Iran-Israel Conflict

Debate between David Lammy and Rupa Huq

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the remarks made by Secretary Rubio on the outbreak of this new war and to the statements made by Donald Trump, in which he clearly indicates an off-ramp for Iran if it gets serious about diplomacy and accepts the olive branch that he extended through Steve Witkoff.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Ealing has long had a big Iranian diaspora. In 1978, when England did not qualify in the world cup and Iran did, a lot of my classmates were supporting the latter; now, they are my adult constituents, and they have been caught up in all this. Could my right hon. Friend tell me what steps he is taking to ensure the safe passage of our constituents back home, including one of my constituents, who needs to resume her cancer treatment and wants urgently to come back to England?

[Mr Lammy]

Let me just put on the record the huge admiration that I am sure many across this House have for what was formerly known as Persia and the great history of the Iranian people—how remarkable they are, and how awful it is that they are suffering under this horrendous regime. Unfortunately, as my hon. Friend knows, the airspace over Iran is closed at the moment. We have advised against travel to Iran for many, many years because of our concerns. However, our embassy staff will do all they can to support British nationals.

G7

Debate between David Lammy and Rupa Huq

Monday 17th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s strong statement that blockading all aid into Gaza, including UK aid, is “appalling and unacceptable”. What discussions did he have with G7 colleagues about what can be done about this provocative action during Ramadan, and what consequences are there for what people are saying is a breach of international law?

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend is right: this is a breach of international law. Israel, quite rightly, must defend its own security, but we find the lack of aid—and it has now been 15 days since aid got into Gaza—unacceptable, hugely alarming and very worrying. We urge Israel to get back to the number of trucks we were seeing going in—way beyond 600—so that Palestinians can get the necessary humanitarian support they need at this time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lammy and Rupa Huq

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I was very pleased, alongside the Prime Minister, to meet the Irish Taoiseach and to discuss that and other issues.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Mr Speaker, you and I are both old enough to remember Tiananmen Square. The use of lethal force on student protesters in Bangladesh has rightly been condemned by our Government. I urge the Government to put pressure on the Bangladeshi investigation, so that it has an international element, because a country that can just turn off all communications with the outside world and that controls all institutions, right down to its stormtrooper-like police, should not be allowed to mark its own homework.

Land Registry

Debate between David Lammy and Rupa Huq

Thursday 30th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend, who is absolutely right. Most registrars in the country are opposed to this act.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

My right hon. Friend mentioned the 2014 consultation, in which only 5% of respondents thought that privatisation was a good idea. My right hon. Friend and I are both London MPs, and the market in London is complicated enough as it is. Anything that will complicate things even further cannot be a good idea. If every professional in the sector is condemning these proposals, surely the Government should listen.

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend is exactly right; I agree with her 100%.

Riot Compensation Bill

Debate between David Lammy and Rupa Huq

Wednesday 13th January 2016 Public Bill Committees

[Mr Lammy]

The profile of Enfield is changing slightly. Colleagues in Clapham Junction were caught up in the rioting, as of course were those in Enfield, Southgate.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

The word on the street in Ealing, once known as Queen of the Suburbs, was that our police were diverted to Westfield, which is a shopping centre of high-value, high-end designer shops. That is why we were left empty-handed when the riots hit.

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend makes a serious point. There was a similar context in Salford. That goes to the point about the £1 million cap meaning different things on the high streets of Tottenham, Ealing, Salford and Croydon. It goes to the cost of running a business, to the detail of loss of stock as a result of flooding or following fire damage because a business has been burnt to the ground, and it goes to insurance. We want businesses to be insured and not to have to rely fully on the legislation. Given that we do not want to have areas in our country that cannot recover because of under-insurance or no insurance, the point about the £1 million cap is very important.

I go right back to the very good Kinghan report, which of course suggested the cap in the first place. Options were explored in Kinghan’s review. His first option was that we set a percentage—say, 25% or 50%—as the limit of compensation that the police or Government would pay in respect of claims paid by insurers to their customers. His second option was that we put an absolute limit on any single claim that the police or Government pay to an insurer—say, £500,000 or £1 million. The third option was that the limit be set by reference to the size of the insured business, so that the insurer receives compensation only for claims made by businesses with a turnover below the limit. I liked the third option a lot and thought it was fair, because it allowed for an understanding of the differences between small businesses.

In drafting the Bill and landing on the figure of £1 million, were the Minister’s officials in touch with the Federation of Small Businesses or with high street businesses, for example small retailers and newsagents? Where did they get their estimates for the cost of running a business? Will the Minister say more about the claims we saw as a result of the rioting across the country?