Mindanao Earthquake
Debate between Lord Bellingham and Lord Lemos
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I will be happy to do that. The noble Baroness may have been the first Defence Minister to visit the Philippines, but she was not the last. My noble friend Lord Coaker was there very recently, talking to the Government of the Philippines about increased defence co-operation, and I will be happy to come back to the noble Baroness on the specific question about the ships. It is a strengthening relationship, but I will not steal my noble friend’s thunder.
Lord Bellingham (Con)
My Lords, further to the question asked by my noble friend Lord Effingham, it is not just a question of residents not wanting to go to hospitals because of fear of them collapsing. Many hospitals have been badly damaged, so people are being treated, as my noble friend said, in makeshift facilities. Can I push the Minister a bit further? We have a lot of expertise in this area, so what specific medical aid are HMG looking at and thinking of?
British Council
Debate between Lord Bellingham and Lord Lemos
Lord Lemos (Lab)
As I said, the loan must comply with the UK Subsidy Control Act, but the Government have already made some concessions by extending it to 2027. The British Council submitted its turnaround plan in August 2025, and it has been independently reviewed. It is obviously highly commercially sensitive, and therefore I will not give a running commentary. However, as I am sure the noble Baroness will be pleased to hear, we hope that the FCDO will agree to restructuring the loan in the coming weeks.
Lord Bellingham (Con)
My Lords, almost exactly one year ago, Russia designated the British Council an “undesirable organisation”, and the British Council was then forced to suspend all its remaining activities in Russia. Can the Minister tell us what the current situation is? Has any of its work there been reactivated? For example, are Russian students now able to access the IELTS, the global English standardised test?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his questions. As he knows, the problems that the British Council has encountered in Russia go back a long time, and we take very seriously the recent problems that he mentioned. It is not a comfortable position for the British Council at all. I do not know the specific answer to the question about IELTS, but I am happy to come back to the noble Lord on that.
Taiwan
Debate between Lord Bellingham and Lord Lemos
Lord Lemos (Lab)
The noble Lord has raised that question before. I reiterate what I have already said and what has been said before: the China audit was completed and its findings included in the national security strategy in the way I set out earlier.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Debate between Lord Bellingham and Lord Lemos(8 months, 3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I have set out the Government’s concerns about these issues and the priority that we attach to them. With regard to the wider claims of genocide, the noble Baroness will be aware that there are international protocols on this which this Government follow.
Lord Bellingham (Con)
My Lords, further to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Browne, who referred to the Tigray peace agreement, also known as the Pretoria agreement, the Minister will be aware that the US Government led those diplomatic initiatives and played a key role in making it happen. However, the Trump Administration have said that they do not want to get involved in any diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the current Ethiopian-Eritrean crisis. Given that the two European countries with the closest ties to Ethiopia and Eritrea, with active embassies and missions in both countries, are Italy and the UK, does it not behove the Government to play a key role in trying to de-escalate this potential crisis? Will the Minister visit both those capitals and make an effort to play his part as well?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord; I would be delighted to play my part. I put that on record now. The question of working with international partners is central to this Government’s approach. The approach to any tensions should be about dialogue. We have helped to identify suitable facilitators for that dialogue. To pursue co-operation with our international partners, in March the UK issued a joint statement with the EU and 23 countries emphasising our support for the cessation of hostilities agreement, to which the noble Lord refers, urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue. We regularly engage with all parties and the African Union guarantors to reiterate the importance of implementation and to encourage political dialogue.