Oman, UAE and Iran Debate

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Department: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Martin Whitfield

Main Page: Martin Whitfield (Labour - East Lothian)

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Brexit Negotiations

Oman, UAE and Iran

Martin Whitfield Excerpts

Point of Order
Monday 11th December 2017

(6 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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The hon. Gentleman is entirely right. That is something that is regularly raised both by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East, and by our ambassador, Nick Hopton, in Tehran. The treatment of Christians and Baha’is is a matter of deep concern for this Government, and it is something that we will continue to raise.

Martin Whitfield Portrait Martin Whitfield (East Lothian) (Lab)
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I welcome the statement. Does the Secretary of State feel that journalists in the middle east and their families can sleep safer following his visit?

Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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The treatment of journalists worldwide is a subject of grave concern. As I mentioned earlier, I have anxieties about the freezing of the assets of BBC Persian. As long as a society does not have free journalism and a free media, it will not only never be free, but never be truly prosperous or happy.

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