Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of UK citizens who have been (a) arrested, (b) detained and (c) deported by the Israeli authorities for picking olives in the West Bank; and whether her Department has made representations on behalf of those people.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We provided consular assistance to fewer than five British nationals detained by Israel in October 2025, all of whom have subsequently left the region. It is our long-standing policy not to publish statistical information on the reasons for consular assistance where fewer than five people have been affected, as this risks identifying the individuals involved.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 80475 on Israel: Palestine, what response she has received from the Israeli Government in relation to her calls to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials continue to raise this as a priority with our Israeli counterparts, and we will keep the House updated on the progress of these efforts.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the UK opposed advancing discussions on a new optional protocol on free education at the Intergovernmental Working Group on Free Education in September 2025; and whether she plans to review that decision.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to investing in children and promoting equal access to education. The UK already provides free primary and secondary education and has been supporting partners globally to deliver education for all. We challenged the need for a new optional protocol as free secondary education is already provided for under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. States Parties to these treaties should already be providing free education.
We do not believe the resources required to develop a new treaty solely on free pre-primary education are justified when they could otherwise be used to implement existing international obligations.
This position is in line with several UN entities, including United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the leading actor on child rights with a global presence and understanding of lived realities.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the former Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 1 September 2025, Official Report, column 77, whether the assessment of the risk of breaches of international humanitarian law included consideration of the incarceration of Marwan Barghouti.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question HL2234 on Israel: Palestinians UIN, whether the International Committee of the Red Cross is given regular access to Marwan Barghouti.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report for the Inter-Parliamentary Union entitled PALESTINE: the trial of Mr. Marwan Barghouti, published on 3 October 2003.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.