Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the British Overseas Territories during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is firmly committed to supporting the Overseas Territories in dealing with Covid-19. Baroness Sugg (Minister for the Overseas Territories) is in regular contact with the political leaders and Governors of the Territories, to understand the situation on the ground and identify how the UK Government can best support them. The impact of the pandemic on the Territories varies, and our support is being calibrated accordingly. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development are leading a cross-Whitehall effort, working closely with the Overseas Territories governments to provide support across the key areas we have identified, of healthcare, economy, security and access.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the care needs of British children trapped in north-east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to assess the needs of or provide assistance to British children, but we carefully consider all requests for consular assistance on a case by case basis. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria who are brought to our attention, where feasible and subject to national security concerns.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with the Kurdish authorities on their ability to deliver repatriated children to the Syrian border.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Officials have discussed the evacuation and repatriation of British orphans and unaccompanied minors with representatives of the civilian de facto authorities in north east Syria on several occasions, most recently on 21 October. Any repatriation will be subject to national security concerns.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on that Administration's decision to classify Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Answered by Mark Field
We regularly engage with the US on Iran policy at a variety of levels, including through a visit to Washington by our Ambassador to Iran last month.
We have long expressed our deep concerns about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC's) destablising activity both within and outside Iran, including its illicit economic activity and its role in Iran's ballistic missile development and support to non-state groups around the region.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the involvement of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in terrorist activity in the region.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government is deeply concerned by Iran's destabilising involvement in regional conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC Qods Force, and by reported financial and military support to militant and proscribed groups, such as Hizballah and the Houthis. The Foreign Secretary raised these concerns directly during his visit to Iran last November.