Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 25th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right: we need to secure peace in Ethiopia. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs was in Ethiopia and she has been extremely active on the issue. I have also discussed it with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and urged them to join peace talks.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T3. When I was in Ukraine last week, the senior Government officials and military commanders wanted me to express the sincere gratitude that that country has for the support the United Kingdom is providing. What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the involvement of the regime in Belarus in supporting Russian threats to Ukraine?

[The Minister for Europe (Chris Heaton-Harris)]

The world is aware that Russia is on manoeuvres both on Ukraine’s borders and across Belarus. We continually develop our assessment of the situation. I can only repeat what my right hon. and hon. Friends have said about the massive strategic mistake that Russia would make were it to invade Ukraine’s territorial borders.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 26th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Paul Holmes (Eastleigh) (Con)]

16. What steps she is taking to establish partnerships founded on shared security priorities following the trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the United States.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

24. What steps she is taking to establish partnerships founded on shared security priorities following the trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the United States.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Elizabeth Truss)]

To protect freedom and democracy around the world, it is vital that we deepen our security relationships with friends and allies. AUKUS represents a long-term commitment to deeper co-operation on future defence capabilities with Australia and the United States, and we want to build on it, including with other partners.

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[Elizabeth Truss]

Alongside AUKUS and of course NATO we are building partnerships with other allies. I recently hosted the Baltic three to talk about increased co-operation in the area, we have agreed enhanced co-operation with Greece and we are in talks with Japan about future security co-operation.

[Henry Smith]

My right hon. Friend correctly spoke about the network of liberty referred to earlier. What discussions has she had with the world’s largest democracy, India, on security co-operation?

[Elizabeth Truss]

India is a very strong ally of the United Kingdom and we want to work more closely together across a range of security and defence issues. While I was in Mumbai, the UK carrier strike group was stationed off the coast; we have just conducted the UK’s largest ever joint exercise with Indian armed forces, and we are now deepening that co-operation.

Afghanistan: FCDO Update

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 6th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I understand the point the hon. Gentleman makes, but I think there is no country proportionally doing more, if we take not only what we are doing on the resettlement scheme, but the 17,000 who have come back to the UK and the £30 million that I announced at the end of last week to support those third countries. I think it is right that we do our bit, but I have to say to him that I also think it is right, as a matter of policy and of moral responsibility, to try to allow refugees to be settled closer to their home so that in the future they may be able to return.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of China’s growing involvement in Afghanistan, the geopolitical consequences and the UK’s response to that?

[Dominic Raab]

I have spoken to my counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and I will speak to him again in the near future. There is a lot of talk about how China wants to rush in and fill the vacuum in Afghanistan, but I have to say that I am not entirely convinced that it does want to bear the entirety of the burden, whether it is the security and the terrorist burden or the financial burden of a country in such a precarious, fragile position. While we have many areas that are challenging with China, actually this is something where there are some commonalities of views and interests. I think in a situation such as this, whether it is China or other countries in the region, we need to try to work together, because we are much more likely, if we do so, to exercise maximum moderating influence on the Taliban, and that is what will yield results.

ODA Budget

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 26th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

Can my right hon. Friend update the House on the pivot away from UK taxpayers’ money being used in aid to totalitarian countries such as China towards more open and democratic parts of the world?

[James Cleverly]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. The UK is committed to supporting democracy and political stability around the world. He will have seen in the written ministerial statement the commitment that the Foreign Secretary made to reducing our ODA expenditure in China and focusing it exclusively on human rights and open societies.

Hong Kong: Electoral Reforms

Henry Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 10th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

As the hon. Lady knows, we called two breaches of the joint declaration last year. We will have to wait and see what comes out of the National People’s Congress, possibly this week, but who knows when we are likely to get an accurate read out? We will closely examine what comes out of this, and we will make it clear what action will be taken once we have seen it.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

My hon. Friend talks about liaising with the United States on the actions that the Communist party of China has taken in abusing human rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and elsewhere. Will he also follow the example of the Biden Administration in reviewing this country’s critical infrastructure and supply chain links with the Chinese economy?

Myanmar

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I know how passionate she is about Myanmar and the plight of the Rohingya. We have had meetings on this matter directly. We are using our penholder role to ensure that Myanmar stays on the UN Security Council agenda. We convened the Security Council three times last year to discuss the case brought by Gambia, covid and the situation in Rakhine and the Chin states. We have been very clear that Myanmar has to make progress on accountability. The case will develop significantly in the coming months and, as I said in a previous answer, we will be carefully monitoring developments to consider the legal arguments to establish whether a UK intervention would add value, but I am sure the whole House will want to see the outcome of the UN Security Council meeting in New York this afternoon.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary reviewing UK international development assistance to Myanmar, particularly given the coup that has taken place in the past few days. However, for many years, UK taxpayers’ money has essentially been wasted in that country, as we have seen human rights abuses against the Rohingya and the Chin people, and indeed, in the last Parliament, the International Development Committee being blocked from visiting that country by the Government. Can I ask that that review be extremely robust?

[Nigel Adams]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend is right. I would, though, take him to task a tiny bit. I am not entirely sure that our third of a billion pounds that we are spending to support the Rohingya could be deemed as wasted; this is vital humanitarian assistance. As I said, we are spending £88 million this year in Myanmar. He is absolutely right to condemn the coup in Myanmar. We need to see the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly. We want the results of the election respected and, importantly, we need to see the expressed wishes of the people of Myanmar respected, which I know my hon. Friend is very passionate about.

Xinjiang: Forced Labour

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

Of course, anyone who has a claim to asylum could not be deported. Those are the rules, so people may apply. If we want to strengthen and go further, I would welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support in working with the Scottish Government and the devolved Administrations more generally to ensure that in lockstep the UK can send out a single, coherent, crystal-clear message. That would be a good example of global Britain, on which we should all be able to work together.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

Whether it be abuses against the Uyghur in Xinjiang or against people in Hong Kong, Tibet or elsewhere, does my right hon. Friend agree that it is the responsibility of the United Kingdom to build a global alliance to ensure that we act together against a China that is going against international norms? What is this country doing in that respect?

[Dominic Raab]

I point to the work that we did in the Human Rights Council and on the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly where we collated more than 30 countries to support our statement on human rights in both Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Of course, many countries are nervous in their dealings with China because of its asymmetric economic clout. Therefore we need to proceed carefully and sensitively to ensure that we carry with us as many people, and as many countries, in order to have the maximum effect in deterring the actions that China takes and to maximise our chances of protecting human rights.

Official Development Assistance

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point, which is that we are facing acute difficulties, and we are very concerned about what that will mean for the most vulnerable countries, both on health grounds and financial grounds. We have a direct stake in that, as well as a moral responsibility, and in everything we are doing—from International Monetary Fund debt relief to World Bank projects and, indeed, the allocation review that I have already mentioned to the House—we will safeguard the £10 billion to make sure it is focused on shoring up the poorer countries, the most vulnerable countries, as they come through this pandemic.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

As a member of the International Development Select Committee during the previous Parliament, I quite understand the need for the UK to live within its means in these exceptional circumstances, and I welcome the fact that we are still spending more of our gross national income on development than the vast majority of other countries. However, can I have an assurance from the Secretary of State that no more UK aid will go to China—a country that is, in effect, developed, and of course one that has a very poor human rights record?

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend may know that we ended bilateral aid to China in 2011. There is, though, still a case for some collaboration in the development space with China, and the example I tend to give is climate change. Yes, China is the biggest net emitter, but it is also the biggest investor in renewables, and even with all the other challenges we have with China, that is an area in which we want to try to work and engage positively.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 29th April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to support innovative research in (a) the UK and (b) throughout the world in the development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for covid-19.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Wendy Morton)]

Science can help us to deal with this crisis. To date, the UK has committed more than £330 million to innovative research and development of vaccines, rapid diagnostics and promising therapeutics for the coronavirus. The UK is the world’s top donor to CEPI, which is helping to produce a vaccine, including at Oxford and Imperial. We are also funding innovative research on virus tests and antibody tests right here in the UK, which could be suitable for use in developing countries. On Friday, the UK proudly stood with the WHO, the UN and 20 countries to work for global access to vaccines to end the pandemic, save lives and start the global economic recovery.

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[Wendy Morton]

This is a very important point because of course a globally accessible vaccine, alongside effective tests and treatments, is needed to end this global pandemic and to start global economic recovery. This will need unprecedented global collaboration and resourcing to drive the speed and scale that are needed, and the UK is at the forefront of global efforts to meet this challenge. Now is the time for us to come together to develop and deliver vaccines, tests and treatments that are safe, effective, affordable and accessible to all.

[Henry Smith [V]]

The UK is the World Health Organisation’s second largest funder, yet that agency has been found wanting and subject to political interference by the Chinese Communist party. After this pandemic, will the Government look at a new world health order, as suggested by the recent Foreign Affairs Committee report?

[Wendy Morton]

My hon. Friend is right to recognise that international co-operation is absolutely vital to tackle covid-19. That is why we are working with the WHO and other international organisations to develop and deliver a globally accessible vaccine, alongside effective tests and treatments, and because of this we want to ensure they are safe, effective, affordable and accessible for all, including the world’s poorest.

British Citizens Abroad: FCO Help to Return Home

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The first thing to say is that we have all had constituents contact us to say that they feel vulnerable or are stranded, and I think we all understand how anxious people are in that situation. The No. 1 thing we want to do is provide some certainty. That starts with the point of contact, which is why I mentioned the call centre. It also relates to the missions. There have been some mistaken, if not outright flawed, suggestions that embassies or high commissions have closed. The buildings may have been restricted because of the measures taken by domestic Governments and local authorities, but those embassies and missions—with a very small number of exceptions, all of which are subsidiary missions —are all open for business, with people having to work remotely.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the cost of flights. We are working closely with airlines and travel companies to ensure that as many people as possible can get commercial flights home in a rapidly changing and fluid situation, and we are encouraging airlines to be as flexible as possible when people have to change their return flight.

The hon. Gentleman asked about Australia and New Zealand. I have set out in some detail the support that is being provided, but given the new restrictions that the Governments have introduced and the question hanging over transit hubs, I appreciate that there is acute concern for people there. We have had to rapidly respond to that. I have given information to the House on what Australia is doing. The high commission is open. UK nationals abroad can call the embassy or register their details. I have an email here about how that can be done, which I can give to Members on both sides of the House. I can tell the House that more than 1,700 British nationals have registered their interest. In relation to New Zealand, in addition to the work being done, we are—as I think I mentioned in my opening remarks—working to find accommodation for those who want to know that they at least have a place to stay, if they cannot get a commercial flight out.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I have a number of constituents who are key workers, including in the NHS. What specific support can the Foreign Office offer to ensure that those individuals can come back, so that they can support the efforts against covid-19?

[Dominic Raab]

We are providing support right across the board. If there are key workers abroad, that just highlights the imperative of getting people back. I have to say to my hon. Friend that we are prioritising the most vulnerable, but where we can get commercial flights out of those jurisdictions, we are looking to have enough capacity to get all of them out. I hope that that provides him and his constituents with some reassurance.