Asia, that we are sourcing PPE from. The Foreign Secretary has made this a priority. We are part of the EU scheme. I think that the misunderstandings that arose have been addressed directly by the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office in his response to the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

I also assure both noble Lords that we are dealing tomorrow with issues surrounding the development response. I will seek to update them regularly to ensure that all noble Lords, particularly those serving on our Front Benches, are fully versed in the numbers and challenges that we face. I have been a Foreign Office Minister for close to three years now, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, keeps reminding me, but I have never faced a challenge like this. There have been crises, but this is unprecedented. When we say that, it is probably an understatement. But I assure noble Lords that we are leaving no stone unturned and we are undoubtedly learning lessons from the challenges that are being posed.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, asked what more could be done, and we are learning lessons, such as on the vulnerability of individuals who are visiting countries. That is why, with the Foreign Secretary’s approval and at my direction, countries, certainly in the areas that I looked after, opened up registers before the charter flights started to ensure that we could identify the most vulnerable and those with underlying medical conditions so that they could be returned as soon as possible on the earlier charter flights. The charter flights continue, and we will continue to update the House regularly on this important issue, which I know is of concern to all noble Lords.

Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, in response to the first question, Her Majesty’s Government’s biological security strategy draws together our work on building national resilience to natural, accidental and deliberate risks from biological agents. I concur with the noble Lord that there are countries around the world which still engage in the activity he described. I reassure him that we work very closely with international partners to strengthen co-operation against potential biological threats, including through the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention and the UN Secretary-General’s Mechanism. To make this very topical to the current crisis, the FCO and Her Majesty’s Government are working very closely with their diplomatic network to monitor the spread of coronavirus throughout the world. We are working with international partners to tackle this global challenge.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that, for years, there have been warnings about pandemics? Did he note that, in the 2015 review, there was a declared need to tackle threats that did not recognise borders? On epidemics, it said:

“No single nation can act alone on such transnational threats.”


It also stated:

“We have detailed, robust and comprehensive plans in place and the necessary capacity to deal with infectious diseases, including pandemic influenza”.


Does he agree that, once we are through this crisis, we will need to pay close attention to not only the health but the economic and social implications of our interconnectedness, and that poverty in one part of the world and the practices rooted in it can quickly affect all of us? This must be part of the upcoming review.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness that the current crisis and the challenges it imposes have asked us to redefine all relationships. If there is one conclusion we can draw from where we are today—we are still on the cusp of the crisis here in the United Kingdom—it is the sheer interdependency of humanity. This crisis does not know borders, political differences or geographical space. It knows one thing: that it will affect us all in some shape or form, as we are seeing. Once we are over this crisis, it is important that, not just as a nation but collectively through international partners and the relationships we have, we learn lessons and share experiences so that when this kind of pandemic hits again, we are even better prepared.