Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the conditions that Jimmy Lai is being held by Chinese authorities.
Answered by Catherine West
Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for the Government. We continue to press for consular access, which the Hong Kong Prison Authorities have refused. The Government takes all allegations of mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The Government has consistently raised our concerns around Mr Lai's case with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities: for example, the Prime Minister raised his case with President Xi in November, and I raised Mr Lai's case in my meetings during my November visit to Hong Kong.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the action by the Israeli Air Force on 8 September 2024 in Libya on Hezbollah's armed capability.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel has not taken any action against Hezbollah in Libya.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the Government expects to conclude revised negotiations with the Mauritian Government on the future of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The negotiations with Mauritius have been ongoing for over two years.
On 20 December the UK and Mauritius issued a joint public statement which made clear that Mauritius and the UK have held a series of productive, ongoing conversations and exchanges on finalising a historic Treaty on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
Both countries reiterated their commitment to finalising a treaty as quickly as possible, whose terms will agree to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia and that Mauritius is sovereign over the Archipelago.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with representatives of the incoming U.S. President on the appointment of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not discussed the appointment of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland with representatives of the incoming US President. Appointments by the incoming US administration are a matter for them. We will work constructively with whoever is appointed as the next administration's US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, just as we continue to work constructively with Joe Kennedy III, the current US Special Envoy. The UK has a thriving trading and investment relationship with the US that encourages mutual growth across the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland. We are pleased that US delegations regularly visit Northern Ireland, and we expect that to continue in the years ahead.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much he plans to allocate to the World Bank Group International Development Association replenishment fund in the next five years.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
On 27 November, the UK made a pledge of £1.98 billion to the 21st replenishment for the International Development Association (IDA21). This is a 40% increase on the UK's contribution to IDA20 - and will support IDA in tackling poverty and addressing the impacts of climate change. IDA21 runs between July 2025 and ends by June 2028. We will engage closely with partners to identify policy and financing needs for future replenishments.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to raise the (a) declaration of martial law in South Korea and (b) potential implications of that decision at the UN.
Answered by Catherine West
I issued a statement on 3 December expressing deep concern about the events in Seoul of 3 December. We welcome the decision made following a vote in the National Assembly to withdraw the martial law decree. South Korea is a proud democracy, and events have shown that their systems and processes seem able to resolve situations like this one. Our Embassy team in Seoul are monitoring developments. The UN has not made a statement regarding the situation.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many potential cyber attacks from other states were intercepted by the National Cyber Security Centre in the six weeks before 4 July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) continually monitors threats to our national security. The NCSC does not routinely disclose statistics relating to incidents. However, details on key findings and trends will be published in its Annual Review on 3 December 2024.
Ahead of the UK General Election, NCSC engaged with stakeholders across the UK economy and society to ensure they had the necessary tools to keep the election safe.
The Electoral Commission also reported that polling day ran smoothly, and that people were able to cast their ballot securely. Ultimately, because voting takes place with pencil and paper, this significantly reduces the threat of interference.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his new US counterpart in January 2025 on potential steps to help implement the arrest warrant for President Putin of Russia issued by International Criminal Court judges in March 2023.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We encourage all countries to co-operate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UK is fully committed to holding Russia to account for its illegal and barbaric actions in Ukraine, and has provided support to the ICC to assist its work, including the investigation into the situation in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary looks forward to working with the Trump Administration in the months and years ahead in the spirit of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. American leadership will remain crucial to the global challenges that all our nations face.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make representations to the next US President on appointing a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work constructively with Joe Kennedy III, the current US Special Envoy, and look forward to his upcoming visit to Northern Ireland. Economic growth is a key component of our foreign policy agenda and the central mission of this Government. The UK has a thriving trading and investment relationship with the US that encourages mutual growth across the whole of the UK. The Chancellor announced that the Northern Ireland Executive will be provided with a £18.2 billion settlement in 2025/26 - the largest in real terms in the history of devolution.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will raise with the UN the attendance of the UN Secretary General at the BRICS summit in Russia on 24 October 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary spoke to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres prior to the BRICS Summit in Kazan, where the UNSG reiterated his position that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had violated the United Nations Charter and international law. The meetings that the Secretary-General chooses are a matter for him, not the UK Government. The UK Government continues to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on Russia, including through sanctions.