Hamish Falconer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is learned and offers the opportunity both to make historical comparisons and comment on the conduct of other powers. I will avoid the temptation on both. Clearly, the British position is that international law is vital. Counter-narcotics action is important and we support that.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman brings considerable experience of Latin American issues to this House. On the legal position, I do not have much more to add. There has been extensive reporting over the last few days of some specific US strikes. I reiterate to him that they were not strikes in which the UK had any role, so we are not in a position to provide the fuller explanation that we would have, had we been involved—which we were not. On his wider question about build-up in the region, the House has heard his views.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  As the Minister of State made clear to my hon. Friend yesterday, the UK is not involved in these operations. There has been, as my hon. Friend mentions, much reporting and speculation in the US media and the US Congress. I do not think it is appropriate for me to comment on the deliberations of their House on these questions.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  As this House will understand, we must be very careful on making assessments. We, of course, continue to stand by international law. I am not in a position to provide a detailed assessment of the strikes conducted by the US, which are clearly a matter for the US, as the Foreign Secretary and my hon. Friend the Minister of State said during oral questions yesterday. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson asks whether we were involved in the strikes. I confirm again, as we confirmed yesterday, that we were not. He will understand that I will not comment on intelligence matters from the Dispatch Box. He asks about our policy towards Venezuela. As I set out, we do not accept the legitimacy of the current Administration put in place by Nicolás Maduro, but we do maintain limited engagement with Venezuelan officials where necessary.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  As ever, the hon. Gentleman asks an important question in a courteous way. The prospects for the people of Venezuela must be at the heart of our deliberations. We have been engaged with civil society and, where necessary, with the Venezuelan Government. We will continue to keep the human rights of the people of Venezuela in our minds.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman—my predecessor—for his question. The Government stand by the principles of international law. I will not provide a detailed commentary on intelligence matters, obviously, but I will say that the Five Eyes remains a vital, vibrant and free-flowing intelligence sharing arrangement that allows us to tackle a range of threats. That includes the illegal drug trade, which is having such an impact in both America and the UK; like many others across the House, I see that impact in my constituency.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for providing an opportunity for me to give a slightly fuller commentary. The UK is clear that the outcome of the 2024 presidential elections in Venezuela was neither free nor fair, and therefore Nicolás Maduro’s claim to power is fraudulent. While the National Electoral Council of Venezuela has not yet published the results of the elections, the results published by the opposition appear to show Edmundo González securing the most votes in the presidential election by a significant margin. Clearly, proper process and a free and fair election is the way to determine the leadership in Venezuela.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  As the House will know, Ministers receive legal advice on a range of matters relating to foreign policy, and that advice is subject to legal and professional privilege.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  On my hon. Friend’s last question, I understand that the Foreign Secretary has been in discussions with her US counterparts in recent days on these questions. He asks an important question about civil society. We strongly condemn the ongoing repression of civil society and members of the opposition in Venezuela. We continue to call for the unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained, including members of civil society and independent media, such as through the UK’s published statement to the UN Human Rights Council in its most recent session.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Venezuela: US Military · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Lady for those important questions. The US is of course the UK’s principal defence and security partner. We have extensive discussions on a wide range of shared security objectives, including counter-narcotics. We are committed to fighting the scourge of drugs and organised crime, including with our partners in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are, of course, continuing to work with our international partners to achieve a peaceful negotiated transition in Venezuela, which ensures that the will of all Venezuelans is respected.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, publicly and in our engagement with the Syrian Government. The Foreign Secretary and I were clear on UK expectations for Syria’s transition when we met Syrian Foreign Minister al-Shabani last month: the protection of the rights of all Syrians, wide consultation with Syria’s diverse communities on next steps in the transition and, of course, holding perpetrators of violence to account.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We have, from this Dispatch Box, announced three waves of sanctions, including on Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich. I have discussed the questions around trade on a number of occasions with the hon. Lady. Any trade with settlements does not benefit from the trade arrangements in place with green line Israel. We continue to take steps to ensure that that regime is enforced in full, and we continue to look at these issues very carefully.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  On 27 November, the UK, France, Germany and Italy collectively condemned the massive increase in settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the west bank. The pace of settlement building in the west bank continues unabated, as my hon. Friend knows well because she has been engaged on these issues for some time. Israel must stop settlement expansion, and it must crack down on settler violence, which has reached record levels. This Government have introduced three waves of sanctions focused on settlements, including against Mr Ben-Gvir.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The advisory opinion is an important piece of international legal opinion, so we are taking our time and ensuring that we have an adequate response. But I remind my hon. Friend that it is not like nothing has happened over the course of those 17 months: we have recognised the Palestinian state. That is absolutely central in the deliberations of the advisory opinion, and we have done many other things, too, as have been discussed over the course of this session.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I will do my utmost, as I am sure other Ministers will.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I will. I was delighted to see my Emirati counterpart just yesterday. We had a Minister representing the British Government at the Emirati National Day. It is a key partner. I welcome its investment all over the country, and we will take the relationship from strength to strength.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am familiar with the case that the hon. Member mentions. On all the other detention cases in Iran, we are working to ensure that those individuals have full access to consular assistance where they need it, as British nationals have across the world.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

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  I have set out some of the steps we have taken already. I met Mr el-Fattah in Cairo last month, and am in regular contact with his family. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this case is right at the top of my priority list, as well as that of the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his doughty advocacy for Mr Cornelius and a range of other consular cases overseas. He will know that the former Foreign Secretary has raised this case with the UAE and met the families on 4 September, and we will continue to provide them with support. I have seen these families myself, and I am sure that we will continue to do so at times that they find useful.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Alaa Abd el-Fattah · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister raised this case with President Sisi on 18 November, and the Foreign Secretary has pressed for Mr el-Fattah’s return on multiple occasions with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, most recently on 25 November. Mr el-Fattah must be allowed to return to the UK and be reunited with his family.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Dawood Family Justice Campaign · Hansard source

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  I am deeply saddened that more than two decades after the tragic deaths of brothers Sakil and Saeed Dawood in 2002 the family are still waiting for Saeed’s remains to be repatriated. Following the conclusion of the criminal case this year, our consular teams remain fully committed to resolving this matter and continue to raise it with the Indian authorities to secure a resolution.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Dawood Family Justice Campaign · Hansard source

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  We will.

• 24 Nov 2025 · Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Lady knows, there is not unfettered trade with the occupied territories. They are not subject to the same trade arrangements as Israel, and where there are breaches, we will investigate those thoroughly. We have discussed many times some of the challenges around ensuring that goods produced in the occupied territories do not find their way into the mainstream Israeli trading system, but I do not have the time, I am afraid, to rehearse some of those arguments again this afternoon. I will close by saying that the Government understand the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, on both sides of the yellow line. His Majesty’s Opposition ask whether we want to see the international system enter what some are calling the red zone, west of the yellow line, and indeed we do. That is absolutely vital. That is where 90% of Gaza’s population remains to this day. Humanitarian provision east of the yellow line cannot make a dent in the very significant humanitarian suffering that so many have described so eloquently. The most recent figures that we have show famine levels reducing, and severe malnutrition has decreased since the ceasefire, but it is still far too high. I give this House my solemn commitment, and that of the Government, that we will not rest until humanitarian aid is entering Gaza in the volumes required to try to meet the staggering level of human suffering that so many have talked about with such power this afternoon.

• 24 Nov 2025 · Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate. I want to thank every hon. Member who has spoken with such clarity and conviction. I was asked a number of questions over two and a half hours. If hon. Members will permit me, I intend to make a brief statement about the humanitarian situation before taking any interventions. I know that the voices in this Chamber echo the deep concern felt across the country—concern so strong that nearly 200,000 people signed the petition that brought us here today, including many of my own constituents in Lincoln. I know that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) says, this is not at all a fringe concern—it is on the minds of constituents represented by all of us, right across the country. The ceasefire was achieved with great difficulty and in the face of great danger. It must hold. We must confront the humanitarian catastrophe that continues in Gaza. We must see the bodies of the hostages returned to their grieving families and move quickly from phase 1 to phase 2—reconstruction and recovery—to rebuild shattered lives. As we take peace plans forward, we must not lose focus on the catastrophic humanitarian situation. More than 69,000 people have lost their lives since October 2023. Tens of thousands have been wounded, most of them women and children, and over 90% of the population remains displaced. Our immediate priority must be aid—rapid, sustained and unrestricted. The international system can deliver at scale, but that is not happening on the ground. As we speak, vital equipment and field hospitals are waiting just miles away, blocked by red tape. Winter, as many contributions have made clear, is closing in, and displaced families need shelter and basic services restored. The Israeli authorities must open all crossings without delay, and aid agencies and NGOs must be able to operate freely across the whole of Gaza. Restrictions on UNRWA and other UN agencies must be lifted. The system and the supplies exist. I was pleased to hear other colleagues who have seen them in el-Arish—as I have. The will in the UK exists. If the ceasefire and the 20-point plan are to succeed, the political block on aid must end. I understand the frustration my colleagues expressed tonight. Let me reassure the House that the Government are doing all they can to support the ceasefire and get aid into Gaza. We have allocated £78 million for humanitarian and recovery support this year, including £20 million for water, sanitation and hygiene services. Over the past two years, we have restored funding to UNRWA and provided nearly £250 million in development assistance. I was challenged on whether that has made any difference to individuals in Gaza—it is 439,000 people who have received essential health care, 647,000 who have received food and over 300,000 who have gained access to clean water and sanitation. Many hon. Members rightly challenged me and the Government to consider the individuals at the heart of this, rather than the numbers. I was in Yemen last week and saw a malnourished child in front of me at one of the healthcare clinics that we are supporting. The sight of a severely malnourished 11-month-old baby is a truly arresting one. It is a reminder to me, as I know it is to everyone in this House, that there are thousands of such children in Gaza. We must do everything we can to ensure that the ceasefire holds and that the aid gets in. We have deployed UK advisers to the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre to help to co-ordinate reconstruction and humanitarian efforts. In total, we are providing £116 million this year for humanitarian aid, economic development and strengthening PA governance and reform.

• 24 Nov 2025 · Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations · Hansard source

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  It may be helpful to the House if I set out what the UK sees as unfettered access. There are three areas where our advocacy is particularly focused. One is the registration provisions around NGOs, which was raised by many colleagues. We have raised that issue directly with the Israeli Government, which is what the hon. Member asked about in his intervention. The second is dual-use items. There has been an overly restrictive approach to dual-use items that has restricted shelter, in particular, and a range of other things, including water purification equipment and a whole range of medical supplies. The dual-use list must be considerably loosened to enable the kinds of operations that so many hon. Members have discussed. The third, turning to the comments of the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), is the crossings. There are two crossings open, which I understand the shadow Foreign Secretary saw during her recent visit, but significant crossings remain closed: the Allenby crossing into Jordan and the Rafah crossing. Those are two critical crossings, and their opening was clearly envisaged in the 20-point plan. It is on that point that we continue to press the Israeli Government. The opening of those crossings is related to some of the important points made by hon. Members about both aid access going in and people coming out. I have told hon. Members before that I do not wish to be drawn on specific numbers of medically injured children and students whom we have assisted to leave Gaza. Many hon. Members in this Chamber have discussed some of these questions with me. Those whose questions I have not yet answered have my word that I will come back to them quickly. I can say that, after the most recent wave of evacuations, we have now exceeded the target that I had mentioned to some hon. Members in recent months. We have, after a series of evacuation operations, managed to save hundreds from what awaited them in Gaza and provided opportunities for them to take up here in the UK. I take the point that the hon. Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara), and others, have made that they would like to see larger numbers. There is a balance to be struck here. Clearly, medical assistance is most effective and timely in Gaza itself—on both sides of the yellow line. After that, it is most effective in the region, and I was pleased to be in Cairo recently seeing some of that provision. Where that assistance cannot be provided, it is appropriate that we look at specialist cases, as we have done.