Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Tuesday 20th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

The actions of the United States Government in this case have nothing to do with us. Our view on UNRWA remains absolutely clear. I met the director of UNRWA just this morning at the Department for International Development. We will continue to support it and to fund it. To leave refugees in Lebanon and Jordan without support would be a disaster. UNRWA needs to continue to get support, and it will do so from the United Kingdom.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

8. What the cost to the public purse was of the launch of the Institute for Free Trade held on his Department’s premises.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson)]

There was no cost to the public purse.

[Chris Bryant]

Oh, come off it! Come off it! The right hon. Gentleman must think that we were all born yesterday. The truth is that this was a private party, which was going on on Government premises, sanctioned by the Foreign Secretary. He has been trying to dress up a tinpot bunch of ideological crackpots as an institute, quite against the law, and he has broken the ministerial code. He has been caught in flagrante delicto, hasn’t he?

[Boris Johnson]

I am under the unhappy duty of contradicting the hon. Gentleman. He is talking the most perfect tripe. The event that took place was completely non-partisan. Members of all parties were present. [Interruption.] Including the Labour party. EU and non-EU ambassadors were represented. It was fully in line with Foreign and Commonwealth Office rules on hosting such events, and I have here a letter from the Cabinet Secretary to confirm that, which I am happy to pass to the hon. Gentleman. I am afraid to say that the Cabinet Secretary has been pestered with complaints from the Labour party about this absolutely blameless event, which was there to support and encourage free trade, which is a major objective of Government policy and should be an objective of the hon. Gentleman—or is it not?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I readily defer to the Foreign Secretary’s knowledge of this important event.

[Chris Bryant]

He was there for a long time.

[Mr Speaker]

I do not know how long he was there, and I cannot say that I greatly care. We have had the answers.

--- Later in debate ---

[Boris Johnson]

I am so glad that my hon. Friend asked that question because we are not only upgrading seven ambassadorial posts in the 27 other EU countries, but increasing our staffing across the network in the EU by 50.

[Chris Bryant]

No you’re not.

[Boris Johnson]

Yes we are. Again, I am getting some negativity from a sedentary position on the Opposition Benches. In addition to beefing up our relations with our EU friends and partners, we will open 15 embassies in Africa.