Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the imprisonment of Alaa Abdel Fattah by Egyptian authorities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 2 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised the case several times with the Egyptian Ambassador, most recently on 10 July and also raised it with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo on 4 April. The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, raised the case with the Egyptian authorities on 25 May during his visit to Cairo.
The Government continues to make every effort in our engagement with the Egyptian authorities on the case. We remain focussed on Mr El-Fattah's welfare and pressing for consular access and his release. We continue to provide consular support to Mr El-Fattah and his family, who Lord Ahmad most recently met on 6 July.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Gibraltar, (b) Spain and (c) the EU on the border between Gibraltar and Spain, in the context of Spanish elections in July 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is steadfast in its support for Gibraltar. Working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, we are committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar as soon as possible. A treaty that ensures the fluid movement of people between Gibraltar and the EU can secure future prosperity for the whole region. We will not agree to anything which compromises sovereignty and continue to support the Government of Gibraltar in contingency planning for no negotiated outcome. The Foreign Secretary and I are in regular contact with our counterparts in Gibraltar, the European Commission, and Spain. I [Minister Docherty] met with the Deputy Chief Minister on 17 July to discuss negotiations and no negotiated outcome contingency planning.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last made representations to his Iranian counterpart on the case of Morad Tahbaz.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following Iran's failure to honour its commitment to grant Morad Tahbaz an indefinite furlough from prison, we continue to underline our objection to Iran's behaviour at all available opportunities, both in London and via our Ambassador in Tehran. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon issued a statement on 10 January, the fifth anniversary of Tahbaz's detention, calling on Iran to release him so that he can return to his family in Tehran. Officials and Ministers regularly update the Tahbaz family on our public and private representations: Lord (Tariq) Ahmad met them most recently on 28 June. Morad is a UK-US-Iranian tri-national, and we continue to work closely with the United States to secure his permanent release and departure from Iran.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has received any legal advice on the compatibility of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill with the UK’s obligations under UN Security Council resolution 2334.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has received advice from officials, including legal advice, on the bill. It is a longstanding convention for governments of all parties not to comment on the contents of government legal advice. The Government's position on the bill was set out by my RHF the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities during the debate on the second reading of the bill on 3 July. The bill does four things: it honours a manifesto promise to which this Government recommitted in the last Queen's speech; it affirms the important principle that UK foreign policy is a matter for the UK Government; it ensures that local authorities concentrate on serving their residents, not directing resources inefficiently; and, critically, it provides protection for minority communities, especially the Jewish community, against campaigns that harm community cohesion and fuel antisemitism.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support peace, stability and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government fully supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are working with political leaders in BiH and our international partners, to ensure BiH is a secure, safe and prosperous country, built on strong foundations of democracy and the rule of law, in line with our strategy across the Western Balkans. In the financial year 2022/23, the UK Government spent just over £47 million on programme activity supporting this vision across the Western Balkans and in April the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £1 million for BiH Armed Forces' defence capacity building.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to bring forward legislative proposals to allow Russian state assets held in the UK to be repurposed before the end of the calendar year.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the UK Government has made very clear in parliament and through collective statements at the G7, Russia should pay for the damage it has caused. We have showcased our continued commitment to that objective by introducing new legislation on 19 June to enable us to keep assets frozen until Russia pays compensation to Ukraine. While nothing is off the table, the UK will remain a credible partner on this by assuring ourselves of the safety, robustness and legality of any asset seizure proposal before taking it forward.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the changes to legislation in Canada which allows Russian assets forfeited in that country to be redistributed to Ukraine.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No G7 country has yet seized assets through a new, legally tested mechanism. Canada remains a close partner on our Ukraine response and we continue to engage closely with them on this and many other issues. The UK will remain a credible partner on this by assuring ourselves of the safety, robustness and legality of any asset seizure proposal.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his G7 counterparts on the (a) seizure and (b) repurposing of Russian state assets.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary made clear the UK's continued commitment to ensuring Russia pays for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. Alignment on approach is important, given the challenge. The G7 Leaders' made a commitment in May that sovereign assets remain immobilised until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. The G7 and international allies continue to work closely to deliver on this, share expertise and experience. The London Ukraine Recovery Conference in June brought together over 1,000 public and private sector decision makers. They represented 59 countries, 33 international organisations, over 400 businesses and 130 civil society organisations.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to communicate with British nationals and British residents currently in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government continues to provide limited consular assistance to British nationals still in Sudan and to those who have left by alternative means to neighbouring countries. We communicate with British nationals through our telephone consular helpline, Travel Advice and other targeted communications with those who have registered with us.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the results of the Turkish elections on 14 May 2023 on NATO policy.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We will look to engage with Turkey, our NATO ally, at the earliest opportunity following elections. We have encouraged Turkey to provide a clear path for Sweden's NATO accession and it remains our objective to meet together as an Alliance of 32 States in Vilnius.