Hamish Falconer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Jun 2026 · Myanmar: Human Rights · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who did such a good job in her previous guise as the Minister for the Indo-Pacific. We are standing by these commitments. It will be for the current Minister for the Indo-Pacific, my hon. Friend the Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra), to make future determinations about her portfolio. Over the past year, we have reached more than 1.4 million people with humanitarian assistance and provided 1.3 million with essential health services. We will continue to stand by those who have been most affected.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I think I addressed those questions earlier, but let me reassure my hon. Friend that we continue to treat the situation with the seriousness that it deserves. I am not going to trail further announcements from the Dispatch Box, but we obviously keep all these matters under close review.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I can offer my hon. Friend that assurance.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for the question. I can hear the frustration from colleagues, which I often hear when I indicate that further action may be possible but will not trail it before the Government take it. That is for long—

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I made that very point in my statement. Of course, we can expect that what Mr Ben-Gvir is willing to do on camera to Europeans and others is just a fraction of what is being done behind closed doors. That is why I made that exact comparison in my statement, and it is why we sanctioned him well before many of our friends and partners.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  They were, as they have been in every engagement with the Israeli Government since the signature of the 20-point plan. It is vital that aid gets in at the scale and in the manner envisaged under the 20-point plan.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I do, to all three questions.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. and gallant Friend that we need to work with our partners across the region to have the best effect.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for the question, and for welcoming me to her constituency recently to discuss this. We will continue to take every step we can in recognition of the seriousness of the situation.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I can reassure my hon. Friend that we are selling no bombs and no bullets that could be used against the Palestinians.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and former colleague in the Foreign Office for her question. We are pressing for full consular rights—we made that point this morning. We understand from the Israelis that all participants on the flotilla will be deported back to their place of origin. We are urgently following up with the Israeli Government on the detail and manner of that.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I want to be clear about British leadership on those questions. As I said in the statement, before all of the events that the hon. Member describes with Mr Ben-Gvir, I had already sanctioned him from the Dispatch Box. We did so in advance of most of our key friends and allies. As I was walking to the Chamber today, I saw that some of our European friends are now considering doing what we did in August of last year. We have taken action both in company and alone, given the significance of events in the region, and we will continue to do so. Turning to the hon. Member’s important points about some of the Foreign Office structures, I am particularly sensitive to those questions, as a proud former member of the diplomatic service myself. It is important to set out that the world is changing very rapidly, and Foreign Office structures need to change too. Whether it is some of the reports today about the Iran unit, or reports in recent weeks about the international humanitarian law assessment cell, responsibility lies with Ministers to ensure that we are properly served on advice about both Iran and international humanitarian law. I still get that advice. It is true that there need to be some changes in the structure of the Foreign Office. Since I was in the Foreign Office in 2015, the headcount in the UK—counting both Departments—has increased by 40% over a decade. That is something that we need to address. I spent a great deal of my career overseas, and that is where I would like to see the majority of the diplomatic if possible. We need to make changes, but to be clear, no unit—not the Iran unit and not the IHL cell—is being targeted. It is my responsibility to ensure that I am properly advised on both of those questions, and I am. What has been referred to is an offer to all staff that they can take part redundancy or voluntary redundancy if they would like to. It was not specific to the Iran unit, which does incredibly important work. I was with it this morning, and I assure the House that the Foreign Secretary and I, and the rest of Government, continue to be excellently served by the officials of the Foreign Office.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend is deeply committed to these issues. He raises a number of important points about further steps that the British Government might take. I am not in a position to go beyond what I have said in my statement at the moment, other than to reassure him—particularly in relation to the village that he mentions, which has been visited by a large number of Members, not just on the Government Benches but right across the House—that he is absolutely right to say that further development of the E1 settlement would be hugely damaging to a two-state solution. We will treat any further moves in that direction with the seriousness that they deserve.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I do not accept the characterisation, but I reassure the right hon. Member that it does not take my being stood at the Dispatch Box for us to be taking action on behalf of British nationals in distress overseas. We have been engaged in the cases of all British nationals on the flotilla since we were first alerted.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I think the loophole the hon. Member is referring to is the global supply chain of the F-35. I would welcome a bit more clarity from the Liberal Democrats on how they think that loophole can be closed and the F-35 supply chain maintained. We have discussed these issues in the Chamber a number of times, and they have been pressed in the courts. We continue to stand by our position, and I am sure the Liberal Democrats have thought it through.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  There must be accountability. I met members of the Lebanese Red Cross during my recent visit, and was appalled to see further killings of those in their brave number subsequently.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend. I am aware of the letter.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  It is a great pleasure to answer a question from my hon. Friend, not least because he himself was a distinguished member of the diplomatic service. He is absolutely right.

• 21 May 2026 · Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in Iran · Hansard source

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  I can confirm to my hon. and learned Friend and to the House that we are progressing the appointment of an envoy. One of the issues we have sought to navigate in the appointment of an envoy is that the Government and I recognise the responsibilities that the Foreign Secretary and I have to this House and to other Members, who will wish to represent their constituents appropriately in public, just as we are doing as we speak. There is therefore a balance to be struck in appointing an envoy with the ability to do all the things that my hon. Friend describes while not taking away from parliamentary accountability, which is a central pillar of our system. We are bringing forward that appointment, and I look forward to returning to the House with further details about it, and about the individual who I hope will take up that post. I recognise that even during this short exchange, there have been differing views about the most effective ways to secure progress. That is entirely understandable in the circumstances. However, I wish to reassure my hon. and learned Friend and the family in the Gallery that every decision we take is guided by what we judge to be in Craig and Lindsay’s best interests. Our objective is clear: to work towards their return to their loved ones, and, until then, to ensure improvements in their welfare. I remain deeply concerned for Craig and Lindsay Foreman, particularly in the light of recent developments affecting their health. We are working, and will continue to work, intensively through all appropriate channels to support Craig and Lindsay, improve their conditions and pursue their swift release. Question put and agreed to.

• 21 May 2026 · Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in Iran · Hansard source

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  As I just said, we have and we will continue to raise this as regularly as possible with the Iranian authorities, both on some of the consular grounds that have been discussed, and in respect of the wider elements of the case. As the House knows, I cover many very difficult consular cases, and we have discussed others in this Chamber. It is not always public pressure that is most effective in securing releases. We have seen a range of releases across my wider area of responsibility during my time as Minister. Those releases are effected in a wide variety of ways, so I will always give families, and their constituency MPs when they are authorised to speak on their behalf, my best advice. It will not always be the case that public pressure is the best way to secure releases. I regret to say that the Iranian authorities appear to use detentions as a way to try to secure public, as well as private, leverage, and it is not always my advice that people should go public in response.

• 21 May 2026 · Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in Iran · Hansard source

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  I think I probably have to take turns, so I will give way to the hon. Lady and then to my hon. and learned Friend.

• 28 Apr 2026 · International Parental Child Abduction · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) for securing this debate. I am also grateful for the contributions of other right hon. and hon. Members, particularly those who have represented their constituents’ perspectives. As the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), rightly said, this is a deeply distressing topic, and I am conscious that I am addressing it in front of two colleagues who have been Foreign Office Ministers. I am sure that they share our thoughts for all families affected by international parental child abduction, particularly the children who are going through such upheaval and uncertainty. I will respond to the points made today while being careful not to comment on individual cases or disclose personal details; I hope that the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), will understand why I do not wish to comment in detail on her case.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I was discussing precisely these issues yesterday. Hamas must disarm; there must be a process by which their weapons are decommissioned. There are ongoing discussions on those questions. Hamas must agree, voluntarily, to disarm. That is vital and it is a key component of the 20-point plan. Without agreement on that point, it will be difficult to make progress. I was discussing that with a range of our international counterparts yesterday and we will continue to remain very focused. Mr Speaker, may I take the opportunity quickly to correct—

• 21 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I think the hon. Member refers to the legislation passed in the Israeli Knesset. We oppose the death penalty everywhere. On 29 March, we joined many of our friends across the world to condemn that specific measure, and the Foreign Secretary has raised it specifically with the Israeli Foreign Minister. I can leave the House in no doubt about our opposition to the measures.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Member may know, I have repeatedly summoned the Iranian ambassador on concerns about what goes on in the UK. Some elements of the alleged attacks in the UK are still sub judice, but I want to leave him in no doubt about how forcefully we have raised these points with the Iranian ambassador, and indeed with the Iranian regime.