Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Ministry of Defence

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Kendall Excerpts
Monday 23rd February 2015

(9 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael Fallon Portrait Michael Fallon
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We are not reducing our effort; on the contrary, we have the RAF flying Tornadoes virtually day and night—a huge effort—from Cyprus. We have nearly 600 service personnel involved in this battle against ISIL, including more than 140 personnel in Iraq. It is important to help the peshmerga, but it is also important to help the reconstituted Iraqi army.

Liz Kendall Portrait Liz Kendall (Leicester West) (Lab)
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What are the Government doing to identify ISIL’s funding sources, and have they taken any action, such as sanctions, against those they have identified?

Michael Fallon Portrait Michael Fallon
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The hon. Lady is right that ISIL needs to be defeated not just militarily, but diplomatically and politically with all the instruments at our command, and cutting off its financial sources of support is extremely important. We are working with our international partners to ensure that those financing streams can be cut off, and that proper sanctions can be applied where we can identify exactly where the funding is coming from.