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David Lammy MP: speeches

905 published records · newest first.

Speeches

  • 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source
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    I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the way she has championed these issues, pressing them again and again, on behalf of her constituents. There is a real dilemma on Palestinian recognition. There are some who want recognition essentially because they believe that two states is years away and will never be achieved, and they want the UK Government to say, “We will do it now”—to put a marker in the sand, despite the fact that it is years away and will never be achieved. There are others who recognise the importance of the UK’s role in relation to our responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and therefore understand that we will do that, but we will do it when we know that it will happen and it is in sight. This is one of those critical moments, and believe me, I will play my part.

  • 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source
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    I am grateful for the question. Having spoken to the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister at length on Sunday and to the Israeli Foreign Minister at length on Sunday as well, it is my sincere hope that we do get that normalisation deal. There are many steps before we get there, but I think this is a critical moment, and I really hope we can achieve it.

  • 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source
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    I am conscious of how many Members are on their feet. I will attempt to go a little quicker. The Palestinian cause is a just cause. A two-state solution is where we have to be. A political process is necessary. I will play my full part, and I reassured President Abbas that we will do that over the coming days and weeks.

  • 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source
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    As has been said, there are two possibilities here. One is a situation in which Israel does not withdraw from Gaza and there is still a lot of fighting. Displaced people would vaguely be able to return to their homes, but we would not see the reconstruction or the international community able to come back in, because there would be no guarantee that the efforts they put in will not be destroyed in another 10 or 20 years’ time. The other possibility is that we get to phase 3 and we see not just a ceasefire, but a political process that brings about stability and ultimately peace, and alongside that we see Saudi normalisation with Israel and the prospect of two states.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · UK Support for Israel · Hansard source
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    Since coming into office we have taken significant action: calling, of course, for a ceasefire—we have been calling for a ceasefire since December 2023; suspending relevant arms sales, as has been set out by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Development; and increasing the amount of aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are also in steadfast support of UNRWA. Israel remains an important ally. We have an important trading relationship, worth £6.1 billion last year and involving 38,000 British jobs. I am sorry; any discussion of sanctions is just not correct.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · UK Support for Israel · Hansard source
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    The UK remains committed to supporting Israel’s security and wider regional stability in the face of threats from malign actors such as Iran. We are clear that Israel must act in accordance with international humanitarian law and do more to protect civilians, hospitals and those who are in desperate need of their services.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · UK Support for Israel · Hansard source
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    I am very grateful for this opportunity to speak about Lebanon. The developments in Lebanon over the past few days could transform the region. The appointment of a new President and a new Prime Minister could provide Lebanon with the opportunity to see Hezbollah’s capability diminished, which the whole international community should grab hold of. As the right hon. Member knows from his time in office, the UK contribution to the Lebanese armed forces is important and one that the Lebanese treasure. We intend to continue with that and to go further over the coming months, which I know he will welcome.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Illegal Migration: Diplomatic Steps · Hansard source
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    The sanctions are the first of their kind, and we hope that other allies will follow us in going after the enablers of the gangs and with the ability to issue travel bans, freeze assets and do all we can to disrupt this illegal trade. But I emphasise that alongside the sanctions are the new joint unit in the Department; the huge amount of work we have done on returns, which are important and which are up by 23% across the country; and the work we do upstream with the official development assistance funding of £84 million announced as we came into government back in July.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Illegal Migration: Diplomatic Steps · Hansard source
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    As I made clear in my Locarno speech on 9 January, tackling irregular migration is an FCDO priority. We regularly engage with counterparts in priority countries to strengthen collaboration on tackling organised crime and to secure migrant returns.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Emily Damari · Hansard source
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    First, we do all we can to establish proof of life. The right hon. Lady will understand that this situation is fast moving, and even post any deal it can take some degree of time before the hostages come out. I would therefore not want to be pushed on that issue at the Dispatch Box, but I want to assure her that we are doing all we can to continue to make that necessary assessment. As I say, we are—I hope—on the brink of a deal. It will be the first phase of a deal that will probably last six weeks, and that is important to bear in mind. All of us in this House hope to get to a ceasefire and the necessary rebuilding of Gaza, with Israel safe and secure—that will be very important—so that the middle east can move forward in an atmosphere of peace.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Emily Damari · Hansard source
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    Ensuring the safe release of all hostages, including British national Emily Damari and three others with strong UK links, is a top priority for this Government. We have continually supported hostage talks, and support the efforts of the American, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators. We are exercising every diplomatic lever to secure the hostages’ immediate and unconditional release, and call on all parties to show flexibility at the negotiation table.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Emily Damari · Hansard source
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    It was important to be with Mandy Damari in Israel yesterday and to speak to the Israelis, and to be in Saudi Arabia just before that, particularly to speak to my Egyptian counterpart and to press these issues. As Joe Biden has said, we may well be on the brink of a deal, and I know that the whole House will want to see that deal emerge in the coming days and to see Emily come home. My hon. Friend can be assured that humanitarian access, for which we have continued to press for the people of Gaza, is hugely important, and it is as important for the hostages. It will take some time for them to come out, and they need that humanitarian access.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Emily Damari · Hansard source
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    The hon. Gentleman is right. We want to see Emily Damari free, and all the hostages, particularly the UK-linked hostages. We know from our contact with their families—I am thinking about the moving event that we had in No. 10 on 30 September—that there will be deep psychological scars, and we must commit to doing all we can through our ongoing humanitarian effort to support those hostages in their process of recovery.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that all due process has been followed in the normal way. This is the same as any planning application, and the implication of what he has just said in relation to the Deputy Prime Minister is quite unsavoury.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    My hon. Friend will be pleased that we announced a £38.5 million resilience, adaption and inclusion programme so that Nepal could deal with disaster risk. That follows £58.5 million for climate-smart development over an eight-year programme. Our relationship with Nepal, particularly on the climate issue, is essential and very important.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I met my opposite number in Saudi Arabia at the weekend to discuss the issues in north-east Syria. He of course raised his long-standing concerns about Kurdish groups in the north-east, and I made it clear, along with many allies, that we do not want to see further escalation in Syria at this time. We continue to be in dialogue with a very close NATO ally.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I am grateful to my hon. Friend for continuing to press these issues. It was very important to be in Israel yesterday to talk about what may come when we get that ceasefire, and about the role that the UK of course wants to play both in ensuring Israel’s security and in working with other partners to ensure reconstruction.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    Can I just remind the hon. Gentleman that it was our last Foreign Secretary who had a pint with President Xi? The Chancellor of the Exchequer, as she is able to outline, was able to raise all the issues—Jimmy Lai, the security law in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and a whole range of others—but we are only able to do that by engagement.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    My hon. Friend will be pleased that I raised this issue directly with the Israeli Foreign Minister yesterday. He wanted to emphasise that this is a temporary measure in Israel’s national interests, and I emphasised that the Syrian Foreign Minister had made it clear to me that the Syrians stand by the 1974 commitment and do not want to seek any escalation with their Israeli neighbour.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    The right hon. Lady raises an important issue. We will judge the new Syrian Government by their actions, not their words. We are, alongside allies, reviewing sanctions at the moment. I will not comment in detail on that, but we are clear that we want to see an inclusive Government who prosper. We have been pleased with what we have seen so far, but as has already been mentioned, some of what we have seen on the ground has not been good. We will judge them by their actions, not their words, and we will not go faster than she would expect us to.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    We are strengthening our work abroad on the priorities of the British people to deliver the Government’s plan for change. We are the first country in the world to develop a sanctions regime specifically targeting illegal migration. Our reforms will strengthen the Foreign Office role in attracting investment and securing new business deals. Our tough diplomacy will keep up support for Ukraine and bring stability to the middle east.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I know that the shadow Foreign Secretary is new to the job, but I remind her that her Government did 10 rounds of negotiations on this issue and we picked it up, and that the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon believe that it is a good deal, as do the Indian Government.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    Our relationship with Egypt is multifaceted. Today, this House has discussed the hope of a hostage deal, and the hon. Lady will understand the importance that the Egyptians play in that. As I said, I raised this issue on Sunday. I raised it on 20 December. I have pressed for Alaa’s release, and we will continue to do all we can, including the Prime Minister and the National Security Adviser. In the end, this is in the hands of the Egyptians.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    We are on the brink, we hope, of a ceasefire deal. It was important to be in Israel yesterday, and I remind the hon. Gentleman that this is one of the toughest regions in the world. I remind him of the malign effect of Iran, just next door. Hezbollah have been diminished, but they are still there. Hamas have been diminished, but they are still there. I have to say that it is not right to comment on sanctions and proscription, but we are talking about an ally.

  • 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Prime Minister wrote to President Sisi on 26 December and 8 January. The National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, was in Egypt on 2 January, and I met the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. This remains our No. 1 issue. We have raised it on every single occasion, and we continue to press for clemency, for understanding and for Alaa’s release.

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