Hamish Falconer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Jul 2026 · Siren Associates Ltd: FCDO Contracts · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) for securing the debate and for providing me with an opportunity to talk about the Lincolnshire police, which is where he started and so where I shall start as well. The hon. Member will be pleased to know that after years and years of underfunding for Lincolnshire police, we have secured a further £12 million a year in the first multi-year Lincolnshire police funding arrangement starting in January. I know that he will share my gladness in that arrangement. The hon. Member referred to a range of issues about which I will not pass comment, unless Madam Deputy Speaker wishes to instruct me otherwise, including the conduct of other hon. Members in this House and what sounds like a private law dispute with the company in question. Let me turn to some of the substantive questions he raised in relation to the contract. I was pleased to see the hon. Member briefly earlier today and I am happy to discuss some of his questions in person, which may be easier. I agree with the hon. Member that of course the Government must spend money diligently in support of UK interests and in a way that delivers value for taxpayers. I disagree with his assertion that the award of the contract under discussion does not align with those principles, so I will say a little about the contract and about Lebanon, and then I will seek to wind up. The Foreign Office currently has one contract with Siren Associates and it is subject to formal commercial oversight. As the hon. Member says, it is part of the overall ISF programme. As he knows, it is to deliver the internal security assistance programme in Lebanon to support Lebanon’s internal security forces, and to help them become more trusted, professional and better able to address Lebanon’s internal security challenges. I have seen some of our work in Lebanon. It is precisely aimed at the issues he alluded to. We must see in Lebanon the security forces of Lebanon in control of the whole country, not Lebanese Hezbollah, a group that he rightly identifies as a terrorist group proscribed in this country. The programme supports better planning, stronger police operations, improved co-ordination with the Lebanese armed forces, including in the South Litani Sector, which the hon. Member will know is the area that has been the subject of so much discussion in recent months. It is part of Britain’s wider efforts to promote stability in a highly volatile region, something that is firmly in the UK’s interests. I have seen for myself in the South Litani Sector the difference this support is making. As this House is aware, and as the hon. Member alluded to, Lebanon faces an extremely challenging security situation. The actions of Hezbollah have dragged Lebanon once again into a conflict that neither its people nor its Government have sought. We have been clear that Hezbollah’s reprehensible attacks on communities in northern Israel must cease, but disproportionate Israeli military action in Lebanon has displaced over a million people and caused significant loss of life. It is in that context that we seek to help. For all these reasons, it is vital that Lebanon’s legitimate security institutions are able to exercise state sovereignty across the country and provide security to Lebanese citizens. The UK has been a close partner of the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces since 2009. We have provided training, equipment and advice to build their capability. That is important support to address key threats to Lebanon’s security. Turning to the contract currently underway with Siren, the Foreign Office’s procurement processes are designed to ensure that all programmes are subject to robust due diligence, that they deliver value for money and that they are aligned both with UK priorities and the interests of taxpayers, including those in Boston, Skegness and Lincoln. The contract with Siren Associates was awarded under the conflict, stability and security fund framework agreement, now known as the ISF framework agreement. It followed a competitive tender process and was open to around 80 suppliers, including a mixture of not-for-profit and commercial organisations. We received three tenders from interested suppliers, and each tender was checked for compliance with published instructions. Technical proposals were assessed against published criteria by a panel of subject matter experts, with scores moderated and agreed through a clear and documented process. Commercial submissions were evaluated separately using the published methodology, with pricing tested against affordability, framework limits, eligible cost rules and value for money considerations. Due diligence was a core part of that procurement process. That included conflict of interest checks, financial health reviews, sanctions screening and an assessment of delivery and commercial risks. The competitive process was also scrutinised by a commercial governance board, which approved the outcome before the contract was awarded. As I set out in my letter in January to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness, the review of Siren Associates did not identify any areas that would prevent awarding the contract. The contract is currently valued at £17.2 million over three years—rather less than the increase to Lincolnshire police over the next three years, I am sure the hon. Member will be pleased to note. As he said, the contract began in September 2025 and runs until March 2028, and it can be extended until March 2030. Any further changes to the contract would be subject to a further rigorous assessment to ensure continued value for money. The hon. Member raises concerns about the size of payments to Siren Associates’ directors, reported in the company’s filed accounts. I have checked this question with the Department, and the Foreign Office’s understanding is that other than the fees for services rendered, there are no other payments to Siren Associates’ directors in its published accounts. The Foreign Office manages and monitors payments to Siren Associates for work conducted for the Foreign Office; however, we do not have oversight of transactions that do not relate to Foreign Office work. Let me be clear with the House that all relevant due diligence checks have been completed and deemed satisfactory. We will continue to keep the programme under close review, as we do with all Foreign Office programmes, to ensure that it delivers in full. We remain committed to supporting the Government of Lebanon and addressing threats to their security. Our long-standing work with the Lebanese armed forces and its internal security forces is a core part of that. That capability is central to maintaining security in Lebanon and preventing threats to the country, to the region and, ultimately, to the United Kingdom. I will conclude with three clear points. First, supporting Lebanon’s security is firmly in the UK’s national interest. Secondly, we believe the programme delivered by Siren Associates is a practical and important part of that effort. Thirdly, the contract was awarded to Siren Associates through a rigorous and proper process. Question put and agreed to .

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I do not think I can go further in response to my hon. Friend than I have already. We have been clear at the highest possible level, in the voice of our Prime Minister, about the seriousness with which we take this issue, the breadth of concern that we have and the consequences that are likely to follow. I cannot spell out those consequences for reasons I have already alluded to, but I reassure him that we treat this with the seriousness that it deserves.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  It gives me no particular pleasure to be talking about the fourth round of sanctions. One would wish that diplomatic activity could have been enough to prevent the kind of incidents that so many Members are talking about this afternoon, but while they continue, so will we.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  It is obviously not appropriate for me to set out who should win an election in a fellow democracy. What I can set out is British Government policy and what we would wish to see from Israel. We have been very clear over an incredibly long period of time about our views on a two-state solution, about the conduct of the war in Gaza. It is not for us to set out who should win the Israeli election. It is perfectly reasonable for us to set out what we would wish the policy of the Israeli Government to be in relation to these questions after October.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  Madam Deputy Speaker, let me beg your forgiveness for forgetting the customs of the House—you would think that practice would make perfect. I thank my hon. Friend for the question. All of us, particularly in election year, need to be reminding all our friends in Israel and all the politicians of the importance of the points that he makes.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I gently disagree. I feel that there is some force in what the right hon. Gentleman says about insanity being doing the same thing again and again. We have had many exchanges of that nature. Over the course of two years, the British Government have taken a whole range of steps. We have talked about recognition and sanctions—

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I have spoken myself to schoolgirls impeded in their day-to-day lives. We have taken four waves of sanctions sanctions against settlers, recognising the severity of the situation, and I have been clear that while the situation continues to get worse, we will continue to act.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  The Foreign Secretary, other Ministers in the Government and I discuss those questions with the American Administration. It is obvious, as the President of the United States has said, that the Israeli Government are alienating even some of their closest allies through their conduct, both on the west bank and in Gaza.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his attention to these issues, and I know that he recently travelled to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to see it with his own eyes. As I have said many times, I will not comment on sanctions from this Dispatch Box, but I have been clear, and the Prime Minister has led 11 other world leaders in being crystal clear, on the implications and consequences if the E1 settlement continues. He and his colleagues were clear in that statement that there would be implications for the businesses themselves. So far we have had word from the Israeli Government about their plans; clearly, businesses in the region will want to consider carefully the warning in the statement last week and the clear commitment from the Dispatch Box in the UK that we will take further measures if the violent action to increase settlements continues in the west bank.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  And no doubt you can set out your own proposals. We have taken repeated actions and will continue to do so.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I have tried to be as explicit as I can be about the potential consequences, while abiding to the long-standing position on sanctions.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has been a doughty advocate on these questions for many years, and I was pleased to join her to meet students from Gaza earlier this week. We will take steps to ensure that the UK is not in any way involved. Legitimate trade with green line Israel is, of course, permissible, but when businesses in this country trade with the occupied territories and seek to make a profit from land that has been unlawfully procured, we will take action.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  The British Government firmly oppose the E1 settlement plan. It would divide the west bank in two and mark a serious breach of international law. The Prime Minister led 11 other world leaders in a joint statement last month. That condemned the E1 plans, urged the Israeli Government to end settlement expansion, and warned businesses of legal and reputational consequences of participating in construction in E1 and other settlements. We are clear: businesses should not bid for construction tenders in E1 or other settlements. We are deeply alarmed by the situation in the west bank: illegal settlements continue to expand; settler violence remains at record levels; and the Israeli Government have further entrenched their control. Last month, the Foreign Secretary announced further sanctions in response to that violence in the west bank. That is the fourth package under this Government. We welcome the condemnation of settler violence at the highest levels of Israeli society. Now Israel must conduct swift and transparent investigations into these attacks, and ensure accountability. The Foreign Secretary also announced that we had updated our business guidance to clearly advise British businesses and citizens not to engage in economic and financial activity in settlements. We have been concerned by efforts to advertise settlement property in the UK and by reports of charitable links between the UK and settlements. I have written to the Advertising Standards Authority and spoken to the Charity Commission about these issues, but I want to reassure the House that while these trends in the west bank continue to worsen, we will continue to take steps to ensure that no one can profit from the sale of land that has been taken unlawfully, that violent settlers are held to account, and that the British Government stand up for the rule of law, for the right of Palestinians to self-determination, and for the prospects for peace and security through a two-state solution. We are in discussion with partners, including those few countries who have explored how a ban on settlement trade might work. We are looking at further concrete steps to counter settlement expansion and promote peace and security. It is only through a negotiated two-state solution, not unilateral action, that a viable path to long-term peace can be achieved. That path must guarantee security to Israelis and Palestinians alike.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I have set out the statement we made last year and the intensity of focus we have on these issues. I wrote to the Advertising Standards Authority following concerns raised in many places, including in this House, about an event some weeks ago, and have indeed engaged with the Charity Commission following concerns being raised.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  It is important to say that at the moment, the E1 is going through a tendering process. There are not yet spades in the ground, but that is what we must seek to avert. That will be a focus of our diplomacy, as it has been since the most recent announcements by Prime Minister Netanyahu in September 2025 of his intention to go ahead. As many Members have said over the course of this afternoon, we have a window before October, and we intend to use it.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I hesitate to commit the Government to primary legislation. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act has been sufficient for the four waves so far, but I have heard my hon. Friend’s important points.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I gently push back on the suggestion that what we do has no consequences. I have been pleased to see, as I said to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, that other partners and allies have taken the actions that we have. There are consequences for Israel, in terms of its position in the world, when it alienates as many of its friends and allies as it has. We have set out as clearly as we can, both for companies and for the Israeli Government, what our views on the E1 settlement are. We did that at head-of-Government level last month. That statement has been seen widely around the world. I cannot guarantee to this House that people will take heed of the statement, but we have set out our position in exactly the way that the hon. Gentleman requests.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for the question, and I know that she has been a doughty supporter of some of the Gaza students who were relocated to her constituency. She is right to raise the financial pressure that the Palestinian Authority—and the whole of the economy of Palestine—are under as a result of this dispute about correspondent banking. We have raised this repeatedly and will continue to do so. The economic viability of Palestine is vital.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I will deal first with the latter points raised by the Opposition spokesman. Yes, we continue to talk to the Palestinian Authority, including on the reform agenda and the need for elections. It is an undeniable fact that I am the middle east Minister who during my time recognised a Palestinian state, and sanctioned Israeli Ministers who now regularly take to the airwaves to issue in the most bloodthirsty terms encouragement for some of the activity that I am being asked about today. I am afraid that an inevitable consequence of the actions announced from this Dispatch Box is that the warmth of my relationship with my counterparts in Israel has indeed suffered, but this Government will not hesitate to stand up for principles, which I think are supported right across this House. The right hon. Lady could not have failed to hear the groans from behind her on the Conservative Benches. I know, in recognising a Palestinian state, that I was of course supported by Labour Members behind me, but I think I was also supported by Conservative Members behind her.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I think that I have already addressed most of those questions. I have just confirmed again, as I did in the statement, that we are in discussions about further measures in relation to west bank goods. We have set out business guidance, and the Foreign Secretary announced the fourth round of sanctions in June. The hon. Lady referred to speed. I think she will acknowledge that we have moved rather more quickly than some of our partners and allies. I am pleased to see many of them taking some of the measures that I announced in the House in 2025, including sanctions on the Ministers that I mentioned. We are moving with alacrity in response to what we see. The question at issue in the urgent question is about the E1 settlement expansion. It is rumoured that there is now a timetable for those tenders. I have been as clear as I can be from the Dispatch Box that we are watching very carefully who bids for those tenders. We have been clear repeatedly with the Israeli Government about our view on the E1 expansion; I have repeated it today. The question before us is whether, in the run-up to the Israeli election, commercial entities choose to bid for those tenders. That is what we will be watching carefully and taking action in response to.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I would not want there to be any ambiguity about the force of our views about what is going on in the west bank. That is why we have done four rounds of sanctions and why I am setting out clearly today what the likely consequences are, should that action continue. The advisory opinion of the ICJ is important, but it is a non-binding opinion of an international court. We do not need to make a judgment on that opinion in order to take action. Indeed, we have taken considerable action over the last two years in the way in which I have set out.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I dislike disagreeing with my right hon. Friend. Slovenia introduced and then repealed the measures it took. In our discussions with our counterparts—particularly those in the European Union—we hear of a number of technical difficulties that people are encountering. But let me be clear to the House, as I was in my statement, that I am confirming today that we are in discussions about such measures.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend asks me about the use of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. That is obviously the basis on which all the Foreign Office sanctions are made. For the reasons that I have set out, I will not say anything further about sanctions from the Dispatch Box. We have done four waves and we have been clear today, as we were last month. In relation to the expo he refers to, I can clarify that it is legitimate to sell real estate within green line Israel in the UK and to advertise that, but it is not legitimate to advertise illegal settlements. That is why I wrote to the Advertising Standards Authority following that expo.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I will not speak for the American Government; they have set out their position on their concerns about annexation quite clearly. We have discussed throughout this afternoon just how significant the E1 development would be, and I think that that is understood in Washington DC.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Israel: E1 Zone Expansion · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to confirm to the House that the unit was not closed—it was moved. The function remains within the Foreign Office and we still receive assessments. There has been some reorganisation within the Department—I was surprised that excited as much interest as it did—but I can confirm that the function remains and the unit was not closed.