Hamish Falconer MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 25 Feb 2026 · Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory · Hansard source

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  I am rather old-fashioned. The territory to which the hon. Gentleman refers is within the British Indian Ocean Territory. The law that applies there applies to the whole of the territory. The travel advice—I am not sure the hon. Member for Clacton acquainted himself with it before he travelled—is clear on all the islands. I understand that the hon. Gentleman was making a point about geographic distance, but the sovereignty and the law applies none the less. On the question of Chagossian representation, the hon. Gentleman will know that there is considerable disagreement within that community, and that the prime minister to whom he refers is not internationally recognised.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory · Hansard source

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  I am appalled by the right hon. Member: Newark may well be a market town but Lincoln is a city, and has been for a very long time, so I invite him to withdraw that remark. [ Laughter. ] I do not receive a great deal of correspondence from constituents in Lincoln on this question. Mostly, my constituents prioritise Britain’s national security. They understand, through our extensive history in Scampton, Waddington and Cranwell, the important part that Lincolnshire plays in the UK’s national security, and they would expect me and the rest of the Government’s Ministers to prioritise that at all times.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory · Hansard source

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  Madam Deputy Speaker, I apologise. I am failing again. The hon. Member will appreciate the scepticism on the Government Benches given that the Conservative Government started this process, two American Administrations recognised that there was a real issue to be addressed, and this American Administration supported the steps we had taken in May.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member is a Lincolnshire colleague, so I do not like to disagree with him, including on the value of the weekend trip taken by the hon. Member for Clacton. On the question of article 298, I can hear the strength of views across the House. As I understand it, this is a particularly complex and contentious area of law. I hear the House’s desire for further clarification from the Government, and I am sure that the relevant Minister will be very happy to write—

• 25 Feb 2026 · UK-German Relations · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) for securing the debate and for the contributions from other hon. Friends, hon. and gallant Friends and hon. Members. I am grateful to see the German ambassador and so many friends from Germany here to see the debate. I am not the Minister for Germany. The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) is on his feet in the Chamber at the moment and would have been only too glad to have attended this debate. I am pleased that it gives me the opportunity to reflect, as many others have with great warmth, on my personal and constituency relationship with Germany. As someone who has done a fair bit of Parliament over the course of the day, I reflect that this debate reflects that warmth in which Germany is held across the House, regardless of political party. I know that the proceedings of this House are not always easily understandable to our foreign friends, but I hope all those watching in Germany can see the deep affection with which they are held here. I personally feel that affection. Throughout my time at university I lived with a young man called Johannes from Frankfurt. I am incredibly proud to represent a city that has a deep twinning relationship and is home to Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility. If their representatives are watching, they are welcome to keep the full extent of their investments in Lincoln. They employ more than 2,100 people locally and have invested around £100 million in sites across Lincoln since 2010. Lincoln’s experience is obviously matched by many constituencies across the country. My city, along with many places in the UK, has benefited from shared British-German industrial expertise in a deep partnership. As MP for a city that considers itself the home of the Royal Air Force, I agree very much with my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) about the depth of the industrial partnership we have had over a range of areas, not least aviation. The Royal Air Force has particularly enjoyed that deep partnership on Eurofighter Typhoons. I will not recap in great detail the important points colleagues have made. It is unusual as a Minister to be reminded so often of the many contributions that the Government have already made on these questions. I agree, unusually, with the shadow Minister that we built on foundations of deep friendship from the previous Government. The Kensington treaty is a landmark in an unpredictable time for world politics. The British-German partnership is ever more important and is key to advancing our shared values and interests. We were so pleased to take relations to a new level with the Kensington treaty signed last July. We consider it a modern and ambitious framework for the decades ahead. It touches on things that matter to both countries: keeping people safe, growing our economies, managing migration, backing education and clean energy, and building links between our communities. I would say a little more about Lincoln’s twinning arrangements, but I suspect that the enthusiasm for twinning arrangements has been well heard. I would also like to touch on the science and technology partnership elements. I am so pleased that we have enabled visa-free school trips. I hear from hon. Members across the House of the value that they have taken in their visits and those we continue to enjoy. There is an important expansion of our work in the North sea, the strengthened defence ties touched on in this debate. A direct rail link is much desired and I am pleased that planning has begun. Those are practical, tangible steps that show the real-world impact of this partnership. We will continue to build on those foundations. The state visit in December was a hugely important and welcome moment; I was grateful to hear so many hon. Members touch on the significance of it for them and their constituencies. The situation in Europe today, particularly given the war in Ukraine—which is being debated in the other Chamber as we speak—underlines the importance of the partnership. Growing Russian aggression, new nuclear risks, cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and coercive pressure on our allies are issues that the UK and Germany face equally. We were pleased that my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary were able to lead the UK delegation to the Munich security conference last week. They met their German counterparts to discuss those issues and we stand united in our efforts to tackle them. Together with Germany and France, as driving forces behind the coalition of the willing, we are committed to supporting Ukraine. We will provide military, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian assistance for as long as necessary. We have worked together to impose sweeping sanctions, ban Russian oil, cut Moscow off from key technologies and co-ordinate the most comprehensive package of economic and punitive measures that Russia has ever faced. There is much more to be done, but we will do it together. The Trinity House agreement referenced in the debate was signed by the Secretary of State for Defence and increases our defence and security co-operation with Germany. Chancellor Merz recently confirmed that Germany is on a path to building the strongest army in Europe. Our partnership means the UK plays a central role in equipping Germany’s military, and supporting European security and British businesses. I am pleased that, thanks to the Trinity House agreement, the German company Rheinmetall is already investing in a new artillery gun barrel factory, which will create 400 jobs in Telford. There is much else I could touch on across the full range of contributions that have been made. I hope all those watching overseas will see the depth of partnership right across all of the key agendas that face this Government and our partners in Germany. I will return briefly to the shadow Minister’s questions about the defence investment plan. It is a priority; it will strengthen our security and grow the economy, and Defence Ministers will be returning to Parliament in due course. In conclusion, in an era of instability we must look to our friends. The United Kingdom and Germany will continue to work together to tackle the global challenges we face. We will keep building on the Kensington treaty and strengthening the bonds between our countries and our people. It is a partnership that keeps us safe and delivers for our friends and people on both sides.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Gaza Healthcare System · Hansard source

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  I am sure my colleagues are tired of me refusing to be drawn on concrete steps in advance of taking them, but we treat this question with the utmost seriousness, as we have done all through these discussions. We will of course respond should the already significant restrictions on NGOs, including well-respected British NGOs, further tighten in the days ahead. I will return to some of the other questions put to me. There is a UK contribution to the CMCC, and we are seeking through that work to ensure that the aid access increases into Gaza, and that some of the vital governance questions for the future are addressed. I am pleased to reassure the shadow Minister that we raise those points on a regular basis; I raised them with Palestinian counter- parts just last week. There has been some important progress on a whole range of Palestinian governance questions. I think the shadow Minister referred to some of the so-called “pay for slay” arrangements; there has been an important announcement from the Palestinian Authority ending that practice. There were important announcements, including on a commitment to a demilitarised Palestinian state, in July during the two-state solution conference, which I was proud to be a part of. We will continue to raise those questions. Nobody is under any illusions about the scale of the threat that Hamas poses. We continue to be committed to, and to discuss with our counterparts, fully decommissioning Hamas’s weapons and ensuring that there is Palestinian leadership, including through the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which has been implemented in recent weeks. We will continue our efforts in those areas.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Gaza Healthcare System · Hansard source

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  I cannot, because I wish to give my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud two minutes to wind up at the end. I am sure that we will return to these questions over the coming weeks. As my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) pointed out, there are pressing deadlines ahead. Given the importance of the issues we are discussing, in recent days the Foreign Secretary travelled to chair the most recent session of the UN Security Council on the middle east as its president. We will continue to give these questions our full attention, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud for the opportunity to speak to them.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Gaza Healthcare System · Hansard source

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  I will not. In response to the questions from my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) about our advocacy on these questions with the Israeli ambassador, I am keen to be grounded in up-to-date facts. Although the Israeli ambassador is no longer in place, having left her post last year, I did, of course, summon her in relation to the Israeli Government’s actions in Gaza. The Israeli Government are currently represented by a chargé to be followed by the appointment of a future ambassador. I will return to the tangible questions. I am grateful for the recognition from many contributors of the work the Government have done, including the medical evacuation of Gazan children to the UK. I have met some of those children, as I know many others have. It is so moving to see the change to their lives as a result of them and their families being here. They are, of course, a tiny subsection of the children in Gaza who need care and I have already discussed the restrictions on providing that care in Gaza. It is obviously right, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale said, that, where we cannot provide care in Palestine, care is provided in the region. We have provided that care and I have seen it with my own eyes in Egypt, particularly in the Sinai in al-Arish. There are welcome improvements for Gazans requiring medical assistance to cross into Egypt via the Rafah crossing and be provided with aid, but restrictions remain. My hon. Friend is right to highlight the significant risks for those leaving to seek medical aid elsewhere, fearing that they will not be able to return home. We continue to advocate on those questions. To respond to the shadow Minister’s questions about the numbers, we have provided £40 million of aid for health. That most recently included a £4 million Disasters Emergency Committee appeal over Christmas. I was very moved by the generosity of the British people to match the Government’s contribution. I am grateful for the continued efforts of many of our constituents across the country and Members here today to raise these issues. We provided £3 million to the WHO to support the Egyptian healthcare system to provide the assistance I just described. Let me turn to the questions about deregistration. As many Members noted, there is a deadline of 1 March. The shadow Minister sought to provide some clarity about the limited number of NGOs affected, but I would point out that many of them are reputable British organisations. We opposed that legislation when it was first proposed and oppose it now. We need to see a solution to the issue. Many NGOs, including MSF, which has been the subject of a lot of commentary to this morning, have sought to engage with the requests of the Israeli Government. There have been many genuine efforts to engage with the Israeli Government on that question, including by the British Government. It is vital, for all of the reasons that others have put so articulately, that those aid agencies can operate and continue their vital work. I was asked a range of other questions that went slightly beyond healthcare. When colleagues ask me to make more than statements, I remind them that we have made more than statements: I am the first middle east Minister since the Balfour declaration who can say in this place that we recognise a Palestinian state. I have already described some of the concrete actions taken to truly transform the lives of Gazan children.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Gaza Healthcare System · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) for securing the debate. I will not initially take interventions, as there have been many questions asked of me. I will endeavour to make some progress through them before I do. Before I start my speech, I would like to say that, given the prominent reference that has been made throughout the debate to the work of British doctors and MSF overseas, I should declare that a close family member is one of those doctors working with MSF overseas. For transparency, I want to make that clear. I would also like to take the opportunity in setting the context—as this is the first opportunity I have had since recess—to make a brief comment about events in the west bank. I want to condemn in the strongest terms the recent Israeli Security Cabinet decisions that have introduced sweeping extensions to Israel’s control over the west bank and accelerated illegal settlement activity. The UK is clear that Israel’s illegal settlements and decisions designed to further them are a flagrant violation of international law. We will take concrete steps in accordance with international law to counter settlement expansion and to challenge policies and threats of forcible displacements and annexation. That is important context for today’s discussion. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) about the importance of the inextricable link between Gaza, the west bank and East Jerusalem. The UK has recognised a Palestinian state; all three of those territories are part of that. As my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) said, it is right to treat the children of Gaza in Palestine when they can be, but there are three major restrictions on their ability to be treated where they live: equipment, supplies and personnel. As my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), who referred to her time as an aid worker in Gaza, knows well, there are many talented Palestinian doctors. I was asked about our advocacy on behalf of those doctors. I will not reiterate, having provided an account to the Chamber of our work in that regard. Palestinian doctors alone are not sufficient, given the healthcare demands on Gaza. It is vital that doctors from outside Palestine are able to access Gaza to provide support. They can do so effectively only, first, if the Israelis allow them and, secondly, if they have the hospitals and equipment to provide healthcare. There has been insufficient progress in that regard and we continue to make those points clearly.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Gaza Healthcare System · Hansard source

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  He is the shadow Minister.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment · Hansard source

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  I would. From my own constituency, there are two privates—Private William Jordan and Private Wilfred Ogden—both in that cemetery who have now had their graves defaced. Question put and agreed to. Resolved , That this House has considered the obligation to assess the risk of genocide under international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara) on opening this debate and on his contribution as the chair of the APPG. I thank every Member who has spoken with such clarity and conviction. These are incredibly important questions at a moment when questions of international justice are very much discussed, so I hope hon. Members will forgive me if I really do insist on accuracy in these questions. To answer the question straightforwardly, as I did at length on 15 September in front of the Business and Trade Committee, the British Government have conducted an assessment on the risk of genocide in accordance with our international legal obligations. As I said yesterday, or the day before, from this Dispatch Box, we consider our international legal obligations to be of the utmost priority. Many hon. Members have asked me to attend to my conscience over the course of the last 90 minutes. I am confident that I, the Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister and the Government as a whole are serious about our international legal obligations and serious about the process and rigour that underpin them. I have confidence in that judgment not only because of the extensive scrutiny that it has received from the House, but because these questions have been tested by our own courts—most recently by the Court of Appeal in November and before that in September, when it considered the process of assessment explicitly.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend who has paid close attention to these matters both over the past 18 months and before. I will answer his question, but we are under the pressure of time. Let me also be clear, for the sake of accuracy, that it is simply not credible to suggest that the policy of this Government in relation to these issues is the same as the policy of the last Government. That, I am sure, was obvious from some of the remarks of the shadow Foreign Minister. I have stood at this Dispatch Box to recognise the Palestinian state and to announce sanctions three times, including against Israeli Ministers. Does that mean that the obligation on this Government to do everything that we can to address the horrors of Gaza is discharged? No, it does not, but we do the House no service if we pretend that the policy that I have been responsible for as the Middle East Minister was the same as the policy under the Conservative Government. My hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Chiswick (Andy Slaughter) asks a good question about the ICJ advisory opinion. Over the course of the last 18 months, the British Government have clearly made a fundamental change on their view of the legal position in relation to Israel and Palestine. We now recognise Palestine. It is in the context of Britain having changed its policy very significantly that we want to ensure that we respond to what is a far-reaching advisory opinion with the rigour and seriousness that it deserves. I know that I am testing my hon. Friend’s patience and the patience of the House with that answer, and I am sure that I will return soon to this Chamber, but I would not want to give the House or the public the impression that we have not taken significant steps in the course of that 18 months. I would also like to bring to the attention of this House some of the recent developments in Gaza. These legal questions are incredibly important, and they have been considered by both the courts and the relevant Select Committees.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment · Hansard source

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  I think I answered something like 105 questions related to these issues in front of the Select Committee in September. I am always grateful for the opportunity to describe matters in the House in greater detail, but, given the shortness of time, I might just turn to a few other questions of accuracy. First, the International Court of Justice as not yet made a finding of genocide. It has made provisional orders. I agree with the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) about the scourge of antisemitism, but I do not agree with the question that he raises about the independence and impartiality of the ICJ. It is a vital international institution. We need to see it do its work. We undermine it if we seek to jump to the end of that process. It will be for the Court to make a judgment. It is, of course, for the Government to consider our obligations and to make an assessment of risks, which we have already done.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Armed Conflict: Children · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) for securing the debate. I hope Members will bear with me; a lot has been raised. I will make progress covering Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, and make some general remarks on children in armed conflicts before taking interventions, which I will endeavour to do before the end of the debate. We are clearly witnessing a deeply troubling trend. Not only is conflict spreading but, as many Members have said, it is becoming more dangerous for children. We must keep their welfare in the spotlight as we respond to these crises. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Chris Elmore) would have been glad to participate today, but he is unavoidably travelling on ministerial duties. It is therefore my pleasure to respond on behalf of the Government. I am grateful to all hon. Members for their contributions, and will try to respond to them in the order that they spoke. According to the United Nations Secretary-General, grave violations against children surged by 25% in 2024. Children are being killed, maimed, abducted and abused at staggering levels. That is, clearly, absolutely indefensible. We will keep pushing, loudly and consistently, to protect children wherever we can. We are focused on preventing these crimes, stopping them when they happen and pushing armed groups to follow international law. We are a party to the UN convention on the rights of the child, and we take our responsibility seriously. We play an active role in the UN Security Council working group on children and armed conflict, calling out abuses and pushing for accountability. We will keep championing the UN children and armed conflict mandate as well as UN monitoring. My hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) pointed out that, this year, we are spending £450,000 on UNICEF’s monitoring and reporting mechanism. That is on top of £250,000 spent last year. We are working to boost global efforts and, on the question raised by many hon. Members about the Government’s strategy, we are looking closely at whether a dedicated children in conflict strategy is the right next step. I can confirm to the House that that work is well underway. We are also considering how we can strengthen our expertise on children in armed conflict through developing a new practical toolkit for officials. I will turn to the specific conflict zones that have been raised. I must, I am afraid, repudiate almost everything said by the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan). We have been many things, but silent is not one of them. We have not looked away; we have taken tangible action in relation to the crisis in Gaza from the very moment that I became a Minister and we became the Government. I have seen for myself the horrific impact of that conflict on children in Gaza; I have seen it in the region, and on the faces of the children who I am proud we have assisted here in the UK. I was asked an important question by one of my hon. Friends about the partial opening of the Rafah crossing. At the moment, that is being prioritised for those most medically vulnerable. There are still small numbers crossing on foot—mostly into Egypt, although there is some two-way traffic. It is absolutely vital that that crossing opens to the scale that it operated at before June 2024, and we need to see all the crossings opened so that medical assistance and vital reconstruction materials are in place to provide children in Gaza with the support that they need. We cannot shy away from the scale of devastation in Gaza. Our assessment is that, since October 2023, at least 20,000 children have been killed. That includes 100 children who have been killed since the ceasefire was announced nearly four months ago. As my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) pointed out, thousands more children are now living with life-changing injuries. It is a grim statistic that Gaza now has more child amputees than anywhere in the world. Unexploded ordnance will continue to threaten lives even after the ceasefire, and it also prevents access to humanitarian assistance. That is why the Foreign Secretary has announced £4 million for the UN Mine Action Service in Gaza. We are providing £81 million in humanitarian early recovery support for Palestine as part of our £116 million package, but clearly the questions of access that so many hon. Members touched on are absolutely vital. About £10 million of that will go straight to UNICEF for infant formula, clean water, sanitation, mental health support, and assistance for families. To date, UK-Med teams have supported more than 950,000 patients with consultations. We have provided nearly £30 million to UNRWA to try to keep education and healthcare moving. I will not provide too much commentary on the status of UNRWA, but I recognise the points that the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), made about the education curriculum. We are engaged with UNRWA on those questions, which we have discussed with it and indeed with the Palestinian Authority. I want to address the deeply concerning reports of mistreatment of Palestinian children in detention. We continue to raise the matter repeatedly with Israel. Due process must be followed when children are detained, in line with international justice standards. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has extensive experience of these issues, must have full access to all detention facilities. As so many Members rightly pointed out, the crisis in Sudan is destroying the lives of children. We are showing the UK leadership that the Conservative shadow Minister asked for. This morning, after visiting the Chad-Sudan border, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £20 million in new support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and for women and girls facing violence. Our humanitarian support should help more than 2.5 million people to access food, clean water, medicine and shelter. UNICEF has grimly assessed that nearly 90% of Sudan’s school-aged children are no longer in school due to the conflict. Some 200,000 children in Sudan and neighbouring countries have received help to stay in school, but knowing the region as I do, I know the extent of the trauma that those children will be suffering. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has unleashed some of the most shocking abuses that we have seen. Reports show that around 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to Russia or Russian-controlled territory. Another 1.7 million children live under occupation, and many are subject to efforts to erase their identity. The shadow Foreign Office Minister asked about who our primary partners are. We have committed nearly £3 million to help Ukraine to return these children home and support their recovery. Our primary partner is the Ukrainian Government, but we work internationally with our partners. The Minister for Europe is chairing such a meeting this afternoon to ensure there is continued attention on these issues. I want to touch briefly on wider issues, including, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale—

• 4 Feb 2026 · Armed Conflict: Children · Hansard source

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  I will come to the matter of Nigeria in a second. My hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale touched on the importance of explosive weapons and de-mining, particularly in relation to children. I want to be clear that we stand firmly behind the agreements that will reduce these threats: the mine ban treaty, the convention on cluster munitions and the convention on certain conventional weapons. We also back the explosive weapons in populated areas declaration and the safe schools declaration. We are funding de-mining and education on the risks of explosives in 12 countries including Ukraine, Palestine and Sudan. Since 2024, we have helped clear 26 million square metres of land, helping to make life safer for more than 94,000 children. Where we can, including in Nigeria, we seek to help children injured by war to ensure that that aid reaches all children affected by conflict across lines, including in Nigeria and the conflicts that I have referenced. I once again thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn for bringing us together for this debate. I know the degree of her personal commitment to these issues, and indeed the commitment of my other Labour colleagues who have worked on these issues both in this place and in their previous lives. This work could not matter more. We will continue to push for action to protect children caught up in warzones, because no child should have their young life wrecked by conflict. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered children and armed conflict.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I want to see this legislation enacted as soon as possible. It is Home Office legislation, and it will need to go through the House in the usual way, but we are treating it as a matter of urgency. As the House has heard, the reason that the Jonathan Hall review is important is that it addresses itself precisely to the question of the difference between a state actor and a terrorist. I was the head of the terrorism response team in the Foreign Office and I know the difference in threat profile between an actor that is state-based and one that is not. That it is why it is important that we get this legislation right.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his advocacy on Iran and for his question. We are aware of the reports of pro-regime protests in the UK. I cannot comment, as he would expect, on the process of sanction or proscription review, but I have taken his remarks to heart.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman—a former Deputy Prime Minister—pays great attention to developments in the region. As such, he will know that there have been protests outside the Iranian embassy and very disturbing counter-protests in support of the regime’s crackdown. I find it absolutely staggering that anyone is expressing that view on the streets of Britain in the face of the horrors we are seeing.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  As the House would expect, my hon. Friend asks an important question. I will take it up with my ministerial colleagues.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  As the Foreign Secretary has said, the protesters are incredibly courageous. One can hardly bear to hear the accounts from within Iran from those who have been able to circumvent the internet ban. Our thoughts are with the people there, and the actions we are taking, including those we announced yesterday, are a demonstration of Britain’s continued commitment to them.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the question. Hostile states have sought to take advantage of the freedoms in this country by failing to register agents on our soil who are seeking to act on their behalf in whatever way. The foreign influence registration scheme means that it is now an offence for someone not to declare that they are acting as an agent for another country. It may well be that those seeking to act for Iran do not register under FIRS. If they do not, they are committing an offence, and I have every confidence in our services and police force that such people will be found.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the concerns of her constituents in Huddersfield. She referred to her Kurdish community in Huddersfield, and I know that there is a great deal of concern among the Kurdish communities across the region. As we have discussed events in north-east Syria recently in this House, I hope Mr Speaker will forgive me if I pass just brief comment on that. I am glad that, since that discussion, there has been a ceasefire in relation to north-east Syria, which is a source of considerable reassurance to those living there. On my hon. Friend’s important question about the proscription of the IRGC, we are committed to the findings of the Hall review, which set out the need to have a state-analogous process for proscription, and we are committed to bringing forward legislation to achieve that.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I have set out our commitments to international law, and I will not provide hypotheticals.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for sharing the testimony of his constituent, and I know that there are others across the country with similar experiences. We are aware of a range of reports along the lines that he describes. I have set out some of the steps that we will be taking in relation to the evidence collection that he described. We view the role of the independent fact-finding mission as vital in providing a United Nations-backed method by which the evidence can be preserved and accountability can be seen.