Venezuela

Lord Kerr of Kinlochard Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

There is no moral equivalence whatever between the illegal invasion of Ukraine and what has happened in Venezuela, the legal arguments for which are for the US to defend. These are not UK actions and our commitment to international law remains.

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard (CB)]

If a family member makes what one thinks is a serious mistake, it is often the case that one tries to avoid saying so in public. The Prime Minister is quite right not to attack President Trump in public. What matters now is that the Venezuelans get to decide who runs their country. Surely we can all agree that the country cannot be run from Washington and should not be run by Maduro’s associates, except in the unlikely event that they were to win the free and fair election the country so badly needs. Can the Minister confirm that our chargé in Caracas is still able to maintain the excellent contacts he has with the opposition parties in the country?

As for Greenland, rows within the family are the worst. The Kingdom of Denmark is also one of our closest friends and allies. The Danish Government are clear that they are ready to discuss an increase in the American military presence in Greenland—perhaps back to its previous level in the thousands, not the low hundreds where it is now. Can the Minister confirm that we are suggesting to our American friends that this might be the best solution to their security concerns?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I am happy to confirm to the noble Lord that our chargé in Caracas, Colin, is continuing to do the outstanding job that he has been doing for the last few years. He has excellent relationships that justify the fact that we kept our team there throughout this period.

On Greenland, rather than it being for me from this Dispatch Box, it is for the Kingdom of Denmark and its leadership to have whatever negotiations they feel inclined to have. If they wish us to support them in any way—diplomatically perhaps—then we will of course be interested to talk to them about that.