Dog Meat Trade

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

I support the motion and congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello). He won the Westminster dog of the year last year with his German shepherd, Diesel. I was rather concerned that my own Jack Russell, Maximus, was going to become his dog snacks, so I kept the two dogs well apart.

I certainly agree with the sentiment here. I support the motion not as someone who has been a vegetarian for almost 35 years, but because I believe strongly in animal welfare. I also urge the hon. Gentleman to be careful about the cultural issues. It has already been mentioned that we should not take the ideological imperialistic approach of telling people what they should and should not eat; dog has been eaten in countries including China for the last 500 years, and we have to be very careful in our approach.

Back in September, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), said:

“There are no international norms, laws or agreements governing the trade and consumption of dog and cat meat. Instead we seek to work with governments around the world to gain agreement to animal welfare standards and to phase out cruel and inhumane farming and trapping practices. Ministers have raised this issue with Chinese counterparts and explained that UK Parliamentarians and the public want to see regulation that would bring the practice to an end. Our Ambassador in Seoul has delivered similar messages to South Korean authorities. Our officials will continue to highlight our concerns.”

I would certainly expect our Government to continue that dialogue with those countries.

China and South Korea are not the only countries that engage in this kind of activity, however. In the Cayman Islands, for example, there is a turtle farm where turtles are bred for human consumption, even though they are an endangered species. I pay tribute to World Animal Protection for its campaign to stop that practice. Of course, the Chinese authorities could easily turn round and ask us why we glorify programmes such as “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here”, in which people eat turkey testicles, fish eyes, live witchetty grubs and parts of the anatomy of kangaroos and ostriches that I am not even going to mention on the Floor of the House. To me, that is also repugnant.

My point is that we in the UK have a different relationship with animals. I am sure that you have seen “Pulp Fiction”, Madam Deputy Speaker. In the film, Vincent and Jules have a conversation about why Jules does not eat bacon. He says that it is a filthy animal that eats its own faeces. Vincent then asks him whether he would consider a dog a filthy animal, because they too eat their own faeces. Jules replies:

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy, but it’s definitely dirty. But dogs got personality, personality goes a long way.”

That is the crux of our relationship with animals in this country. The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South and I are both dog owners, and we have a completely different relationship with our dogs. Such relationships with dogs do not exist in China. There have been severe food shortages there for the past 500 years, but the country has overcome famine and continued to feed its population.

As I have said, I am a vegetarian, but I strongly believe in the right of people in this country to eat meat. That is because of the high animal welfare standards we have here. I would like to see such standards being applied across the whole world—and yes, I would like to see this practice banned. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this debate to the House today. I also congratulate the animal welfare charities involved in this campaign, including Soi Dog, whose valuable work one of my constituents has drawn to my attention.

I would also like to see the Government working to ensure that the emergence of a middle class in countries such as China, alongside the growth of social media, can promote an atmosphere in which people start to reject the consumption of dog meat, either as a delicacy or for people who cannot afford more expensive meat, so that this vile practice can be brought to an end.

Iran: Nuclear Deal

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Wednesday 15th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I did not say that; what I said was that we are aligned in our view of ISIL as an existential challenge that needs to be dealt with. We do not agree on everything and we will not agree on everything, but where we do agree we can work together, and that is the important thing.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

Given the clandestine history of the Iranian nuclear programme, particularly in regard to the Fordow and Natanz facilities, one of which is constructed under a mountain, what reassurance can the Secretary of State give my constituents that Iran will not clandestinely continue to seek a bomb?

UN Independent Commission of Inquiry (Gaza)

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Wednesday 8th July 2015 Westminster Hall

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch) on securing this debate, but what a disappointment it has proven to be. We listened in silence to some of the views expressed by Opposition Members; it is greatly disappointing that some people could not do the same when my colleagues on the Government Benches made speeches.

We should bear in mind that the UN has a long history of criticising Israel, more than it has any other country in the world—so much so that many of us feel that its criticisms are no longer legitimate. In 2004, the UN General Assembly adopted 20 resolutions singling out Israel for criticism, but only three for the rest of the world combined. The Human Rights Council’s members include Qatar and Saudi Arabia—countries that perform human rights violations against their own people. We know that those things happen.

Only last year, the Prime Minister made three points about the UN. First, he wanted to see

“an end to the outrageous lectures on human rights that Israel receives at the United Nations from the likes of Iran and North Korea”.

I certainly agree with that. Secondly, he wanted.

“an end to the ridiculous situation where last year the United Nations General Assembly passed 3 times as many resolutions on Israel as on Syria, Iran and North Korea put together”.

Thirdly, he wanted to see.

“no more excuses for the 32 countries in the United Nations who refuse to recognise Israel”.

Israel has a right to exist. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) said, it is constantly under attack—that seems to be forgotten by the UN Human Rights Council and some Members here this afternoon. It is a great disappointment that we do not have more time to debate this issue, but I urge Members to listen to people from both sides of the situation. As my hon. Friend said, none of us rejoices in the deaths of any human being, but to claim that any country kills people as a result of the holocaust is not only despicable and disgusting, but disrespectful to the House.

Iran (Proposed Nuclear Agreement)

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2015 Westminster Hall

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) on securing this debate.

This is not the first time we have discussed this issue in Westminster Hall. On 26 February 2014, I initiated a debate on the interim agreement with Iran, so it is hard not to repeat oneself; indeed, many hon. Members have already outlined many of the issues of concern. I have therefore decided to approach the matter from a completely different point of view: the environmental implications of a nuclear Iran. The Iranian regime has announced that it is interested in the construction of nuclear technology only for energy consumption and that a civilian nuclear Iran seeks such capability only for peaceful uses but, in this age of environmental sustainability and renewables, it strikes me as perverse that such a claim is being made to justify a nuclear programme in the middle east.

Iran is rich in its natural supply of minerals, oil and gas, and there is an abundance of possibilities in the country to produce renewable energy from the wind and sun. The opportunities are infinite, as the production of energy from such natural resources is not only cheaper but much safer for the environment. Iran can secure not only its domestic but possibly the regional energy supply, without resorting to nuclear technology.

We have only to look at the country’s existing nuclear facilities to consider how safe such an expanded nuclear industry would be. A good example is the Bushehr nuclear plant, which lies on the coast of the Persian gulf, south of Tehran. There have been huge safety concerns about the plant, associated with its construction, its ageing equipment and under-staffing. The Centre for Energy and Security Studies, an independent Russian think tank, explained the construction delays at the plant as due partly to a

“shortage of skilled Russian engineering and construction specialists with suitable experience”.

In 2010, the International Atomic Energy Agency noted that the facility was under-staffed. It is clear that Iran does not have the human capacity for a nuclear industry.

Leaders from Gulf Co-operation Council countries have expressed fears that a serious nuclear accident at the Bushehr plant would spread radiation throughout the region. Bushehr is closer to the six Arab capitals of Kuwait City, Riyadh, Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Muscat than it is to Tehran. The United States Geological Survey and NASA say the plant is near the boundary of the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The Bushehr plant could be the next Chernobyl or Fukushima, with the potential to contaminate vast swathes of the middle east in the event of an explosion.

Iran’s wants to acquire nuclear technology not so that it can match the technological achievements of the west; we all know that it is an overt attempt to challenge the military capabilities of other countries and to establish itself as a presence in the geopolitics of the middle east.

[Mr Bacon]

Given that, apart from Egypt, Iran is probably the most populous country in the middle east and given its strategic position occupying one entire side of the Gulf, does it surprise my hon. Friend that it might want to have an important role in the strategic geopolitics of the region?

[Dr Offord]

It does not surprise me, but I worry about Iran’s intentions in such a role. I will come on to that shortly.

The nuclear programme has many attractions for the Iranian president and the supreme leader. Internally, it increases self-confidence in elements of the regime’s core supporters, such as the revolutionary guards and the Quds and Popular Mobilisation forces. Externally, it boosts the regime’s prestige in the eyes of fundamentalist militant sympathisers such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza—so yes, I agree with my hon. Friend that Iran wants prestige and influence. The nuclear programme can also be used for the blackmail of regional countries by raising the threat of a localised nuclear attack. It allows Iran to become a dominant voice in the Persian gulf and could ensure its ascendancy in the global community as it seeks to cajole and influence. Most of all, it can be used as a tool to sabotage the middle east peace process and give advantage to Iran to dictate the terms and destabilise order in the region, especially in countries such as Israel.

The proposed deal makes no reference to Iran’s role as leading sponsor of state terrorism, which was mentioned by my hon. Friends the Members for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Jack Lopresti) and for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti). While negotiations were ongoing in Switzerland, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels were seizing control of the Yemeni capital, and Iran was extending its presence in Iraq and attempting to establish a new front in the Golan Heights in co-ordination with the terror group Hezbollah. Again, I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Mr Bacon): Iran is seeking to exert influence.

The Iranian regime is known to provide financial and material support to extremist Islamist terrorist organisations in the middle east, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq. It reportedly provides Hezbollah with up to $200 million a year and spends up to $35 billion to prop up the Assad regime. Between 2006 and 2011, it financed Hamas with up to $300 million annually. Iran actively sponsors international terrorist groups that are committed to the destruction of Israel and act as Iran’s proxies.

It is not just me who has concerns about the Iranian regime and its attempt to attain a nuclear weapon. The IAEA, the UN Security Council and many western countries have long-standing concerns. In November 2014, the IAEA director general called on Iran to

“increase its co-operation with the agency and to provide timely access to all relevant information, documentation, sites, material and personnel”.

Iran does not act in any way to allay the fear of us sceptics. It has repeatedly denied IAEA inspectors access to key nuclear sites, including at Parchin, where it is believed to have conducted tests involving triggers for nuclear weapons. Our concerns are legitimate. Iran needs to demonstrate the exclusively peaceful, civilian nature of its nuclear programme and intentions before it can possibly be considered a normal, non-nuclear-weapons state. It will not do that though, so I remain highly concerned about the deal, like other Members present.

The verification programme is not enough, and Iran’s failure to address the potential military dimensions to its nuclear programme undermines the IAEA’s ability to verify the programme and accurately calculate its breakout time. Iran needs to make concrete progress on the disclosure of its weaponisation activities prior to receiving sanctions relief, because an agreement that ignores Iran’s past weaponisation work would risk being unverifiable. Until such issues are resolved, I appeal to the Minister, as I did to the Prime Minister in the House, not to enable Iran to become a nuclear power. We should be wary of its intentions. As I said to the Prime Minister, the road between a civilian nuclear Iran and a military nuclear Iran is a short one. I repeat the words of my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), who said that it would be better to have no deal than a bad deal.