David Lammy MP: speeches

Speeches

• 26 Nov 2024 · Israeli Settler Violence: Sanctions · Hansard source

  More

  I have been very clear in office. In October, I targeted the Amana settler group, which operates as a commercial construction company, and I was pleased that the US followed us in those sanctions just last week. I was also concerned about a religious school promoting violence against Jews, and I sanctioned it. A non-governmental organisation provided volunteers for illegal outposts, and I sanctioned it. Of course we continue to keep sanctions policy under consideration. We are very concerned by the violence, by the expansion, and by the rhetoric that we are hearing from members of the Israeli Government.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Israeli Settler Violence: Sanctions · Hansard source

  More

  Yes, 100%.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Israeli Settler Violence: Sanctions · Hansard source

  More

  I commend my hon. Friend for standing up on those issues. Let me be absolutely clear: annexation would be illegal and we would stand opposed to it. I make that fundamentally clear. He should be assured that we will continue to speak out both against illegal violence against settlers and against settler expansion.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  I reassure the right hon. Gentleman that the situation of Ryan Cornelius has been raised with the UAE, and officials continue to provide consular access to Mr Cornelius and Mr Ridley and are in contact with their families at this time. It is a serious case; we are absolutely aware of it, and the UAE knows that we are very concerned.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  As the hon. Gentleman mentions Jimmy Lai, let me say once again that we call on the Hong Kong authorities to release immediately British national Jimmy Lai, who is a significant priority for this Government. That is why the Prime Minister raised the matter with the President of China last week and I raised it with the Foreign Minister of China. The hon. Gentleman is right: this does need a close look by the new Government. We are just over four months old, we are looking at it and we will come forward with proposals shortly.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  I recognise that the hon. Gentleman has got some problem with having a British passport, but I have no such problem. I am proud to be a citizen of this great country, and we have some outstanding diplomats and officials in the FCDO. Of course, we recognised in opposition that there are issues in this area, which is why we have said that we will introduce a special representative to work with hostage families.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  I look forward to meeting Mr el-Fattah’s mother later on today. I reassure my hon. Friend personally that I share his determination and resolve to see Alaa reunited with his family, and I think their love and dedication to him is obvious to many parliamentarians whom they have met and campaigned with. My hon. Friend will understand that with the terrible situation in Gaza, it is important that this Government continue to speak to our Egyptian friends, who obviously have real proximity to Gaza. I understand the strength of feeling, and that is why the Prime Minister has raised this and I have raised this on successive occasions. Alaa is a dual national, and we will continue to lobby on his behalf.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend has campaigned diligently on the family’s behalf. She will know that the Egyptians do not accept Mr el-Fattah’s dual nationality—that is an issue between us—and it is for that reason that they deny consular access. Currently, access is through Mr el-Fattah’s lawyer. I am urging the Egyptians to understand that he got his citizenship in the usual way, just like other members of his family. There was no conspiracy on the part of the state in the way that Mr el-Fattah got that citizenship, and I continue to press them on that very issue, which would allow him to have the consular access that he deserves.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  The right hon. Gentleman should be reassured that I spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister yesterday and said to him that I was meeting Mrs el-Fattah today. I urged him to look at what parliamentarians are saying about this case, which is of huge concern, and pressed him to do more. We have continued to do that with the Egyptians. It is obviously sensitive because of the situation in Gaza, but I do not think the Egyptians are in any doubt about how seriously this case is taken by the British system, the Government and this Parliament.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

  More

  We are committed to securing consular access and the release of Mr el-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr el-Fattah’s case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Prime Minister raised this with President Sisi on 8 August, and I last raised it with the Egyptian Foreign Minister yesterday.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Relations with the US · Hansard source

  More

  The United States is an indispensable ally and I am committed to the depth and breadth of the UK-US relationship. The Prime Minister and I met President-elect Trump in September for dinner, which was a good opportunity to get to know each other. We of course continue to work with the current Administration. I was with Tony Blinken just yesterday.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Relations with the US · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the issue of defence spending. It has been raised by US Presidents since Eisenhower. He is right that when Donald Trump came to power there were just four European countries spending above 2%. When Labour left government it was at 2.5%. We are sad that it dropped and we are determined to get it back to 2.5% of GDP.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  This is the second or third occasion on which I have been able to answer a question from the hon. Gentleman. He has a humility and gentleness that I am sure will serve him well in the House. I reassure him that all that we do in this country is always in compliance with international humanitarian law. The modern architects of this country, on both sides of the House, gave us the rules-based system. We are one of the champions of it across the world, and so we will always behave in accordance with international humanitarian law.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  This is my first opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on becoming Chair of the Defence Committee. He asks a question that is in the news at this time. We continue to discuss with Ukraine and international partners how best to support it going into winter. However, I know he will understand that I have nothing new to say on this, because I will not get into operational decisions, which would, frankly, be a gift to Putin. We have gifted military aid to support Ukraine’s right to self-defence against Russia’s illegal attacks in accordance, as my hon. Friend would expect, with international humanitarian law.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I say to the British people that they should take heart from the fact that this Parliament is speaking with one voice. If we as a country do all that we can to ensure that, militarily and economically, Ukraine can get through 2025, and if we are able to push and nudge our allies to ensure that we are in that place, then things will get a hell of a lot tougher for our Russian opponents, and we should take heart from that. In thinking about the winter, we should continue to do all that we can to send equipment over to Ukraine and to support Ukrainians in this country. It is tough for the people in Ukraine at this time. Some are still leaving the country, for obvious reasons. All of our efforts are not in vain—they are hugely, hugely important, and I am hugely, hugely grateful.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  I am not foot-dragging. We are leading, but we must be careful not to discuss these plans in detail in the House. I gently say to the hon. Member that we must not abuse the fact that this is a democratic Chamber that Putin and others pore over. Trust me, we are leading in that debate. We want to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position. I was discussing that with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister just yesterday in New York, and I will meet the Ukrainian ambassador after this statement. We will ensure that they are in the strongest possible position.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend’s question allows me to say that sanctions have deprived Russia of more than $400 billion since February 2022, which is equivalent to four more years of funding for the invasion. He is also right, however, that there is a shadow fleet, and over the past few months, I have issued more sanctions on those behind that. He is also right to single out the enablers, who might exist in our own country. He can trust me: I keep this under close scrutiny and there is more to come, I suspect, over the coming days. He is absolutely right to make it crystal clear that we cannot have UK businesses and enterprising individuals supporting Russia in its war effort.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman asks a good question, but it is easy to look back in hindsight. Personally, I was critical that the UK did not play a part in the Minsk agreement. We were absent and we could have played a far greater role. Our belief is that Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. Allies agreed in Washington that there is to be an irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership, and that is the right thing to do. In the meantime, the UK and our allies are stepping up support for Ukraine’s immediate and long-term self-defence. The hon. Member is right: we must ensure that when this war ends—and it will end one day—it cannot start again, and that will mean very serious security guarantees for Ukraine.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  It was important for me to be at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. It was important for me to go back—the first time for a UK Foreign Secretary—and the meeting I was in this morning was also important. We are serious about that reset with the European Union and our European partners. This is a time for more multilateralism, not less.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Lady for all she is doing and for championing these issues. The United Kingdom is preparing to sign a 100-year partnership with Ukraine. That is the nature and depth of the relationship we are setting out with the Ukrainians for the years to come. That partnership, that support, that standing with them, will survive all parliamentarians—even the baby of the House—in the Chamber today. That is the reassurance. This is a great country. It is a great privilege to stand at the Dispatch Box as Foreign Secretary with the awareness that others have stood here and stood up to tyranny. We will continue to do that, and the hon. Lady must reassure those families that they will prevail.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  The point the hon. Gentleman makes is precisely the point I made to European allies this morning. I did not have the Northern Ireland accent, but— believe me—I made the point as forcefully as he has just done.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her leadership of the Foreign Affairs Committee. She is right that Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine poses a serious risk to the UK and Euro-Atlantic prosperity and security, but it is also a direct threat to the international rules-based system, including international principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. When we think about our joint intelligence and military capabilities with the United States, remembering that many US troops are stationed in our own country and tens of thousands are stationed across Europe, in the end, with the developments we have seen with Korea, I am quite sure that we will continue to stand with Ukraine.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for all he does in the all-party parliamentary group on Ukraine to champion the country’s cause in this Parliament and beyond, with the visits he has made and his updates to me over the past few years. He raises a number of issues and I want to assure him that we are alongside him and we continue to be alongside the Ukrainian people. My hon. Friend raises an issue that I think is important and which has not come up so far: the malign activity of Russia and the hybrid threats it is engaged in right across the region. One country in particular—Moldova—is on the front line of Russian hybrid threats, and the interference in its elections has been entirely unacceptable. We stand in solidarity with the people of Moldova and continue to support them against the threats to journalists and the disinformation from the Russian regime, and the other extreme examples being received.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  I thank Liberal Democrat Members for their continued support. The hon. Lady is right to evoke the huge volunteer spirit across our country. I think of the thousands of people driving trucks to Ukraine, and the faith groups, non-governmental organisations and others gathering heaters and goods, and ensuring they get to Ukraine. They are doing that month after month. They do not need encouragement and sometimes their work is not in the news, but they know the importance of their endeavours. This morning I met Foreign Ministers from France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain. There is no wavering in our support for Ukraine. If anything, there was a commitment to double down on that support, a determination to ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position in 2025, and a renewed effort to ensure that we co-ordinate even better, particularly over the coming months.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source

  More

  This is my first opportunity to congratulate the right hon. Lady on taking up her post as shadow Foreign Secretary. We will probably disagree occasionally across the Dispatch Box about a few things, but I hope that we will never disagree on the support that we have to give to Ukraine. Her response to my statement underlines the unity of the House. The right hon. Lady is right to recall the mobilisation of the last Government back in 2022. I am glad she reminded the House about the way British people have been prepared to open their homes in record numbers to so many Ukrainians, and about her leadership of the Home Office at that time. She is also right to raise our military-industrial capacity. I assure her that since coming into office, my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary has made it his business to get underneath the bonnet of how we procure, contract and ensure innovation. British support is driving immense innovation in Ukraine, which the Defence Secretary and I have been able to see close up. It is something like a Blitz spirit, which is quite incredible; it is a whole-nation effort. Working in partnership can also drive innovation in our own system. The right hon. Lady raises, quite rightly, defence spending. She will know that there are still countries in Europe and beyond that are not spending the 2% that is necessary. We urge them to do that. Successive US Presidents, long before Donald Trump, have been raising that as an issue. It is our intention to get back to 2.5% of GDP—that was the figure when we left office and we want to get back there. I remind her that this country has now committed £7.8 billion to military support, and the Prime Minister has committed to provide £3 billion a year in military support for as long as it takes. She is right to raise the huge concerns about the DPRK. Some 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia as we speak, which is a major escalation. That has been noted deeply in the Republic of Korea, because it links the Indo-Pacific to the Euro-Atlantic. As she knows, our system has been concerned about that subject for many years, but this is a major escalation in relation to those concerns. The right hon. Lady is right to raise sanctions. The UK has now sanctioned over 2,100 individuals and entities under the Russian sanctions regime, as I have set out. I have gone after the Russian shadow fleet particularly. There is more to come. We will bear down heavily over the coming months and work with partners, both in the United States and Europe, to achieve that. She will have read about my dinner with the Prime Minister and Donald Trump. We discussed Ukraine and he was seized of the important issues. Donald Trump is a winner, not a loser, and I am sure he wants to ensure that the west is on the winning side.