Oral Answers to Questions

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

The account in that report is truly appalling and shocking. It describes deliberate ethnic targeting of particular groups, as well as some of the most horrendous torture, and the use of rape as a weapon of conflict. The long-standing position of successive British Governments is that any formal determination on genocide is a matter for the courts. However, we should be clear that the evidence of atrocities committed by the armed forces across Sudan is staggering and horrendous, and the perpetrators must be held to account.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

4. What discussions she has had with her US counterpart on tariffs.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

The UK-United States relationship has been a cornerstone of our security and prosperity for over a century, and we will never turn away from it. The Foreign Secretary and I have regular and wide-ranging discussions with our counterparts. Indeed, in the past week, we have discussed economic ties with governors from across the United States. The Business and Trade Secretary speaks regularly with his US counterparts—including, most recently, the trade representative—to reinforce the importance of delivering on our economic prosperity deal.

[Blake Stephenson]

Given that the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran without British involvement, and that this Government seem increasingly at odds with the US in relation to Diego Garcia, can the Minister assure me that the Government’s actions are not damaging the special relationship and increasing the likelihood that further tariffs will be imposed on the UK, driving up costs for the Great British public?

[Stephen Doughty]

I do not accept what the hon. Gentleman says. Our relationship with the United States is strong; it has endured, continues to endure, and will endure into the future on the economic and security fronts. We were the first to strike a deal with the US Administration, which removed tariffs on UK aerospace exports and secured reduced tariffs for cars. That saved manufacturers hundreds of millions and protected jobs across this country.