Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK formally recognises Palestinian State, published on 21 September 2025, when she plans to take further action to sanction senior figures in the Hamas leadership.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK formally recognises Palestinian State, published on 21 September 2025, what demands she has made of the Palestinian Authority to conduct extensive reform.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the speech entitled PM statement on the recognition of Palestine: 21 September 2025, what her (a) criteria and (b) definition is of a viable Palestinian State.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she held discussions with her Rwandan counterpart on the security of the British cycling team who competed in the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 October to Question 82441.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 75426 on James Scott Rhys Anderson, what the outcome was of the discussion between the Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy on 24 July 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I thank the Hon Member for his close interest in this important case and I refer him to answer 75426. I will keep him and other Members informed as and when there are further developments.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 75426 on James Scott Rhys Anderson, when he last received an update from (a) Russia and (b) Ukraine on the health of James Scott Rhys Anderson.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I thank the Hon Member for his close interest in this important case and I refer him to answer 75426. I will keep him and other Members informed as and when there are further developments.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 75426 on James Scott Rhys Anderson, on what dates his Department raised James Scott Rhys Anderson with the Russian authorities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I thank the Hon Member for his close interest in this important case and I refer him to answer 75426. I will keep him and other Members informed as and when there are further developments.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she plans to publish the UK Antarctic Strategy.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As confirmed in the Government's response to the Environmental Audit Committee's report into the UK and the Antarctic Environment, a UK Antarctic Strategy will be published by the Government by the end of the year.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of potential security threats posed to the British cycling team who competed in the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Travel Advice provides information and advice to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel. The FCDO updated our Travel Advice for Rwanda on 18 September ahead of the UCI Road World Cycling Championships. Advice to groups on matters of safety and security will always be consistent with the advice available to the public in FCDO travel advice on GOV.UK. Our Travel Advice remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the Government including local knowledge from our embassies, information provided by the local authorities in each country, and in some cases, information gathered by the intelligence services.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has she made on renewing the New START Treaty before its expiration in February 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The New START Treaty is a bilateral agreement between the United States and Russian Federation; any replacement treaty is a matter for the US and Russia. The UK regularly raises issues related to strategic risk reduction, including arms control with the USA and Russia through the expert-level P5 process. Genuine and verifiable strategic arms control among the largest Nuclear Weapons States can be a positive step for global security. However, following Russia's decision to suspend participation in New START verification measures in 2023, future approaches need to be based on concrete, and verifiable actions.