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Written Question
Iran: Climate Change
Friday 24th September 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps at the COP26 summit to establish an international mechanism to help prevent the Government-led crackdown on environmentalists and water shortage protests in Iran under the new president, Ebrahim Raisi.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK has designated Iran as a Human Rights Priority Country and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor human rights record. This will include using all opportunities during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session. We call on President Raisi to set Iran on a different course, which includes committing to improving human rights in Iran.


Written Question
Research: Finance
Wednesday 24th March 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

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 (a) the effect of reductions to the Overseas Development Assistance budget on the ability of the UK to fund research across the world and (b) the effect of that matter on the credibility and reliability of the UK as a research funding partner.

Answered by James Duddridge

The Covid pandemic's economic impact has forced the government to take the difficult decision to temporarily reduce ODA to 0.5% of GNI. Despite this reduction, we will remain a world-leading ODA donor, spending around £10 billion on ODA in 2021-22. The Foreign Secretary has set out a strategic approach to ensure maximum impact for our aid spend for 2021-22, laying a Written Ministerial Statement for Parliament in January, summarising overall departmental cross-government allocations of ODA. FCDO and other departments are working through the implications of their allocations for the research programmes they manage.

The UK has led funding for scientific advances that have helped drive significant reductions in extreme poverty, increases in agricultural productivity, declines in childhood mortality, and increases in life expectancy across the developing world. We remain committed to the use of ODA to support research that can provide new solutions to critical challenges in development.


Written Question
Overseas Aid
Wednesday 24th March 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

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 effect of the proposed reduction in the foreign aid budget on (a) the Voluntary Service Overseas and (b) other charities and schemes that help people volunteer on projects around the world.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce our aid budget. We are now working through the implications of these changes for all individual programmes and partners, including Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

Volunteers and volunteering organisations like VSO make an important contribution. We have offered VSO a short-term funding extension for the Volunteering for Development programme, while the review process continues.


Written Question
Myanmar: Human Rights
Friday 12th March 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

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 alleged human rights abuses carried out by members of the military in Myanmar following the Military coup; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that these allegations are investigated and sanctions brought against those found responsible.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK is deeply concerned by ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar. We have been clear that the state of emergency, and all restrictions on rights and freedoms, should be lifted immediately. The people's right to peaceful protest should be respected. The coup must end. We urge the military to exercise utmost restraint and respect human rights and international law. The military must be held accountable for their actions.

I formally summoned the Myanmar Ambassador twice to register the UK's extreme concern regarding the alleged human rights abuses and stressed that the security forces must exercise restraint and not use deadly violence against peaceful protestors.

The UK continues to lead international efforts in pursuing those responsible for the serious human rights violations in Myanmar. Working with partners, including the US and Canada, we have sanctioned 9 military officers, including the Commander-in-Chief, for their role in the coup. This includes cabinet ministers and members of the State Administration Council, established to run the functions of state following the coup. We are exploring options for further sanctions and are working with partners to ensure any sanctions are sufficiently targeted and do not impact the wider population.


Written Question
Iran: Terrorism
Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) downgrading the UK's diplomatic relations with Iran and (b) closing the Iranian Embassy in the UK until the UK has received assurances from Iran that they will not engage in acts of state terrorism.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Hostile activity such as the bomb plot against a conference in Paris in 2018 is unacceptable and must have consequences. The UK, along with our European partners, has directly condemned such attacks and in 2019 the EU adopted sanctions against those responsible. Following the end of the Transition Period, these sanctions are now enforced under the UK autonomous Counter-Terrorism sanctions regime. The IRGC also remains sanctioned in its entirety by the UK. We strongly condemn the targeting of civilians and welcome that those responsible have been held to account.

We continue to work closely with our European partners on security and counter-terrorism issues. We expect diplomatic and consular missions in the UK to respect our laws and regulations in line with their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and UK law.


Written Question
Iran: Terrorism
Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the role of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the bomb plot against an opposition gathering in Paris in June 2018, reported during the recent trial of an Iranian diplomat in Belgium.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Hostile activity such as the bomb plot against a conference in Paris in 2018 is unacceptable and must have consequences. The UK, along with our European partners, has directly condemned such attacks and in 2019 the EU adopted sanctions against those responsible. Following the end of the Transition Period, these sanctions are now enforced under the UK autonomous Counter-Terrorism sanctions regime. The IRGC also remains sanctioned in its entirety by the UK. We strongly condemn the targeting of civilians and welcome that those responsible have been held to account.

We continue to work closely with our European partners on security and counter-terrorism issues. We expect diplomatic and consular missions in the UK to respect our laws and regulations in line with their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and UK law.


Written Question
Mohammed bin Salman
Monday 18th January 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of whether Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are separate entities for the purposes of investment in the UK.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The Department has not made an assessment. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia publishes information on its role and governance online.


Written Question
Saudi Arabia: Newcastle United Football Club
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2020 to Question 124724 on Saudi Arabia: Newcastle United Football Club, on what grounds the English Premier League requested (a) advice, (b) intervention and (c) a meeting with officials from his Department.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

This is a matter for the English Premier League. FCDO officials held virtual meetings with the Premier League following a request by the latter. FCDO officials were clear, in their communication with the English Premier League, that any prospective takeover of Newcastle United was a matter for the two parties concerned. FCDO officials routinely meet UK businesses at their request.


Written Question
Saudi Arabia: Newcastle United Football Club
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2020 to Question 124724 Saudi Arabia: Newcastle United Football Club, which representative from his Department met with the English Premier League; and if he will publish the (a) job title and (b) area of responsibility in his Department of that representative.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Officials from the Middle East and North Africa Directorate and the British Embassy Riyadh met the Premier League virtually.


Written Question
Saudi Arabia: Newcastle United Football Club
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2020 to Question 124724 on Saudi Arabia: Newcastle United Football Club, how many meetings representatives of his Department held with the English Premier League where the issue of the proposed takeover of Newcastle United Football Club was discussed.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

FCDO officials hosted two virtual meetings with the English Premier League.