Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Accepting foreign awards: UK rules, last updated on 24 November 2021, on how many occasions permission was (a) sought, (b) granted and (c) denied in respect of foreign awards being conferred to members of the Government by (i) Saudi Arabia, (ii) the United Arab Emirates, (iii) Qatar, (iv) Bahrain, (v) Kuwait and (vi) Oman between 2014 and 2024.
Answered by David Rutley
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Honours Secretariat has a record of one request to confer an award on a member of Her Majesty's Government from these six countries. In 2017, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia advised that they wished to confer an award on a member of the Government. Due diligence was carried out before the award was accepted. There are no records of any awards conferred without permission.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which UK flagged vessels have been attacked by the Houthis since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Since 19 November, the Houthis have carried out a series of dangerous and destabilising attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Contrary to their claims, the Houthis have been targeting shipping with no connection to Israel, including British-flagged vessels.
As of 17 January, the Joint Maritime Security Centre report that there have been 36 Houthi related incidents (Drone/Missile attack or near miss, Seizure, UAS Harassment, Suspicious Approach) in the Red Sea affecting 11 separate flag states. Vessels with British links were GALAXY LEADER; UNITY EXPLORER; AL MARROUNA; NUMBER 9; ARDMORE EXPLORER; NAVIG8 MONTIEL; GREEN TRADER; CMA CGM TAGE and one Red Ensign Group (REG-flagged vessel): SWAN ATLANTIC.
HMS Diamond was first targeted by a Houthi attack on 9 January.
We continue to work with our allies and partners to safeguard maritime security and navigation rights and freedoms in the Red Sea.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question 8588 on Israel: Gaza, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the speech by the Israeli Prime Minister on 28 October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We recognise Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but we have been clear that there must be a reduction in civilian casualties. Israel must act within International Humanitarian Law and we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question 8588 on Israel: Gaza, what assessment he has made of the relevance to the case brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice by the Republic of South Africa of the speech by the Israeli Prime Minister on 28 October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Our position on this is clear: Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. We do not believe that calling this genocide is the right approach. It is wrong to suggest that Israeli leadership, and Israel as a country, have the intention to commit genocide. Ultimately, it is for the courts to decide on matters of genocide, not for states. We respect the role and independence of the ICJ.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will take steps to support the case brought against Israel at the international court of justice by the Republic of South Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
This development is unhelpful and we do not support it. We recognise that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. We do not believe that calling this genocide is the right approach. It is wrong to say that Israeli leadership, and Israel as a country, have the intention to commit genocide. Ultimately, it is for courts to decide on matters of genocide, not for states. We of course respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 December 2023 to Question HL1234 on Roderick Drummond, whether his Department has sanctioned Mr Drummond following his acceptance of an award from Bahrain on 23 July 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
Where a foreign award is conferred without permission, a Head of Mission will not be given permission to formally accept, or wear, the award, but is allowed to retain it. The Minister of State has not made representations to his counterpart on Bahrain on this issue.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 December 2023 to Question HL1234 on Roderick Drummond, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart on Bahrain on the presentation of an award to the former ambassador on 23 July 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
Where a foreign award is conferred without permission, a Head of Mission will not be given permission to formally accept, or wear, the award, but is allowed to retain it. The Minister of State has not made representations to his counterpart on Bahrain on this issue.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2023 to Question 7142 on West Bank: British Nationals Abroad, whether UK nationals found to have been involved in settler violence in the West Bank will have their citizenship revoked.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We are not in a position to comment on individual cases, including cases involving British Nationals. We have urged Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence against Palestinian civilians and to hold the perpetrators accountable. As the Foreign Secretary said on 14 December, we are banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK, to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these acts. This involves making use of existing disruptive immigration measures at our disposal.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2023 to Question 7141 on Israel: Palestinians, what measures his Department plans to use in cases in which UK citizens are believed to be responsible for settler violence.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We are not in a position to comment on individual cases, including cases involving British Nationals. We have urged Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence against Palestinian civilians and to hold the perpetrators accountable. As the Foreign Secretary said on 14 December, we are banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK, to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these acts. This involves making use of existing disruptive immigration measures at our disposal.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 6366 on Hassan Mushaima, on what date he last had discussions with (a) the Government of Bahrain and (b) oversight bodies on his (i) medical care and (ii) release.
Answered by David Rutley
The FCDO continues to follow the case of Hasan Mushaima and discuss with the Government of Bahrain and oversight bodies. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed Mushaima's case with Foreign Minister Al Zayani on 3 July 2023. We also encourage those with specific concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.