Middle East

Debate between Laura Kyrke-Smith and Keir Starmer

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am not going to condemn a plan that I welcomed yesterday. I think it is a really important step forward—it is a step that almost everybody in this House has welcomed, including the hon. Member. What is important now is that we build on that plan. It will be for others to decide the particular representation, but of course there is the committee, which will be really important in relation to the day-to-day matters in Gaza and on which there must of course be proper Palestinian representation. These matters are still to be determined, but I really think it would be better if we did not try to unpick where we got to yesterday before we have even started to implement it and try to move forward. That would inevitably take us backwards.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

We know that humanitarian aid saves lives, rebuilds lives and plays a crucial stabilising role, so I thank the Prime Minister for his emphasis on getting aid into Gaza. It has been heartening to hear from the UN agencies that are now crossing the border for the first time since March, getting in vital supplies such as cooking gas and medicines. However, some non-governmental organisations, including British NGOs, are still struggling to get the permissions they need to operate, so what more will the Prime Minister do to ensure that these immediate humanitarian relief efforts become a sustained, scaled-up part of Gaza’s recovery, and that our British NGOs can also play their full part?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. I can reassure her that we are raising that issue with partners, for all the reasons she has set out.

G7 and NATO Summits

Debate between Laura Kyrke-Smith and Keir Starmer

Thursday 26th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the issue. Obviously, we carefully review and monitor any Chinese involvement in any elements of security. But it is right that we now include resilience in our overall definition of national spend, and act accordingly.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his commitment to keeping our country safe and for his effective diplomacy to that end. While our international aid budget is now diminished, it remains my belief that the work we do to prevent and respond to humanitarian crises around the world plays a crucial role in global stability and security and, in turn, in our own. Can the Prime Minister reaffirm his commitment to that vital role for the UK in the world?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can. My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue and describe it as she did. We are a leader on this and continue to be. We want to get our aid budget back up, but in the meantime I want to work with other countries to find other ways of financing that support as a matter of some urgency.