Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent progress his Department has made on helping to secure the release of hostages in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK Government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals and their families.
We have been clear that the release of all the hostages is one of the vital elements for a lasting peace and the Foreign Secretary has reiterated that we want to see the safe release of all hostages unconditionally.
The Government continues to call for an immediate humanitarian pause now to allow for the release of hostages.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make representations to the Israeli government on (a) publishing an official list of aid that is restricted to Gaza and (b) ensuring that nutritional and medical aid needed to treat starvation are not restricted.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Foreign Secretary has been clear that we need to see increased access for aid through land routes, increased capacity inside Gaza, an expansion of the types of aid allowed into Gaza, and the provision of electricity, water and telecommunications to both the north and the south of Gaza.
We are doing all we can to get as much food into Gaza as possible. On 20 March, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK has funded WFP to provide 2000 tons of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza.
A field hospital, provided by UK Aid funding to UK-Med, has arrived in Gaza. This facility, staffed by UK and local medics, will be able to treat over 100 patients a day, ensuring those with health issues have access to vital aid.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the prospect of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We engage closely with the US on both this and wider aspects of the conflict. On 13 March, the UK, US, and regional partners took part in ministerial consultations to advance a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza. On 7 March the Foreign Secretary spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock about the situation in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary also met and raised this with Foreign Ministers of international partner countries, including the US, at the Munich Security Conference in February.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help de-escalate tensions in the West Bank; and whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in Israel on their (a) withholding of work permits and (b) blocking of travel by Palestinians from the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Government maintains a regular dialogue with Israeli counterparts and partners on a range of issues relating to the conflict, including steps Israel must take to deescalate tensions in the West Bank. This includes halting settlement expansion, holding to account those responsible for extremist settler violence and releasing frozen funds.
On 12 February, the UK announced new sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers who have violently attacked Palestinians in the West Bank. These sanctions follow the announcement by the Foreign Secretary in December that the UK plans to ban those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) support the economy of and (b) increase trade between the UK and Gibraltar.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK is committed to supporting Gibraltar, its people and its economy. We are working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar to conclude a UK-EU treaty which can secure the future prosperity of Gibraltar and the region. We continue to collaborate on shared prosperity goals. For example, the UK's £500 million Loan Guarantee to support Gibraltar's economy was extended in 2023 for a further three years and the implementation of the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime will facilitate financial services business between the two jurisdictions on a permanent basis.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is continued mobility across the border between Spain and Gibraltar during negotiations with the EU in respect of Gibraltar.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK, working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, is committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty as soon as possible. A key objective is to ensure that people and goods can move easily between Gibraltar and the surrounding communities. Together with the Government of Gibraltar we continue to monitor the functioning of the border and raise issues with the Spanish authorities, including at Ministerial level, when required.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps his Department has taken to help tackle starvation and malnutrition on the Gaza strip.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Palestinians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. It is crucial that we keep the flow of aid moving into Gaza to end the suffering.
The Foreign Secretary has announced a further £10 million in aid funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), bringing the total spend to over £100 million this financial year.
We are working with our partners to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. This includes supporting the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza; air-dropping life-saving food and medicines directly to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital in northern Gaza in conjunction with Jordan;, and, with Cyprus, the US, UAE and others, we will support the delivery of humanitarian aid by sea to a new temporary US military pier in Gaza, via a maritime corridor from Cyprus. As well as 150 tonnes of UK aid that entered Gaza 13th March, which included tents and hygiene supplies.
We are calling on Israel to increase access for aid through land routes and fully open Ashdod Port, scale up the Jordan corridor with a streamlined screening and delivery process, open a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), fully open Ashdod Port for aid delivery and increase screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to counter the work of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Answered by David Rutley
The Foreign Secretary has been clear that the malign activity of the Iranian regime, including that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is unacceptable. We have already sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including the IRGC in its entirety - for roles in weapons proliferation, regional conflicts, human rights violations and threats to UK based individuals. In February, we utilised our new Iran sanctions regime to designate key units within the IRGC-QF and the Deputy Commander responsible for supporting or enabling the Houthi's hostile activity in the region. In January, the UK sanctioned IRGC officials responsible for targeting journalists in the UK.
We will continue to work tirelessly across government and with our international partners to deter Iran's, and the IRGC's, malign activity - including through holding Iran to account for breaches of maritime security; addressing weapons proliferation to non-state actors; and maintaining our permanent defence presence in the region.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has held with his counterpart in the Israeli government on the number of Palestinian detentions in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Government is clear that administrative detention should only be used when it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released. The UK is committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in its detention practices and repeatedly calls on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. This has been repeatedly raised with Israeli counterparts, including the during the Attorney General's visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in February.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support international negotiations to achieve (a) an immediate ceasefire and (b) the unimpeded entry of aid into Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We want the fighting to stop now. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
The vital elements for a lasting peace include: the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have reiterated these messages in their contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, as well as leaders in Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in recent weeks.
The UK and our partners are stepping up our efforts to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. We trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings.