Export Licences: High Court Judgment
Debate between Alex Chalk and Liam Fox(4 years, 10 months ago)
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Dr Fox
I have made it clear on a number of occasions how we come to decisions and the process of ministerial accountability in that. The Court of Appeal judged that the process needs to change in order to be lawful, but it also made the point that changing the process would not necessarily have led to different decisions from those arrived at by the Government.
I say to the hon. Lady that I took offence at the comments of the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson), the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on this matter, when she said:
“Saudi Arabia is an enemy of British values, including human rights and the rule of law.”
Such sweeping generalisations show a lack of grasp of the detail and understanding of the complexities of international relations.
Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)
On the one hand, the Court of Appeal is saying that the British Government must investigate allegations of previous international humanitarian law violations before granting export licences but, on the other hand, the British Government are saying, “Look. That is very difficult for us to do, because some of these incidents take place in foreign countries thousands of miles away.” Does not the solution to this lie in the hands of the Saudi Arabian Government themselves? We must say to them, “If you want to buy our weapons, where allegations exist they must be properly and independently investigated, and those findings must be shared with us before licences are granted.”
Dr Fox
My hon. Friend makes an important point. The joint incidents assessment team was set up by the Saudi Government in February 2016 to help with that. It examines military activity in civilian areas to minimise possible civilian casualties and assesses the coalition’s rules of engagement. We have had input into that to ensure that the coalition is operating in a way that we would find acceptable.
Of course, we simply would not take that as being the end of the matter when it comes to information. As I have said, we look at a range of information from foreign Government sources, from our own Government sources, both those in the public domain and those that are restricted, and from NGOs and the media. It is in taking that complete picture that we are able to assess what we believe the risks to be, but we are always looking to see whether further sources of information may help to improve our decision making, alongside the decision making of our allies.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Chalk and Liam Fox(5 years, 5 months ago)
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Dr Fox
One of the demands of the business community during the consultation was to give them better online communities so that they can speak to one another. We discovered that businesses did not necessarily want to talk to Government advisers, but wanted much more to speak to those who had faced similar business challenges and to ask how they had overcome them. That is under way, and we have recruited more staff to make that happen.
Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)
Export Licensing: High Court Judgment
Debate between Alex Chalk and Liam Fox(6 years, 10 months ago)
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Dr Fox
Perhaps we are talking about a different judgment, because this judgment makes it very clear that we did take very clear account of the advice given by the Foreign Office and, indeed, that we sought further advice from the Foreign Office when it was necessary to do so.
Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that closed sessions are absolutely standard in litigation of this nature, and that it is absolutely wrong to make such a point to seek to undermine a clear and impartial ruling of the High Court that has confirmed the rigorous and detailed scrutiny applied to sensitive arms export decisions?
South-west England (Long-term Economic Plan)
Debate between Alex Chalk and Liam Fox
Dr Fox
In my view, it is a simple question of discrimination. Why should a child who happens to be born in a rural part of our country get less money for their education than a child who happens to be born, not necessarily a large distance away, but in an urban environment? We are not asking for more than we deserve. We are asking for our fair share of funding for the children in our constituencies.
Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)
Of course, it is not just about rural areas. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the time has come to end the historic funding injustice to schoolchildren in Cheltenham, an urban area; and that we need to give schools in effective local authorities, such as Gloucestershire, the fair enhanced funding that is no less than they deserve?
Dr Fox
That is exactly the point. One of the things we will be pressing the Government on in the next five years will be ensuring that we get our fair share. We want to make sure that we can reach our full potential economically, and no area in this country can reach its potential economically unless the next generation is given the appropriate education and the tools to advance in a meritocratic, open, pluralistic society.