Prime Minister's Update

Debate between Martin Docherty-Hughes and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think we will get a deal that commands the support of the whole House. I hope that it will command the support of the hon. Gentleman. Perhaps he might indicate by nodding whether he will vote for it.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Let me be clear: I will not surrender the votes of my constituents who voted to remain, and I will be damned if I will surrender their vote for their country, Scotland, to be an independent sovereign nation. Given that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has surrendered his duty to sign the Benn Bill, will he advise the House whether the Cabinet Secretary will sign it on his behalf and take it to Brussels?

[The Prime Minister]

We will, of course, respect the law and we will leave on 31 October. I think everybody would agree that the best circumstances in which we could do that would be if all the Labour Members, all the Scottish nationalists and all my Conservative friends came together to do a deal. I think the will is there in this House—let’s get it done.

Priorities for Government

Debate between Martin Docherty-Hughes and Boris Johnson

Thursday 25th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think I had better be careful here. There will be 20 new hospital upgrades, and details of the programme will be announced forthwith.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Having been incarcerated for over 600 days now, and having made accusations of torture against the Indian state, Jagtar Singh Johal has, since incarceration, seen in post two Prime Ministers, three Foreign Secretaries and four Under-Secretaries, one of whom was suspended from their position. Can the Prime Minister assure my constituent, a UK national, that his Government, in making their trade deals with the Indian state, have my constituent’s name at the top of the agenda? Will he seek a meeting with the Foreign Secretary, me and the Singh Johal family at the soonest opportunity?

[The Prime Minister]

I know that the Foreign Secretary will take up the case of Jagtar Singh Johal assiduously, as all previous Foreign Secretaries have done.

Iran Nuclear Deal

Debate between Martin Docherty-Hughes and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 9th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I hope that my hon. Friend will use his good offices to encourage the United States to come forward with detail on such plans at its earliest convenience.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

In terms of practicalities, what is the Department’s assessment of a successor trade deal with the United States when that country might punish UK companies that are legitimately conducting business in Iran under international agreements?

[Boris Johnson]

As I have said several times, we will do everything that we can to protect legitimate commercial activity by UK concerns.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Martin Docherty-Hughes and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that any pressure on Burma and the Government in Naypyidaw would be greatly assisted by more pressure from the United States. Rex Tillerson is now actively engaging. Burma is not an area where the US has traditionally been in the lead, but the UK, working with the US, is building pressure internationally. I have already mentioned to the House some of the things that we have done at the UN and elsewhere to exert pressure on the Burmese Government.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Will the Minister tell us what discussions he has had with the Government of India about their human rights record in the state of the Punjab, critically in relation to my constituent, Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been in custody since 4 November without charge? There is now a possibility—or accusation—of torture, and the Prime Minister indicated the Government’s personal interest on BBC radio yesterday. Will the Minister advise me and the House how the Secretary of State is working with the office of the Prime Minister to assist my constituent and his family in Dunbarton?

Korean Peninsula

Debate between Martin Docherty-Hughes and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 5th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

It is not so much that we are pressing all the options on the United States—though of course we are—but that those are the options that the United States itself massively prefers and wants to bring about.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Korea—I speak of it as a nation and not as two divided political states—is at a crossroads in its political, social and economic future. It is a future that may well impact on the very fabric of the People’s Republic of China, and China knows that only too well. I was glad to hear the Foreign Secretary mention China in such friendly tones; it was extremely welcome. In playing its part in defending peace, I hope that the Government do so by asking some practicalities of the Government of the United States as well as of the People’s Republic of China. Do they recognise, for instance, that the Korean nation and the world require the United States and China to work in partnership and use their leverage? Is it not the case that we require mutually assured restraint, as espoused by the sociologist Amitai Etzioni, to bring about a full and comprehensive peace in Korea?

[Boris Johnson]

I am delighted to hear Amitai Etzioni quoted on the subject of Korea. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to focus on the partnership and potential of the relationship between the US and China. They hold the key to the question between them, but, as I say, where there are differences it can be our task to try to help to bridge the gap, then unite the rest of the international community on a common position.