David Lammy MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I am always prepared to take friendly advice from the right hon. Gentleman. This is a very serious threat. We know that the JCPOA has been breached. President Trump has been pretty clear in his expectations, as I have been pretty clear with the Iranian Foreign Minister. I recognise that if Iran is to take the off-ramp, it must get serious in the coming days about its obligations to the international community and about ending that nuclear capability.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will know that recognition has certainly been an issue that many colleagues around the world have been speaking about just in the last few weeks. I reassure her that I was discussing the aid issues just today with a hostage family who are worried, of course, about the aid available to those who remain under the ground in Gaza.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for asking that question, because this is a very tense time if you are in Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Cyprus. For that reason, it is hugely important that the UK meets its obligation, and that is why the Defence Secretary made the decision he did to deploy certain assets into the region.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member will know that, working with partners, we have capabilities that can ensure that our people are as safe as they need to be. He is right to reference RAF Akrotiri. The work of our colleagues in Cyprus, Bahrain and Qatar is hugely important at this time.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Yes, I will. The hon. Gentleman is right to bring to mind the human rights record in Iran. I remind the House that just three years ago, Iran arrested 20,000 people, executed many, and many died, all because a young woman—Mahsa Amini—did not cover herself up. She died in prison. That is the regime we are talking about.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I am grateful that the hon. Gentleman, though new to this House, brings so much experience. I agree with his sentiment.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Let me just put on the record the huge admiration that I am sure many across this House have for what was formerly known as Persia and the great history of the Iranian people—how remarkable they are, and how awful it is that they are suffering under this horrendous regime. Unfortunately, as my hon. Friend knows, the airspace over Iran is closed at the moment. We have advised against travel to Iran for many, many years because of our concerns. However, our embassy staff will do all they can to support British nationals.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I say to my hon. Friend categorically that the UK is not involved in Israel’s strikes. We do have an important regional role. We have UK assets in Cyprus, Bahrain and Qatar, and we have an important role in Operation Shader, where we are dealing with terrible threats to us and our allies from Daesh and others. We have important relationships in the Gulf and the wider region. That is why the Defence Secretary has, as a precautionary step, sent further military aid to the area.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Today in my office I was with a hostage family. A wonderful woman who lost her husband was there with her daughter asking me to keep Gaza at the forefront of my mind and to raise it in the Chamber this afternoon. That is why there was an extensive part of my speech on it. I have spoken to all partners in the region, and I will very shortly speak again to Prime Minister Mustafa. We are absolutely clear that aid needs to get in, that hostages need to get out, and that we want to see a ceasefire. I will continue to talk and work particularly with our American partners and our partners in Qatar to bring about that ceasefire.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will be pleased to hear that I spoke to the director general at the beginning of last week, reassured him of our full support and thanked him for all his work that is ensuring a common understanding of what Iran is doing and why we have to act.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I am very grateful to the shadow Foreign Secretary for her remarks, for the cross-party support that I sensed in them, and for her questions, which I will certainly endeavour to answer. The shadow Foreign Secretary asked about our contact with the IAEA. I can confirm I spoke to Director General Grossi just a few days ago—certainly before the action last week—and discussed his report. She asked what the latest is on that. She will know that the assessment was that the enriched uranium stockpile is now standing at 8,413 kg, which is more than 40 times the limit in the joint comprehensive plan of action, with the total stockpile considered to be nine significant quantities of highly enriched uranium. The shadow Foreign Secretary asked what co-ordination we had done, given that information, and I want to reassure her that I have been in close touch and worked in concert with my French and German colleagues over this period—with the three of us co-ordinating our work across our political directors, but also as Foreign Ministers—in our messaging to the Iranian regime. I can also confirm to her that we will be speaking to the Iranian regime again in the coming hours to raise those concerns and heighten what I said about the need for diplomacy at this time. The shadow Foreign Secretary quite properly asked about our long-standing relationship with Bahrain, and I can confirm that the Minister for the Middle East has spoken to Bahrain. She asked about our long-standing relationship with Jordan, and I can confirm that I have spoken to Foreign Minister Safadi in the last few days. We continue to co-ordinate with our Jordanian friends, and to offer them whatever support we can at this time. The shadow Foreign Secretary obviously asked about our ongoing relationship with Israel. She will know that our relationship with Israel remains a complex and intense one. As she would expect, I have spoken to Foreign Minister Sa’ar on numerous occasions, and of course I spoke to him again on Saturday, when he was in a bunker and separated from his family; I offered him condolences. As hon. Members would expect, the United Kingdom and Israel co-ordinate and work together in such times. We have disagreements, of course—we have discussed that over the Dispatch Box—particularly about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but we recognise that, as we speak, there are many Israelis in their bunkers. There have been 21 casualties over this last period and over 500 people injured. There is a sense of trauma compounding trauma in Israel, and I want to reassure the shadow Foreign Secretary that we recognise that. The Prime Minister is of course discussing these issues with President Trump at this time, and the G7 meeting is going on we as speak. I also want to reassure the shadow Foreign Secretary about our contact with hostages. I met hostage families just today, and I undertook to raise that issue again in this place. They asked me to ensure that, with this crisis, we do not take our eye off the situation in Gaza. That is why I made it a part of my statement. The shadow Foreign Secretary quite rightly asked about state threats from the Iranian regime and the IRGC. I refer her to the work of Jon Hall, who has found gaps in our legislative framework in relation to how we deal with these state threats. I am pleased about the arrests that have been made recently, but we will be coming forward with the appropriate legislation to deal with the state threats from the IRGC in the coming months.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the remarks made by Secretary Rubio on the outbreak of this new war and to the statements made by Donald Trump, in which he clearly indicates an off-ramp for Iran if it gets serious about diplomacy and accepts the olive branch that he extended through Steve Witkoff.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Let me put on record my huge gratitude and respect for our diplomatic staff in Israel and Iran and across the region, and for their families and children who provide them with such support. To be absolutely clear, on Monday last week we had a tabletop exercise in Whitehall on Iran, which I chaired. There are contingency plans. None of us could have envisaged two crises at the same time—this one and India, which the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), will talk about shortly—but our staff are standing ready.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Every colleague I have spoken to over the last few days has emphasised diplomacy and de-escalation; I reassure my hon. Friend of that.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman brings tremendous experience to these matters, but he will understand that it is right and appropriate that I leave that to the international lawyers.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I would first urge the hon. Member’s constituent to register his daughter’s presence, to recognise that we are surging staff to the region and that the way out at the moment is through Jordan, and to reach out to staff. The hon. Member can reach out on the hotline if that is what his constituents so wish.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  The phrase that I have used about no military endeavour being able to achieve this without diplomacy has been used by the US and by the Israelis themselves.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I have to say to the hon. Member, the story of Israel’s nuclear ability goes back some long way, to the 1980s—I remember studying this many years ago. We work with Israel, and we remain a country that does not want to see nuclear proliferation. We will do everything we can to ensure that others do not get nuclear capability in the region.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Yes, I will.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  Yes, 100%.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  It is important to state that the UK did not participate and is not participating in Israeli strikes, but we do have a proper role to play in regional security. My hon. Friend would not expect me to comment on operational defence and intelligence matters, except to pray in aid the defence bilateral relationships that we have in the region.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right to emphasise in his words a degree of caution. He will have heard what I said in the House this afternoon, which forms the bedrock of the diplomacy that our officials are exercising in Israel, in Iran and across the wider region.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I remain hugely concerned about the appalling human rights record of the Iranian regime, but who runs Iran must, quite properly, be a matter for the people of Iran.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has worked on these issues for many years—long before he came to this place. We recognise the threats that Israel is facing, and we also recognise the tremendous threat to not just Israel and the region if Iran were to get a nuclear weapon, and what it would mean for all of us who have worked so hard against nuclear proliferation, as where Iran leads, others would come in its wake. We must stop that happening.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I have huge confidence in our force protection measures. I remind the hon. Gentleman that we have important military and intelligence assets in the region and bilateral defence relationships with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and, of course, Israel.