Oral Answers to Questions

Warinder Juss Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty]

The Foreign Secretary and I take this case incredibly seriously, and the Prime Minister also raised it with President Trump. As I have said on a number of occasions, we condemn in the strongest terms the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai. The national security law was imposed on Hong Kong to silence China’s critics. For someone who is 78, a 20-year sentence is tantamount to a life sentence. We are deeply concerned for his health. This is a priority for the Government, and we raise the case at every possible opportunity, both directly with China and with other partners.

[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

10. What steps his Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Palestine and Gaza.

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

21. What steps his Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Palestine and Gaza.

[The Minister for International Development (Kirsty McNeill)]

Over three years, we have seen a devastating man-made humanitarian crisis unfold in Gaza. The UK is committed to improving humanitarian conditions in Palestine. We will provide £88 million in humanitarian and early recovery support this financial year to support the delivery of essential healthcare, clean water, sanitation and hygiene services. At the UN General Assembly last month, the UK, Jordan and Qatar co-hosted a meeting focused on driving action on humanitarian access and healthcare. We issued a call to action, urging the Government of Israel to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Gaza.

[Warinder Juss]

Palestinian children are the only children in the world who are systematically prosecuted in military courts. Those courts do not meet juvenile justice standards, and Save the Children has found that at every stage of detention, from arrest to interrogation, transfer and incarceration, Israeli soldiers and officials have inflicted physical, mental and emotional abuse and torture on children. What action are this Government taking, with our international partners, to prevent the abuse of well over 300 Palestinian children who are currently being held in Israeli military detention?

[Kirsty McNeill]

First of all, I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to this incredibly important topic. Reports that hundreds of Palestinian children are being detained—as he says, many of them are being mistreated—in Israeli military detention are horrifying. Children’s rights must be upheld, in accordance with international law. Children must only be detained in line with internationally agreed juvenile justice standards, and we call for an end to military detention where it is incompatible with those principles. We continue to call on Israel to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross immediate unrestricted access to all detention facilities, and we raised this issue with Israeli authorities in September.