John Whittingdale
Main Page: John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon)Department Debates - View all John Whittingdale's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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The Prime Minister
I assure my hon. Friend that I spoke to the President of Cyprus yesterday, and I am hoping to speak to him again later today. I repeat what I said earlier, because it is important for reasons that he and the House will understand. The bases in Cyprus are not being used and are not going to be used by the US. [Interruption.] I hear the question, “Why not?” The answer is that they are not suitable. It is very important that that is made clear, because the President and I have been discussing that, as my hon. Friend will understand.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
On Saturday, Prime Minister Carney said:
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.”
Why was our Prime Minister not able to make the same statement? Was Prime Minister Carney wrong?
The Prime Minister
I am not trying to pick divisions between our allies on this. I was presented with a different scenario: whether we should accede to two requests in relation to action to be taken. That is different and it requires careful consideration of both the lawful basis and the viable plan. That is the basis on which I took the two decisions that fell to me. Different decisions fall to other Prime Ministers.