Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June to Question 59824 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, whether his Department has had discussions with the International Maritime Organisation on the reported drone attack on the vessel Conscience.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 July 2025 from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I issued a response to the Hon. Member on 18 August.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the email from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot dated 24 July 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I issued a response to the Hon. Member on 18 August.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30304 on Gaza: Internally Displaced People, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people displaced from Gaza City since July 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been estimated that at least 90 per cent of Gaza's population of 1.9 million has been displaced, many of whom have been displaced several times, that 92 per cent of housing units have been destroyed and 1.4 million people are currently in desperate need of emergency shelter. Following the ground incursion on 14 August on Gaza City and North Gaza, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report significant displacement observed from north to south with 33,153 movements recorded, further straining already overcrowded areas.
As the UK said in our joint statement with overseas partners on 10 August, we condemn the Government of Israel's decision to further expand its military operations in Gaza, which risks violating international humanitarian law, endangering the lives of all civilians in Gaza, including the remaining hostages, and worsening the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, leading to further death and mass displacement of Palestinian civilians. We call on Israel to allow the UN and humanitarian partners to deliver unrestricted flows of humanitarian aid to alleviate this crisis, including shelter kits.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to stop UK (a) owned and (b) insured LNG carriers from transporting Russian products.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has taken extensive action to limit energy revenues that fund Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. This includes Russian revenues from Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Importing Russian LNG into the UK has been prohibited since January 2023. We continue to explore all options for constraining Russian revenue further and we do not comment on future potential actions as to do so could undermine their effectiveness.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of contracts held by Palantir Technologies in (a) strategic competitor and (b) other countries on (i) his foreign policy and (ii) data security.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to support the open, responsible, secure, and resilient development and innovation of technologies globally, through collaboration with governments, technology companies, and academia. Under the UK data protection regime, organisations must ensure there are appropriate safeguards in place when handling UK data.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the drone attack on the vessel Conscience in international waters.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
His Majesty's Government officials were in touch with the Maltese Authorities regarding the incident and understand there were no casualties and that no British nationals were aboard this vessel. We continue to discuss with Israeli counterparts the urgent need for the Israeli government to permit the full and unhindered resumption of the flow of aid into Gaza. Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately. As we've said, the most effective way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale that is needed is via overland routes.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to correspondence of 13 June 2025 from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member's correspondence. I issued a response to the hon. Member on 21 July.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his (a) Israeli and (b) Maltese counterpart on the reported drone attack on the vessel Conscience in international waters.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
His Majesty's Government officials were in touch with the Maltese Authorities regarding the incident and understand there were no casualties and that no British nationals were aboard this vessel. We continue to discuss with Israeli counterparts the urgent need for the Israeli Government to permit the full and unhindered resumption of the flow of aid into Gaza. Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately. As we've said, the most effective way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale that is needed is via overland routes.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the seizure of the UK-flagged civilian ship Madleen by Israeli forces in international waters.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the interception of the Madleen and the arrest of its passengers by Israeli Naval Forces. We note that this happened without serious incident or injury to any passenger. We pressed the Israeli authorities in advance of the ship's arrival to ensure that any action they took would resolve the situation safely, with restraint, and in line with International Law. The UK continues to demand that the Israeli government permits the full and unhindered resumption in the flow of aid into Gaza immediately. By far the most effective way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale that is needed is via overland routes. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling. We reiterate that Israel must immediately allow the UN and other agencies to deliver lifesaving aid to those in Gaza who so desperately need it.