Gaza: Humanitarian Situation
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I assure the noble Baroness that the WCK aid workers only intensified our concerns and momentum in addressing the humanitarian situation, particularly where aid workers in Gaza are putting themselves at risk. More than 200 aid workers have now been killed in this conflict. We need to ensure their protection. The IDF has completed its initial inquiry. There have been some consequences for those who were involved in the strike. As my noble friend is doing again today, we are not just reviewing it, we are asking for it to be followed up with a full, independent report on what happened. The noble Baroness has put forward a practical suggestion, which I will certainly take back. Co-ordination is good. Perhaps we can discuss this outside the Chamber to see how it can be progressed.
Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, it was announced about a week ago that the great container port of Ashdod is opening up. I know it extremely well. It is by far the biggest container port in the area. It can deliver 20 times more than any of the convoys. Most importantly, is the huge amount of goods that turns up getting through, as everybody wants to see? So much of it gets into the hands of Hamas.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My noble friend makes an important point about Ashdod. We are focused on this and, equally, on ensuring that the aid sent to Gaza reaches the victims and those who are suffering. They need it most.
Israel and Hamas: Humanitarian Pause
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Benyon (Con)
The Government have been very clear about the settlements on the West Bank and I apologise if I did not answer the noble Lord, Lord Collins. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, is absolutely right that this is an emerging humanitarian crisis. We entirely support Israel’s right to defend itself and to perpetrate efforts to ensure that Hamas never commits such an appalling atrocity again. We want aid to get to people who are in a really dire state. As for language, we want the conflict to end and if that is a ceasefire or a pause I am not going to be semantic; we want to make sure that we get aid to people in the meantime. We do not want to limit the opportunity for Israel to defend itself and fight a legitimate conflict against Hamas, but we want to protect civilians and get aid in there, and we will do all we can to make sure that is happening.
Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, if the 7 October atrocities had never happened, there would never have been a war in that area at all and nobody—no man, woman or child—would have died. There were only a few weeks before the Abraham accords were going to be signed, as noble Lords all know. If that had happened, we would not have had this outrageous anti-Semitism increasing throughout the world. Does the Minister agree with that view?
Lord Benyon (Con)
The conflict has had a terrible effect of destabilising people way beyond the region. As I said earlier, we firmly support Israel’s right to defend itself but the tragedy is that, while there was still terrible poverty in Gaza, there was hope for a great many people. There was an emerging tech economy. There were things happening of a very good nature. Hamas has spent a very large amount of money on things it should not have spent money on—it should have been improving healthcare and education—and that is a tragedy. We want to support the people of Gaza and the people of the region in trying to rebuild this shattered community and make sure that Hamas never has a role in its governance again.
Israel/Gaza
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(2 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, I want to say how much I appreciate the Leader of the House finding time to have this important debate.
Last week, our Prime Minister stated that this is a pogrom. I am second generation, born in this country due to another pogrom, which took place in Russia in the 1880s. My grandmother managed to survive and obtained sanctuary in this country, allowing us to live in peace and restart our lives. My national service was in the Canal Zone in Egypt in 1953, at the time when Nasser was trying to make himself king of the whole area. I decided to use my allocated leave to visit Israel for the first time in my life.
Last week there was a major discussion in both Houses on the crisis and I was troubled that there was no mention of containment, as far as I am aware. Hamas knows that it cannot win. It has always known that it could not win. It had to be a different strategy, which has obviously been thought out much earlier. Hamas could not win alone and had to make it a much greater conflict. Through some of my other involvements I have knowledge of the Hezbollah missile capability in particular, which is important to us given the ships we have sent out there. The anti-ship missiles have a highly developed capability. There are of course several Peers taking part in this debate who will have greater professional knowledge than I do. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are now very well known; Iran and the Qataris are key supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah. The greatest concern is that the highly trained, extremely well-armed militias operating in Iraq and Syria, including ISIS and others, have all stated that they intend to hold Hamas together with their suicide squads, which are possibly already en route.
Over the past 20 years since 9/11, the real hatred is against the great Satan, the United States of America. One cannot rule out the possibility of the United States being attacked, forcing it to retaliate. The worldwide consequences that would have are immense; this country would also be a target. I have been actively involved with others trying to negotiate a peace process for some 35 years, working earlier with King Hussein and later with His Majesty King Abdullah. I went to visit him at his Aqaba home just after the end of the Iraq war. I have had the pleasure of working with him and his key advisers to this very day. It must be remembered, as has been mentioned, that in 1978 the Egyptian President Sadat offered to negotiate a peace treaty, which was completed in the Camp David accords. On 13 September 1993 the Oslo accord was signed between Yitzhak Rabin and, on behalf of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas and Arafat. Those agreements fell apart over the next five years.
On 26 October 1994, Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty called the Washington declaration, signed by Prime Minister Rabin and King Hussein, with President Clinton serving as a witness. Until his death, King Hussein used every endeavour to find an answer to the peace process. In the last 20 years, his son King Abdullah has widened and extended such endeavours and has become the most respected and influential leader in the whole Middle East internationally, in particular with President Biden. We must not forget that until relatively recent times it has been a warm peace. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has an excellent rapport with King Abdullah and shares the same long-term sentiments: a two-state solution with the Palestinian state totally independent in all forms from Israel, and the Israelis with no future involvement whatever in Gaza after Hamas has been totally defeated. One looks forward to a day when a good relationship will develop between the peoples of both states, which will be highly beneficial for both.
That has always been my personal hope. Hope has been mentioned several times today, including by the most reverend Primate, our splendid noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, and many others. Hope is very special indeed. In Arabic it is “amal”, and in Hebrew it is “tikvah”. It is certainly the case that, as has been mentioned by one or two people here, you need leadership—but the present leadership is not adequate.
Your Lordships may have noticed that I have not commented on the atrocities. My noble friend Lord Leigh is a very warm friend and I am a member of his synagogue. I have been approached by people from synagogues, mosques and churches, but I decided that I preferred to walk by the river and think about how I feel about all these things, so I did.
To finish on a warmer note, there have been times when, because the Jewish are not perfect, we have made mistakes. Some times have got so difficult that some of us have thought that, if it is true that we are designated by God as his chosen people, we should try to get in contact and ask whether he could please choose somebody else instead. I thank my splendid noble friend, the most reverend Primate and many others, as I have learned so much tonight and it is very much appreciated.
Turkey: Earthquake Relief
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(3 years ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, on the noble Lord’s second point, of course, any sanction applied has provision for humanitarian support; we will certainly ensure that continues to happen. On the noble Lord’s earlier point about vulnerable communities, the challenges are of course immense. As we look at the situation in Turkey as pointed out by the noble Lord, and towards Syria—Aleppo has been impacted in a devastating way notwithstanding the devastation it had already suffered—we will seek to prioritise the distribution of support accordingly. However, it needs a level of co-ordination; that is why I have alluded to what we are doing both with the aid agencies on the ground in Turkey and with the White Helmets. On the DEC, I assure the noble Lord that one of the last actions I left for the team as I departed the Foreign Office was a full submission on the very points that the noble Lord has raised. I do not have those details with me, as this has been a very fast-evolving situation, but that is high up my agenda; I will update the House accordingly.
Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, it is very good news that the Minister has responded as he has so far. Do I take it for granted that the Royal Auxiliary reserves, who are wonderful people trained specifically for operations like this, are totally involved? Also, do we intend to send out a field hospital, set up with highly trained people, which would be of great use?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I assure my noble friend that we are looking to ensure a whole-of-government response, so that every asset will be provided to the Turkish Government, as well as to assist on the ground in Syria. As to additional support, those details are being finalised. As the requirements are made clear to us, we will deploy what is necessary to ensure that the objectives of the relief efforts can be met.
Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, several months ago I rang and had a chat to Helen Cross, personal private secretary to the Queen. I reminded her that more than 10 years ago, we had done something of a similar nature, and I wanted to know whether the Queen would be in favour. We have all the monarch’s palaces, and many people there, such as the gardeners, the sous chefs and the chambermaids, who have hardly even met members of the Royal Family, but certainly have not been involved in a major gathering to do something they might really enjoy. Last time, we did exactly the same: she went to the Queen and the Queen was very much in favour. They had a ballot among all the people working for the palaces—the lot—but not at a high level. These were the people doing the down-to-earth jobs.
Yesterday was the day they came on board to visit “Gloriana”, the Queen’s row barge, at Chelsea. We had a great turnout, and the Queen’s royal bargemaster and all her watermen rode her. They all had a turn inside it. We got together and exchanged views. I met somebody from Scotland, who was very much involved in the shooting and birdlife up there, who said he had never been to London before. Then I spoke to the gardener, who was explaining how the earth is very different for planting in Kensington from what it might be in London. It was a wonderful get-together.
One of the two seniors who accompanied them came over to me and said, “Would you mind if we leave early?” I said, “No,”—I realised there had been some news coming out—and he said, “We’ve really got to get back, because there will be a lot of communication.” But I cannot help thinking how, when all those people went home, they said, “Wonderful!”—they were grateful. I thank them all on our behalf for coming, and what did they go back to? To find that the person that they loved had died. I have to say it was quite extraordinary.
But then, on our own front, we had to decide regarding “Gloriana”, the Queen’s row barge: obviously, with what has transpired, there were various things we had to do. For argument’s sake, you have to get the flags down, you have to put black satin over it, and this morning, very early, at 6 o’clock, we got the whole thing together to go down the river, accompanied by the police, in order to get her back in readiness for the rest of what will transpire.
I personally have had the honour and the pleasure of running the Silver Jubilee, the Golden Jubilee, most of the Diamond Jubilee and for the most recent one I was a senior adviser, but we took part in many areas as to what was transpiring. I have to say that the reaction was quite extraordinary, and the most important part of all of them were the street parties—how people actually got together. If I think of anything that really mattered, it was that. Something that might amuse noble Lords was the occasion when Robin Janvrin, the noble Lord, Lord Janvrin, said to me when we were coming up to that major concert in the Palace, which noble Lords might remember—this was in the Golden Jubilee—and he said, “I think you had better come along and have an audience with the Queen, to put her in the picture as to how it is going and where we are doing it. I suggest you come after 9 o’clock, because that is when they are going through the red boxes, et cetera, so if you could be there just before 10, then perhaps we could do it.”
So, I arrived at that time, I came in, bowed—everything was in that form—and I thought we were set to talk about it when the Queen got up and said, “No, no; I want you to come over to the windows.” I looked out of the windows and of course they had JCBs and everything digging up the gardens, taking so much soil out I cannot tell you what was going on in the gardens, and she was so upset, she was saying, “They’re ruining the gardens.” I said, “I think they will probably get them back in a reasonable state afterwards,” but it was just a great pleasure and an honour to be in that position. I also had the pleasure at P&O and Cunard when she came many times through her life for naming of some of the great ships.
Perhaps most important, as far as I am concerned, which my noble friend has already referred to, was Motability, which I co-founded with the late Lord Goodman. The Queen became, very early on, the chief patron. I know she has been president of umpteen charities, but for some reason—all noble Lords have spoken about how she was as a person—she really did get heavily involved and extremely interested in anything to do with the disabled and, of course, the veterans. At that time, it was an idea: we had only one car. Forty-five years afterwards, we had 6 million cars out, and there are 700,000-odd on the roads as we speak today, and I am sure that her involvement lifted our standing to those millions of families and their friends and the disabled, of course, to put them on the road to freedom. I have always felt, and we all felt, that this was something that was absolutely special.
Coming on to the last couple of points, one of the pleasures of our King is classical music—which is very much a part of my life—and he loves opera, ballet and all those areas. So I am quite sure that quite a lot of what will be happening will include that in a very major way, which gives me huge personal pleasure.
To finish, I will suggest the best tribute for all of us to give in memory of this wonderful person with this huge sense of duty. The oath we take here is to serve; that is what the Queen did all her life. I think the greatest long-term legacy we can give in her memory is for we parliamentarians to regain the trust of the people of this country. God save the King.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey (Con)
My Lords, I rise to add my very personal thanks to our beloved late Queen Elizabeth II. Her love of this nation, all its people and all its societies, particularly in the voluntary sector—about which noble Lords have spoken already tonight—was profound. No one could ever count what she has contributed to the growth of voluntary activity in the United Kingdom. We are, in fact, much envied by many countries abroad for that. When the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark spoke about the volunteering that has to go on, I kept thinking of all those little incidents that the Queen monitored, made note of and often referred to in other circumstances in order to encourage more people to be involved in volunteering and in service. So, if there is one thing that I thank her for above all else, it is her encouragement for people to be involved with their communities.
It was a very special privilege for me to spend numerous moments with Her Majesty during my 18 years as a Minister in three successive government departments, and indeed since that time. But it was in the Foreign Office, and then when I took on development matters as well, that I began to see her more frequently, because so many of the things in which I was involved were loves of hers and of the late Duke of Edinburgh. It was not just development; it was also the Commonwealth. Many references have been made to the Commonwealth, but there is the sheer fact that, in addition to the 56 member nations of the Commonwealth today, there is a queue of countries wishing to join the Commonwealth. We should be working hard to develop it, and I am certain that His Majesty King Charles III will want that to be a feature of our government going forward.
Among my many contacts with Her Majesty were two particular incidents on the island of Dominica, which was looked after by Dame Eugenia Charles as Prime Minister. There is probably hardly anybody here who will remember her, but she was a very determined elderly lady. I was to be the Minister in attendance when the Queen went to meet her. Dame Eugenia was absolutely certain that the tea service she had in her cupboard, which, she pointed out to me, only she could clean—I had a slightly raised eyebrow when I looked at it, but never mind—should be used when the Queen came for tea. All went well until the tea came in. Her Majesty was offered a cup of tea, but she decided that she did not want one at that moment. Too many cups of tea on tours are something that Ministers often regret; I am sure Her Majesty regretted it many other times too. I was left to make a diplomatic bridge between the Prime Minister of Dominica, who wanted to use the tea set, and the Queen, who had not given her the tea set. Such is the life in the Foreign Office sometimes.
Queen’s Speech
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, I have been actively involved in the defence of the realm since the Falklands War. When I re-read the speech that I made following Her Majesty’s gracious Speech in 2014, I also re-read a research work that I commissioned from King’s College London, which categorically demonstrated the economic benefit of military capital and research spend being made in the United Kingdom.
I very much appreciate my tireless noble friend Lord Ahmad, on whom the Government are putting huge emphasis to deliver on their principles. I reiterate that such moneys spent at home unquestionably create major benefits for the domestic sector of our economy and enhance our way of life. Having said that, unfortunately, large sums of money are still wasted on the wrong capital projects, as mentioned by many others before me. The time that it takes from concept to delivery within price is, in many cases, totally unacceptable.
Our present chief of staff is determined to achieve transformation and innovation in these areas. The unprovoked attacks by Russia on Ukraine have clearly demonstrated major mistakes by its military leadership, particularly in logistics and a lack of trained soldiers proud to serve their country. Russia and China’s build capability is, to a great extent, due to their being dictatorships and is much faster than that of the major democracies. The delivery capability of the Russian submarine programme, particularly its present one, is a major strength. Our latest submarine programme is crucial and needs all involved, particularly those companies in the private sector, to greatly increase the drumbeat for delivery with a major emphasis on value for money. The drumbeat of increased flows of money from the Treasury is of fundamental importance.
My view, mentioned by many here and in the other place, is that there must be a sizeable increase in the spend. It should be at least 3.5% because we must take into account that this so-called 2% is not a net percentage. It is probably not even 1.7% in real terms. Also, the major spend which we are now going into in a big way will not be completed by 2040. Can anybody truly believe that inflation will remain static for that whole period?
The United States is our closest and most trusted ally and we enjoy an excellent relationship with its military leadership. The Russian war on Ukraine has given us all a great deal to think about and has created extraordinary problems worldwide, but although NATO is dominated by the United States, which also picks up most of the cost, we have not seen the way we work together—and how NATO works together—since the Cold War.
On foreign affairs, I have often said that in following an agreed long-term foreign policy post Brexit, it is of national importance that we have the finest foreign service. Through the centuries, its role has been critical in having ambassadors and staff with persuasive abilities and a key collective intelligence. We have today many capable young ambassadors who are more than ready to rebuild this vital service. The major cuts in their budgets are frankly dangerous. Recently, several Peers have mentioned a deep concern about the possible selling of many of our splendid embassies. My noble friend Lord Trenchard gave a very good example. I totally agree; this would surely be a very short-sighted and bad message to the rest of the world.
Finally, to truly achieve the long-term security of the United Kingdom, it is vital that we have an excellent economy, thereby achieving a very strong balance sheet. It is well worth remembering that the Soviet Union collapsed by going broke. It was like piercing a balloon without a whimper. I cannot finish without stating—many others would obviously feel exactly the same—that some of our finest young men and women serve in our armed services and are prepared to put their lives on the line. In particular, they have a great pride and ethos in serving this country. I hope my noble friend the Minister shares these views.
Iran Detainees
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(3 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, regarding the remarks that the noble Lord made about both Members of Parliament, I have already recognised in my responses to the noble Lord, Lord Collins, and the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, the incredible roles played by the MPs. I know one of them but perhaps not the other. However, I speak for every Member of Parliament when I say that I am sure they would say that they were doing their job.
As regards the lessons learnt and so on, in every experience and area of work in whichever department and government—indeed, throughout society—there are always things that experience teaches one and provide insight into how one can deal with a situation more effectively. There are always ways in which to improve the response of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office.
In terms of focus, as the noble Lord acknowledged, others are still detained. Morad Tahbaz has been specifically mentioned. Let me assure the noble Lord that we are working to secure Morad’s return to the United Kingdom. He has three nationalities—Iranian, British and American, as the noble Lord will be aware. There are also others and we are supporting all British nationals in Iran who have requested our help. We, alongside our allies, are urging Iran to end its practice of unfair detention. In our diplomatic push to ensure that all parties are very much on board, my right honourable friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have been very much at the forefront of this release.
Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
After this splendid news today, I ask the Minister about his mention of our getting very close, together with the United States and other countries, to being able to sign an agreement with Iran. I think every country in the Middle East is strongly concerned about the possibility of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, in any form whatever. Can my noble friend reassure us that, in practice, he thinks the controls that will be in this agreement, when it comes, will unquestionably make certain that Iran will not get its hands on nuclear weapons?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, as my noble friend acknowledged, I have already mentioned the discussions going on with regard to the JCPOA. As many noble Lords have acknowledged, and as I have acknowledged myself, it is not an ideal agreement, but it has been sustained and retained, and it is important that all parties work for its restoration according to the criteria laid out, particularly about reversing Iran’s nuclear programme and allowing for effective and regular international monitoring for the very reasons my noble friend articulates—to prevent Iran developing or owning a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s nuclear programme should be for the purpose that it seeks, as many do, peaceful means of securing alternative sources of energy. The issue of Iran’s nuclear programme is very important. We are, of course, aware of the concerns, but I say to my noble friend that it is for those very reasons that it is important that we seek to restore the JCPOA, with the measures and conditionality it brings. At this juncture, it is important that all parties take a long, hard look at the agreement on the table. One hopes we can return to this agreement, with all necessary checks and balances in place, at the earliest opportunity.
Sanctions
Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts(3 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I think the House will take the lead of the noble Lord who, as a very distinguished former Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, speaks to what the requirements are. This has been the challenge, frankly, at the Security Council. I am proud—if I may use the word—of the UK’s leadership in its lack of use of its veto power, unlike other P5 countries. The noble Lord is correct in that respect. However, we have seen other actions; for example, the Foreign Minister of Russia could not travel to Geneva for the Human Rights Council earlier today. For those who say the sanctions are not working, I point out that the logistics of restrictions on Russian-registered aircraft over certain countries prevented him travelling. When he spoke, a majority of delegations left the room. There are measures or stands that you can take within the diplomatic network that show not just your immense dissatisfaction but your rejection of the actions of a member of the permanent five.
Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)
My Lords, has my noble friend the Minister had conversations with the P&I clubs? As we sit here, loads of tankers are leaving every day with oil for Russia. If you take away the insurance of the tankers themselves, and what they are holding for the owners, that could disrupt them hugely in making the dollars that they much like to make.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My noble friend speaks with detailed insight of the industry. I have gone through, at a summary level, what the new transport measures will mean. I will of course reflect on what he said and then write to him specifically on whether those prohibitions will apply. The fact that Russian ships cannot now enter any British port since 3 pm today will partly address the question he put to me.