Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I do not think I can go further in response to my hon. Friend than I have already. We have been clear at the highest possible level, in the voice of our Prime Minister, about the seriousness with which we take this issue, the breadth of concern that we have and the consequences that are likely to follow. I cannot spell out those consequences for reasons I have already alluded to, but I reassure him that we treat this with the seriousness that it deserves.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Yesterday, a group of us met with non-governmental organisations and heard about how the settlers are physically surrounding Palestinian homes and schools, with properties built on every side of homes, schools and sports pitches, making it impossible for children to get to and from school. In one case, we were told that the only way to reach a school was via the back stairs of a residential property. All the settlements are illegal and we must focus on the building of E1 to prevent expansion. In an election year, the UK has an additional influence on Israelis who also abhor this illegality and violence, so will the Minister consider a full travel ban on all settlers to show that there are real consequences for illegal activity?

[Mr Falconer]

I have spoken myself to schoolgirls impeded in their day-to-day lives. We have taken four waves of sanctions sanctions against settlers, recognising the severity of the situation, and I have been clear that while the situation continues to get worse, we will continue to act.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

The hon. Lady raises an important concern. We are concerned by reporting from the UN special rapporteurs that large-scale environmental projects in Tibet risk the forced displacement of Tibetans from their ancestral villages. It is important that we keep these issues on our radar.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

2. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK's relationship with the US.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Yvette Cooper)]

I stand and look at the shield to Jo Cox above us today, and I add my personal tribute to Jo. She was a fellow West Yorkshire MP and a passionate and committed internationalist, as well as somebody who brought communities together here at home. We think of Jo’s family and especially of her sister Kim who is keeping Jo’s legacy alive.

The US is our deepest security and intelligence ally, our biggest trading partner and our top export market, and I saw again the strength of our people-to-people relationship when I joined His Majesty the King on the state visit to mark 250 years since the declaration of independence.

[Vikki Slade]

I regret that I never had the chance to meet Jo Cox, but the Secretary of State is right: her sister is doing her very proud.

As well as being the year in which the current US President was born, 1946 was the year in which the UK-US special relationship was formally cemented in Winston Churchill’s “Sinews of Peace” speech, and was credited by Russian historians with marking the start of the cold war. That war ended in the 1980s, but the relationship between western allies and Russia is distinctly chilly again, with threats appearing close to our shores even this weekend.

I welcome the progress on an Iranian ceasefire, but over the three months for which the US and Israel have been at war with Iran, the conflict has made many people rich, and it has been reported that Russian revenue from oil and petroleum has increased by 39%. Given that the actions of the United States appear to be helping Russia rather than supporting Ukraine and NATO, does the Foreign Secretary share my concern that that is causing further damage to a special relationship that has endured for 80 years?

[Yvette Cooper]

The Prime Minister is discussing the importance of support for Ukraine at the G7 today, and the G7 has had meetings with President Zelensky about the importance of maintaining the economic pressure on Russia. The hon. Lady is right to highlight the risk that Russia will become a beneficiary from the conflict in Iran. It is crucial that we ensure that that is not the case and also maintain that pressure, which we are working with the US to do.

Lebanon: Israel Defence Forces Operations

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I recognise my hon. Friend’s engagement in and commitment to these issues. I just gently say back to him that I have met the children displaced by this escalation. We have taken urgent steps to very significantly increase the support that is being provided to them. We have done everything we can privately and publicly, in the way I have described in the Chamber over the course of the afternoon, to try to ensure that there is a genuine, meaningful ceasefire that holds and does not lead to the loss of life, whether children or otherwise. We will continue to do that.

We have changed very significantly our posture towards Lebanon in the last few months. As I said earlier, we are now one of the largest humanitarian donors. I have myself handed over equipment to the Lebanese to try to ensure that they can control the south. That is not to say that progress has been uniform. In fact, it is very clear, as my hon. Friend will have heard and as I am acknowledging, how much worse the situation has got, but we will continue to play our full role here, at the United Nations and with our counterparts in the region to try to bring about a genuine and meaningful ceasefire.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir said in the last few days on social media:

“Electricity must be cut off to Lebanon, the Zahrani River must be seized, and intensive fighting must be resumed”.

Last week, he said of Dahieh,

“flatten, flatten, and flatten again”,

and that the suburbs must be targeted. The indiscriminate targeting of Lebanese people shows what the Israelis are really trying to do. Does the Minister agree that the time has finally come for a full ban on all arms to Israel?

Equality Act 2010: Code of Practice

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 1st June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

It is important to clarify that we continue to have engagement, and my hon. Friend may want to raise some of those matters with the EHRC. What we have said about challenging is that, prior to this debate, people have been able to sensitively say when somebody is walking into the wrong toilet, and to raise that. If there is a concern that goes beyond that, they should alert a member of staff. We expect that there will be training within organisations, and that organisations will see themselves as having a responsibility to ensure they are providing an inclusive service to all. As we continue to move forward with this debate, it is important that that training takes place, so that issues are dealt with sensitively and that individuals and organisations do not feel that either they do not have a way of asking, or it is not being handled in a proportionate way.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

One of my constituents described this code of conduct as “trans apartheid”. Another said that it was “state-sponsored repression”. Let us flip it, because we always talk about trans women; let us talk about trans men. If the rules say that somebody cannot enter a toilet of the gender that they were not born, a trans man is no longer allowed to go into a men’s toilet, but they also may not be allowed to go into a ladies’ toilet—their sex at birth—because at that point, they might become a threatening prospect for some people. They often are exceptionally well built young people, and a woman can say that they feel uncomfortable about that person in their toilets. Where are the human rights and privacy of the trans person in all this? I am concerned that we have missed the very group of people who are most affected.

[Seema Malhotra]

The draft code says that if someone has concerns about users of the opposite sex, or those perceived to be of the opposite sex, and raises those concerns with a service provider, the service provider can ask those users to confirm their sex, but that this should be done sensitively and with their privacy protected. It also outlines that staff should be equipped to handle such sensitive situations. If someone still wants to engage someone whom they believe to be in the wrong space, we would expect them to do so in a way that does not compromise anyone’s safety. Women should not have to face intrusive questioning simply because they do not conform to feminine stereotypes, and the draft code is explicit that service providers must handle any such queries sensitively and proportionately. Everyone must have access to the services that they need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

Israel’s security needs to be protected, and so does the security of Gulf countries that have been attacked as part of this conflict. We need security right across the region. The hon. Gentleman says that we hope the strait will soon be open. We have proposed that, as an immediate confidence-building measure, the Iranians should agree to the International Maritime Organisation’s proposal to start moving the stranded ships and the stranded seafarers. It could get on with that right now, even while negotiations are continuing. We need to get those ships moving and those seafarers home. That is what the IMO has proposed, and we have been building international support to pursue that as an immediate step.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

The difficulty of ships passing through the strait is leading to fears across all sectors and supply chains, including food production, so the price of food is at risk as well as the price of oil. Increasingly offensive and bizarre social media posts by President Trump are bound to be making diplomatic efforts more difficult, and make us worry whether anything he says can be taken seriously. What steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to ensure that all parties are coming to the table in good faith?

[Yvette Cooper]

I met Pakistan’s Foreign Minister in the last few days, and the hon. Lady will know that Pakistan is leading the mediation work as part of this effort. I have also spoken frequently to the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and we have been engaging with a whole series of countries. Over the last few days, I have met more than a dozen Foreign Ministers and counterparts to ensure that everyone is pressing the same messages as part of this process. We need the ceasefire extended and a swift resolution, but we must have the strait opened and we must have no tolls. Proposals for tolls have been circulating, but that would be deeply damaging and would go against the law of the sea.

Strait of Hormuz

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

The US President has suggested that the future of NATO may depend on countries falling into line with him, and supporting him on reopening this shipping channel. Does the Minister believe that it is acceptable for that type of pressure to be applied to sovereign nations, when there is still no evidence that this war has a legal basis, or that there is a plan for it?

[Stephen Doughty]

This country remains absolutely committed to NATO—we have a NATO-first policy—and the President has made very clear his commitment to article 5 and to NATO; that is not in any doubt. As I have said, we continue to engage with allies, including European partners, on viable and credible options for reopening the strait of Hormuz, but I will not go into further details at this time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore]

Improving road safety is a global challenge. Every year, 1.2 million people die on the roads—it is the biggest killer of young people. I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this to the House’s attention. Through the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK contributes £12.5 million to the Global Road Safety Facility and is represented on its partnership council, and we continue to work on this truly important issue.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

T10. Last week, the BBC reported the death of Palestinian child Jad Jadallah, shot in a west bank refugee camp while Israeli soldiers watched him bleed to death. Violence against children is increasing around the world, including in Ukraine, Sudan and now Iran. What diplomatic action is the Foreign Secretary taking to prevent child death and protect surviving children from the lifelong trauma of war?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

We have spoken many times about the risks to children in the west bank and Gaza. It is a priority for this Government. We raise it regularly with our Israeli counterparts, and I am familiar with the report the hon. Lady references.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

That was a slightly contorted question, but the right hon. Member will know that the board of peace proposal was originally in the 20-point Gaza plan. The proposals that have now been put forward are very different from what was previously expected for Gaza, so it is right that further international discussions are under way. All those details are being discussed, and we will see where that ends up. However, I think the critical issue is support for the Palestinian committee, because Gaza should be run by the people of Gaza—by Palestinians—free from Hamas. The crucial thing now is that we need to support it and ensure that Palestinians have not just humanitarian support, but the decommissioning of weapons and support for their long-term future.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

The irony, of course, is that we already have a board of peace, and it is called the UN, but President Trump is undermining it at every step. Five days ago, a group of 22 UN experts deemed the ban on international NGOs to be

“part of a systematic assault on humanitarian operations…and another step in the deliberate dismantling of Gaza’s lifeline”.

Twenty-one children have died of extreme cold in recent days, and 7,000 tents have been swept away due to the weather conditions. We need to do more directly, and if these NGOs cannot do it, what are the Government doing to get tents, shelter and heating into Gaza?

[Yvette Cooper]

Let us be clear that nothing can replace the UN or its charter. The UN is the bedrock of multilateral co-operation and international law. I met the Secretary-General this weekend, while marking its 80th anniversary, to reaffirm our support for the UN and its work. On the humanitarian issue, over 3,000 people have been affected by a new wave of heavy rains and strong winds across the Gaza strip over the last week, with huge concerns about hyperthermia and collapsing shelter structures. That is why I have also discussed with Tom Fletcher, of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, what more we can do to ensure that support gets into Gaza, which has to be a priority for phase 2 of the peace process.

Iran: Protests

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I know how many families in the UK will feel very personally affected by developments in Iran. Where there are consular-related questions, they are very much on our minds for both dual nationals and mono-nationals. I am afraid that wider community concerns are a question for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

My British-Iranian residents are deeply worried about their families. The Minister has said that he hopes the embassy will reopen soon, but time is not on the side of the Iranian people. When is “soon” likely to be? How quickly should we expect the proscription of the IRGC?

[Mr Falconer]

I do not want to sound evasive, either about the delicate decisions we need to make about posture across the region or about parliamentary time, but I am afraid I am not able to be drawn any further on either.

Arctic Security

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

President Trump questioned the Danish right of ownership of Greenland, saying:

“There are no written documents, it’s only a boat that landed there hundreds of years ago”.

Although Trump may today be challenging Greenland, on that basis, what assurance can the Foreign Secretary give that our overseas territories and those of our other allies would not come under a similar challenge from President Trump?

[Yvette Cooper]

We have been very clear that the principle of sovereignty—of territorial integrity—is fundamental. That is why the Prime Minister has made clear our strong disagreement with President Trump on this issue, the importance of issues such as Arctic security being collective, and that threats are no way to treat allies.