Alex Sobel MP: speeches

Speeches

• 29 Jan 2026 · Ukraine: Non-recognition of Russian-occupied Territories · Hansard source

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  If we look back to the 1990s, and the UK’s role in Bosnia and Kosovo in particular, that gives us a model. Many of the people who sought refuge here during those wars were able to stay, but now many have gone back—after we de-mined, supported the process of reconciliation and provided mental health support and other things—and are prominent in society in Kosovo and Bosnia. I hope that in this case we can do the same, helping to support and strengthen Ukraine in the future. I would like to highlight three main asks in addition to the overall policy, which we should retain, of non-recognition of Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. First, we need to work with major British news outlets such as the BBC—including the World Service—Sky News and The Guardian to profile civil detainee cases, focusing on personal stories such as those of Serhiy Tsyhipa and Kostiantyn Zinovkin. We must reinforce the global legal consensus. Secondly, we need to support evidence-sharing initiatives with the ICC and European prosecutors working on war crime cases. Thirdly, we need to deter any attempts to normalise or legitimise aggression. That must be underwritten, of course, by legitimate and firm security guarantees for Ukraine. I want to finish with the words of Artur, whom Jen Stout interviewed in 2022: “To defend Ukraine, we’re defending all of Europe. The West would be next, they’ll capture your cities. Putin fancies himself an Emperor. If you don’t help us, there’ll be no more peace in your homes. I sacrificed my health at 22 years old, to protect the whole of Europe from Russian madness”. I thank Dr Kseniya Oksamytna of the University of London; Tanya Mulesa of Justice and Accountability for Ukraine; Dr Jade McGlynn of the Centre for Statecraft and National Security; the Foreign Policy Centre; and the Ukrainian embassy in London for their help with this speech. Moreover, I thank the people of Ukraine, whose resilience ensures that Ukraine stays strong through the biting winters and beaming summers. Slava Ukraini!

• 29 Jan 2026 · Ukraine: Non-recognition of Russian-occupied Territories · Hansard source

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  We had almost absolute unanimity; I think this is the most unanimous debate that I have taken part in during my time as a Member. Nearly every Member who contributed to it has been to Ukraine, sometimes many times—sometimes, unfortunately, they have had to travel with me. There may be one or two who have not been—I am not sure if the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Fylde (Mr Snowden), has been. I travelled with the Minister when he was the shadow Minister, and I can tell the shadow Minister that he would be treated akin to a Minister if he went to Kyiv. I am sure that it is in his plans to go. I thank everybody who contributed. I will rattle through them in the time that I have left. I thank the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) for his service in the military. We definitely need to consider the historical similarities, and particularly the fortress belt. As my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) said, we need to remember the temporarily displaced people. I was with her in Vinnytsia, where we met with the university and with businesses. My two vice-chairs on the APPG on Ukraine, the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) and my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson), made excellent speeches. The right hon. Member talked about his historical experience of being on the Black sea, the first wave of Russian aggression, the nuclear crisis and the concerns around Zaporizhzhia. My hon. Friend talked about Mariupol, which was the bravest defence in the Ukrainian war. The right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), who often speaks alongside me in these debates, talked about the historical parallels of non-recognition. As I am sure he knows, my mother was from Lithuania and born during that era. My hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) talked about military aid. We need to ensure that the Ukrainians get sufficient military aid. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) contributes tirelessly to these debates. His work on religious freedom is hugely important. We should remember that non-Orthodox religious sites were attacked and clerics abducted. Finally, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) made an important point about NATO. NATO’s clear position is non-recognition, and we need to hold the coalition of the willing together in its entirety to ensure that there is no recognition. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the matter of non-recognition of Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Ukraine: Non-recognition of Russian-occupied Territories · Hansard source

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  I deeply thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. It is absolutely right that the most vulnerable children on this planet are Ukrainian children in the Russian-occupied territories, and Ukrainian children who used to be in the Russian occupied territories but who are now falsely imprisoned in Russia, either in camps or through false adoption by Russian parents, including members of the Russian Government. There is no greater symbol of how monstrous Russia is than its treatment of Ukrainian children. Ukrainian civilians in the temporarily occupied territories are being abducted or unjustly imprisoned by Russia on a massive scale. At a minimum, several thousand Ukrainian civilians have suffered this mistreatment. Let me guide hon. Members through Russia’s systemic abuse of the Ukrainian civilian population in the temporarily occupied areas. First, there is persecution, including the creation of blacklists and the monitoring of the activities of individuals who are associated with civic activism. Secondly, there are arrests in the temporarily occupied territories, which means detaining individuals expressing views that are deemed inconsistent with Russia’s position. Thirdly, there is deportation and forcible transfer, with the use of official and unofficial detention sites in over 30 regions across Russia and Belarus to forcibly transfer detained Ukrainian civilians. Next, there are enforced disappearances. Following deportation, many civilians disappear, and their location and condition remain unknown to their relatives. Finally, there are unfair trials and illegal imprisonment. After some time, often years, civilians are brought to court, where they receive a sentence on fabricated charges, mostly relating to terrorism or espionage, which is straight out of the playbook of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The United Nations has identified more than 100 sites that have been used for these activities since February 2022, located in every occupied Ukrainian province and across Russia and Belarus. Frequently, ad hoc prisons were set up in seized towns, where police stations, Government buildings, basements, schools and industrial sites were used to detain perceived dissidents. Some of these facilities have become notorious. In Donetsk and Luhansk, which have been occupied since 2014, prisons such as Izolyatsia gained a reputation for the use of electroshock torture and beatings. Since 2022, similar filtration camps and makeshift prisons have proliferated across the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions. Today, the Holocaust Memorial Day debate is happening in the main Chamber as we speak. I do not draw parallels with the Holocaust lightly, but the secrecy surrounding these torture camps, in which Ukrainian civilians are persecuted, cannot be overlooked. Ukrainians have been through the Holodomor, the Holocaust and now, Russian occupation. Ukrainian identity is being continuously eradicated, both physically and mentally. During Russia’s invasion, 664 cultural heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed. Moscow has made it clear that nowhere is immune from missile strikes, even close to NATO territory. Looking outside the occupied territories, at the live targeting of the Lviv region, we have immense fears for the civilian population. Journalist Jen Stout highlights that one of the reasons why Lviv’s historic city centre is so unique and was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1998 is that it survived both the first and second world wars intact, unlike so many other central European cities. Haemorrhaging Ukrainian culture through the killing, forcible kidnapping and removals of civilians and children, and the obliteration of their historic landscape is not the only way in which the Russification of temporarily occupied territories is being carried out. Ukrainian teachers from the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions report that after the occupation they were banned from teaching Ukrainian and using the Ukrainian curriculum, and are required to accept the new system. Those who refused faced persecution, threats of violence and detention in the centres that I described. Many people have been forced to go underground or leave their homes to preserve their identity and safety. Returning to the atrocities being committed against children, it is alarming that there are points of view about how these atrocities are not ongoing. Overcoming that disinformation with the credibility of non-recognition of Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine is essential. We cannot allow Russian misinformation to win.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Ukraine: Non-recognition of Russian-occupied Territories · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member is absolutely correct. There is no part of the occupied territories of Ukraine where the standard of living is anywhere near what it was prior to the occupation. People in those territories are being systematically deprived of their livelihoods and there has been a material decline in their standard of living. Obviously, those who object to the occupation have been tortured, mutilated or killed, as Freedom House has evidenced. I would like to be the first to congratulate and celebrate my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) for this week being awarded the Ukrainian Order of Merit by President Zelensky. Since coming to this place, she has dedicated much of her time to working towards the return of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.

• 28 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I know that the Deputy Prime Minister takes a deep interest in Uganda. Two weeks ago, there was a sham election in which people were prevented from voting and Government officials stuffed ballot boxes. Now, the military is pursuing Bobi Wine, the leader of the opposition, with deadly intent. I am gravely concerned about Bobi, opposition activists and British citizens in Uganda. What can we do to safeguard those people and ensure that we do not see violence and bloodshed on the streets of Uganda?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Business Rates · Hansard source

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  As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on music, in Independent Venue Week, I thank the Minister for extending the support to music venues. Will it include multi-use venues such as the City Varieties music hall in my constituency, where I attended the Holocaust memorial event on Sunday, and the Howard Assembly Room? Has the Minister considered the impact on music studios, which are also a core part of our creative industries?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Police Reform White Paper · Hansard source

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  I am really pleased that the Home Secretary is retaining the role of democratically elected metro mayors in the oversight of police forces. My specific question is about police AI. We know that AI training models have bias, particularly around race, so how are we going to ensure that these AI models will not contain that bias? Also, all of the major AI companies are foreign-owned. How are we going to ensure that our national security is protected, and that this data is not taken and used against the United Kingdom by foreign Governments?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Last week, Uganda held elections. There were wide-ranging accounts of people being prevented from going to polling stations and of ballot stuffing. In one polling station, more votes were cast than there were electors. There is now widespread violence, and the son of the so-called President of Uganda has threatened to murder the leader of the opposition, Bobi Wine, who lost the election. What can the Foreign Secretary tell me about the veracity of the elections? What is she doing to protect British citizens in Uganda and to ensure the safety of members of the National Unity Platform?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

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  I want first to make it clear that I do not agree with this decision. It will have a chilling effect on Tibetans, Hongkongers and Uyghurs, and other Chinese people who merely dissent from the regime in Beijing. I have three questions about the application. First, what guarantees do the Government have that the seven other sites will be closed and disposed of? Will the new site be built by British construction companies hiring workers in the usual way, or by Chinese construction companies bringing in their own labour? What forms of building inspection control will be present during and after the construction?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Domestic Abuse-related Deaths: NHS Prevention · Hansard source

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  I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher), not only for securing this debate but for all the work that he does in the NHS as a GP on the issue of domestic violence and abuse. The NHS has opportunities to safeguard against domestic violence and, in the most serious cases, domestic homicide. Domestic homicide can be a consequence of honour-based abuse, which is particularly grounded in lived experience in my constituency in Leeds. Honour-based abuse is widely misunderstood, meaning that hundreds of victims are not being helped and perpetrators are escaping justice; I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles) for highlighting it in her speech and in the work she did when she was in the NHS. Honour-based abuse, a form of domestic abuse, is motivated by the abuser’s perception that other persons have brought, or may bring, dishonour or shame on themselves, their family or the community. It can take many forms and be complex to identify, but perpetrators of honour-based abuse often use methods of coercive control to force their victims to behave in certain ways, or to subscribe to certain beliefs. For some people, the concept of honour is prized above the safety and wellbeing of individuals, and to compromise a family’s honour is to bring dishonour and shame. That can be used to justify many types of abuse and even disownment or physical harm. Honour-based abuse is frequently missed or misidentified within health settings. It is often framed as family conflict, particularly when it involves multiple perpetrators, rather than being recognised as domestic abuse and a form of violence against women and girls. This is particularly concerning because victims of honour-based abuse often have repeated contact with the NHS, including GPs, A&E departments and other hospital services, sometimes over many years. Those touchpoints present critical opportunities for early identification and intervention. The point is tragically illustrated by the story of Fawziyah Javed, a constituent of mine who was a victim of domestic homicide. She had regular, ongoing contact with GPs and hospital services prior to her death. Fawziyah’s case highlights how risk can be present and escalating without being fully recognised or responded to within health settings, particularly where honour-based dynamics are not understood. Fawziyah had such a beautiful and vibrant character that she could fill a room with joy just by her presence. She was full of life and soul. Helping others was so central to her being that she was well-known in the charity sector within Yorkshire. In December 2020, she married Kashif Anwar, but the marriage quickly became a prison of abuse. Despite reporting her husband’s abuse to police on two separate occasions prior to her murder, Fawziyah was failed on multiple levels. The abuse of Fawziyah escalated. Ultimately, her abuser pushed her off the cliff at Arthur’s Seat while they were on a trip to Edinburgh. She died at the scene in the presence of female allies, who would later confirm that her dying words pointed to Kashif being her murderer. When Fawziyah died, she was 17 weeks pregnant with her baby boy. Fawziyah had contact with the NHS during her pregnancy. Her family feel that there were missed opportunities to protect her during that time. A risk assessment was begun by one member of staff but completed by another, meaning that vital information might have been missed. Handing that assessment over when it was only partly complete undermined the seriousness of both the process and Fawziyah’s case. Her mother told me: “This was a clear example of how systematic failures, lack of accountability and poor safeguarding practices can leave vulnerable women at risk. It is exactly why mandatory, trauma-informed Domestic Abuse screening and better training for NHS staff are so urgently needed.” It is vital that healthcare professionals support and encourage the early identification of signs of domestic abuse. Routine sensitive questioning could help to protect people and potentially save lives. When Fawziyah was pushed off Arthur’s Seat, at no point did her abuser dial 999. Instead, his first reaction was to call his father, showing how the family’s complicity helped enable the abuse. The failure to recognise the dynamics of honour-based abuse, and the involvement of multiple perpetrators, played a significant part in the tragic loss of a life. If her case had been recognised as the multilayered abuse it was, along with the honour dynamics involved, Fawziyah might have had a chance to escape the violence. Domestic homicide reviews consistently identify health as a key agency, with recurring recommendations around improved identification of abuse, better information-sharing, professional curiosity and escalation pathways, especially in cases involving honour-based abuse and coercive control. I thank those at Karma Nirvana, based in my constituency, for their essential work on the issue, tackling misconceptions. I also thank Fawziyah’s family for sharing her story with me over many years, ensuring that we will strive for it not to be repeated and never to be forgotten. Fawziyah’s story is a tragic reminder of why we must do more to recognise and address honour-based abuse and the impact it has on victims. Recognition, training and support in the NHS for victims of honour-based abuse are vital. I look forward to hearing the steps that the Minister intends to take to improve the situation.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure · Hansard source

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  I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on music. The vast majority of live performance venues have alcohol licences. Many are pubs, but the vast majority are not. Leeds Arena in my constituency is being dragged into the highest rate of business rates, alongside some large retailers. Without live performance venues, we will not have any future Ed Sheerans, Darcey Bussells, Idris Elbas or Simon Armitages bringing in the export income that the Treasury desperately needs. Is the Minister considering live performance venues, not just pubs, when he is thinking about the changes?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Proposed Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

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  The Speaker of the US Congress, Mike Johnson, was here today in Parliament. Last night, when asked about the Chinese embassy application, he said: “I’m concerned about it…But if it were me, I would be very cautious about that.” The Minister has heard the caution in this House and from the US Speaker, the White House and many others about the proposed Chinese embassy, which would give China a much greater ability to undertake transnational repression and espionage and to attack our critical national infrastructure. I ask the Minister again: are she and the Government listening to all the voices before making this decision? Once Pandora’s box is open, it cannot be put back.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Iran: Protests · Hansard source

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  The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is undertaking and leading the brutal repression and murder of so many Iranians fighting for their freedom. We know that the IRGC has used two registered cryptocurrency exchanges to move approximately $1 billion since 2023, evading international sanctions. Zedcex and Zedxion routed funds through IRGC-controlled wallets, offshore intermediaries and Iranian crypto companies. What are the Government doing to ensure that the IRGC cannot fund this brutal crackdown through British-based companies?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The household income threshold for the maximum maintenance loan for students has not changed since 2008. If the threshold is not increased, by 2028 a child from a single-parent household with a parent working full time for the minimum wage will not qualify for the full maintenance loan. What are we doing to end this scandal after 18 years and raise the quota?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Arctic Security · Hansard source

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  I associate myself with the Foreign Secretary’s statement that the future of Greenland is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes alone. We all know that the geo-security issues in the High North are due to Russia’s threat to NATO. I am very pleased that the Foreign Secretary went to Norway last week, because we have two Russian bases on NATO territory in Svalbard. What discussions did she have with her Norwegian counterparts about the possibility of ending the Russian presence on that NATO territory?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the news today that we will finally get Northern Powerhouse Rail, and the news that it is starting in Yorkshire is historic. The world’s oldest continuously working railway, Middleton railway, has operated since 1758, and the lines that are to be improved will be just metres away from it. That railway helped to kick-start the industrial revolution, and this project could kick-start a new revolution for the north of England. Is the Secretary of State working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to look at housing growth, at jobs growth and at maximising the benefits of Northern Powerhouse Rail in the same way as our Victorian forebears?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Offshore Wind · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on proving that contracts for difference for offshore wind really do work. I am particularly pleased to hear how much floating wind is in this contract. I know he is always looking to the future, so could he update the House on what his Department is doing about emerging offshore technologies such as offshore thermal, offshore wave and offshore tidal?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It has taken too long to see that Chelsea money. My hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor) talked about the aid convoys. Imagine what they could do to support Ukraine, the generators we could buy and the energy infrastructure we could build with the billions from the Chelsea sale.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is inviting me to comment on our official development assistance cuts, on which we probably share the same opinion. There is a principle here about reparations, whether they are from the Russian state, from individuals who have benefited from this war or from the gangster kleptocracy that runs Russia. We need to do both those things. There is a wider discussion to be had about how we can support Ukraine and retrench some of the money for other areas, particularly Syria and, hopefully, Iran, that need ODA money from the UK now and in the near future. As my time is nearly up, I will ask a couple of questions that the Minister can answer at the end of the debate. On the much-vexed question of our deployment of troops to Ukraine, it is very early. I want to counsel some Members that when they are talking about this, their language and approach is very reminiscent of the run-up to the second world war and Lord Halifax’s approach. There was an agreement in Munich, Chamberlain said that it would be a peace in our time, and then the war started—it came to us. Russia’s territorial ambitions are not limited; they are unlimited. We need to be cognisant of that. We need to be on the front foot, not on the back foot. I understand all the concerns about our ability to deploy troops. What planning are we doing at this stage? What is the process? What can we do to reassure MPs and the public that we are making the right planning steps towards that? On what we can do now, the plans announced to develop new tactical ballistic missiles with Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia are welcome. I am sure the Defence Minister will be able to answer this question: can the Government talk more about how and when we will do that and what the timelines are? Our own air defences are insufficient. We need to think about the future. If this war is protracted—if Putin does not settle and we do not get to a ceasefire—we ourselves could be threatened by drones, missiles and all the things we hear about every day in Ukraine. We need to be ready for our own defence, as well as the defence of Ukraine.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I would like to start by thanking the Leader of the House for giving us this debate. He could have chosen any topic to fill the space this afternoon, but he chose this debate on Ukraine. It is a privilege to serve as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Ukraine. I can see many members of the APPG here. The group is not full, so other Members can still join. We would like to have every Back-Bench Member of the House as a member of the APPG. I want to start with a first-person narrative about what is happening in Ukraine now, as we approach the midway point of the Ukrainian winter, in the middle of January, and the reality of the lived experience of what midwinter in Kyiv really means and feels like. Russia continues to have the ability to strike on a daily basis and to take out Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Its energy security is constantly under fire. I spoke with Lesia Vasylenko—I know many people here know Lesia—who chairs the British group in the Rada, and who is in Kyiv. She told me: “I have had no heating in my flat for four days and it’s minus 10” —this was yesterday; it is now minus 13°— “This is the situation in half of Kyiv. No electricity too, apart from a couple of hours in the night. Some buildings have no water. I’m writing this to you in total darkness and wearing four layers. Schools are not working. The sound of generators is less and less heard as they are breaking down en masse, given that they are not designed to work non-stop” and in such low temperatures. She continues: “Hospitals are also working at limited capacity. And every night Russia is deliberately hitting more and more power generating facilities and gas infrastructure. The task is to freeze Kyiv out. At one point mayor Klitschko even appealed to the people of Kyiv to leave the city. Putin’s invasion nearly four years ago has resulted in millions fleeing their homes, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and relentless attacks on hospitals, homes and schools. This includes Russian state sponsored abductions of Ukrainian children,” which my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) spoke brilliantly about, “and the arrest of my colleagues at the OSCE, Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda,” who I know my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) is raising as an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe rep on Ukraine. Lesia is the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly chair of the parliamentary support team for Ukraine. [ Official Report , 19 January 2026; Vol. 779, c. 2WC.] (Correction) I am happy that we can support her and continue to support the work going on now. On our support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Octopus signed a significant deal with DTEK, a large private energy company in Ukraine, for £100 million. We need to see much more like that. I was pleased my hon. Friend the Minister spoke about that bunker under the school on the south bank of Kyiv that we went to together when we were in opposition. We need to think about those children now—not in that school, which has a generator, but in their homes freezing, and all those other millions of people in Kyiv now being frozen out. We need to do more not just to provide emergency energy generation, but that long-term, secure renewable energy. For us, renewable energy is a matter of the energy transition—we just had the statement right before this—but for them, it is national security. It is the difference between being able to heat their homes, keep the lights on and use their mobile phones, and not being able to do so. It is much easier for the Russians to take out a gas-fired power station or a nuclear power station than it is to take out a wind or solar farm. We need to ensure that we do everything we can on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. As chair of the APPG, I write many letters every week to enable Members of the Ukrainian Rada to visit us here. That is not just about Members of the Rada but right across the piece, because so many Ukrainians have family members here and other ties to the UK. It is still so difficult for Ukranians to get visas. I ask the Minister how we can further reduce bureaucracy for Ukrainians to come here and how we can liberalise those short-term travel visas, which are still difficult to get. Sanctions are one of the few non-military tools capable of influencing Russian policy. They act as leverage that should not be given away without meaningful concessions. Without conditions, such as a withdrawal to the 1991 borders and binding agreements on reparations, a ceasefire could freeze the conflict in a way that perpetuates instability. Europe and the UK cannot repeat the mistake of 2014, when sanctions over Crimea and the Donbas were limited and political will dissipated. That leniency enabled Moscow to believe that further escalation would be tolerated and led to the full-scale invasion in 2022. Whatever happens—whatever negotiation or agreement —we need to keep Russian sanctions in place and continue to restrict its ability to operate, because my concern is that otherwise we will allow future conflicts to happen, because Russia’s territorial ambitions are not constrained just to Ukraine or to any agreement to freeze the conflict.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I will.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

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  The Joint Committee on Human Rights undertook an inquiry on transnational repression last year. It found that the Chinese state undertakes considerable transnational repression against the Chinese diaspora in the United Kingdom, much of it co-ordinated out of the existing Chinese embassy. The new super-embassy is a real threat to Hongkongers, Uyghurs and other members of the Chinese diaspora who do not toe the Beijing party line. Will the Minister reassure me that transnational repression of the Chinese diaspora is a material consideration when making this planning decision?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Universities: Statutory Duty of Care · Hansard source

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  As near neighbours with universities in our constituencies, my hon. Friend and I see a real patchwork of support at universities across the country. Does she agree that a statutory duty would bring universities on a level playing field with hospitals, schools and employers? I am co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on students, and this is something that we have long called for. Does she not think it is time that we brought forward the statutory duty to support all those students?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  Democracy and human rights are sacrosanct. A new great game, in which might beats what is right, is replacing the international rules-based order. Does the Secretary of State share my concern that our allies in Ukraine, Taiwan and elsewhere are less secure now than they were a week ago?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Middle East and North Africa · Hansard source

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  The Minister is aware of the case of Marwan Barghouti, which was reported by the Inter-Parliamentary Union to have been in violation both of the Oslo accords and the Geneva convention. He was abducted by Israel from the west bank and put on trial in Israel. The Minister will have seen reports today that Minister Ben-Gvir said that Barghouti should be executed—an unconscionable statement by a sanctioned Israeli Minister. Have the Government assessed the compatibility of Mr Barghouti’s trial and detention with international humanitarian and human rights law? If so, has their assessment informed any representations made to the Israeli authorities, beyond calling for access for the ICRC?