Hamish Falconer MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 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.

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

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  Very briefly, and then I will wrap up.

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

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important contribution. I have been absolutely clear throughout that the GHF was no way to deliver aid. The cost to the people of Gaza was absolutely clear from the grim images of its operation that we saw day in and day out. It has always been the case that a system exists in order to provide aid across Gaza. It is not a perfect system, and where there are abuses of that system, they need to be investigated—I am very glad to hear from our partners that the looting of aid has considerably reduced following the ceasefire—but the system exists. The aid exists. It is the United Nations system. It is mentioned specifically in the 20-point plan. That is how aid must be distributed across Gaza.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children · Hansard source

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  I am not familiar with the Lenin peace prize; I will google it afterwards. I have been clear on the position and the basis of negotiations. Clearly, it is for Ukraine as a sovereign nation to determine the position that it takes in negotiations. I saw reports of the discussion. I think it was, to be fair, about who should perform the role of SACEUR—the Supreme Allied Commander Europe—rather than the future division of responsibility between forces in NATO. NATO remains a vital component of European security and perhaps the most signal commitment to Europe and America’s shared defence and shared values. Long may it continue.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children · Hansard source

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  I do. I feel great sadness for the Russian people, because the truth is that President Putin appears to be happy to endure their hardship at almost any cost. The Russians are suffering terribly, both on the battlefield and in their standards of living across Russia. The sensible thing for President Putin to do—the thing that he has refused to do—is enter into the ceasefire talks that President Zelensky, the UK and many of our allies have called for him to enter into. This is not complicated or difficult. We will continue to apply financial pressure on the Russians until he does so, and it is with great regret that some of the sanctions will put further pressure on the already suffering Russian people. That is what we must do, and it is what we will continue to do until those ceasefire talks begin.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman’s tone is absolutely right. I have described some of the tracing efforts that we are engaged in, but clearly, simply locating these children in Russia is not enough—they must also be returned. We will continue to work at every level; the Minister for Europe has met with civil society organisations involved in those efforts, as has Baroness Harman, our special envoy for women and girls, and the Foreign Secretary has discussed the children with her opposite numbers. We will continue to give this issue the focus that the hon. Gentleman rightly demands of us, and I assure the country that we will do so until the children are returned.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend asks an incredibly important question. She is right to suggest that children are bearing the worst brunt of conflict. I was in Yemen this week, and I was appalled to see so many children with both moderate and severely acute malnutrition. That malnutrition is in very significant order created by the Houthis, who have restricted aid access into north Yemen and, indeed, detained UN aid workers and seized their offices. What the Russian forces do in Ukraine is seen elsewhere: it is seen by the Houthis and by militias in Nigeria. This country will stand up for an international rules-based order, which includes the protections that children are entitled to. We will continue to work to ensure the safe return of those 20,000 Ukrainian children. Six hundred of them have been identified by the mechanism that we co-fund and co-founded with the Ukrainians, and we will continue to work to ensure that all the remaining children are returned.