Yvette Cooper MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  I set out our position at the beginning of the statement: we have long supported a peaceful transition from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. We shed no tears for the removal of Maduro, but we want a peaceful transition to the establishment of a democracy, which we do not yet have in Venezuela. That is what we will work towards. We will always argue for the upholding of international law.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  I set out already our clear position on Greenland and the importance of international law, but also the importance of working through our different alliances and being prepared to raise issues around international law and other areas both privately and publicly. We need to ensure we can pursue the UK’s interests and also our values. We do that through the discussions that will be taking place this week on Ukraine and through the pursuit of democracy and our values in Venezuela as well.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member seems to be drawing an equivalence between the Maduro regime and the democratically elected UK Prime Minister. I think that this equivalence thing is just really inappropriate. We should recognise the huge damage that the Maduro regime has done, and the fact that it is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister did so this morning when he was asked about it.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  We continue to have a very strong engagement with the Commonwealth and are continuing to do so in the light of the weekend’s events. There are Commonwealth countries and overseas territories that have been heavily affected by the instability in the region, including the instability driven by the Maduro regime, as well as by the scale of the narco-trafficking and the criminal gang operations and by the scale and pace of migration, which has been very destabilising. We are also engaging with the Commonwealth countries in order to work with them on ensuring that there can be stability in the region, because that is in everyone’s interest.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  We have set out our continued commitment to international law and the importance of maintaining some of the underpinning rules-based alliances that are so important for sustaining the rules-based order. That is why we will continue to argue for international law and to maintain things such as the NATO alliance and the partnership, and it is why we will continue to raise these issues publicly and privately with our allies.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to say that the global rules-based order is under pressure from different directions, as I said in a speech just before Christmas; however, we believe that it remains important, and is in the interests and nature of our country and history, as well as forming a fundamental part of our values. We believe that international law and the rules-based order are fundamentally a foundation for peace and security across the world. We have to engage with the world as we find it, and not as we would like it to be, which means continuing to advocate for international law with people right across the world, including directly with our allies, and increasing our investment in defence. Fundamentally, protecting our national security has to be the most important priority for the Government.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  Trying to make an equivalence between the US and Russia is just totally ridiculous and deeply inappropriate. We have seen the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. In contrast, we have our relationship with the US, in which it is discussing security guarantees for Ukraine. I think that is hugely important.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will know the constraints in the ministerial code regarding discussing legal advice. As I have said, it is for the US to set out publicly its legal basis for the actions that it has taken. We have raised the issue of international law—I have directly raised it with the US Secretary of State—and set out our views and concerns and the importance of urging all partners to abide by international law.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  The Monroe doctrine has been interpreted in many different ways over decades and through generations, and historians will dispute that. What I can set out is the UK’s foreign policy approach, which is to stand up for Britain’s security, prosperity and values. That is why we not only stand up for the international rule of law, but maintain crucial security alliances, such as NATO and our transatlantic partnership, which are based on laws and values.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  I completely agree. The people of Venezuela have been denied that democratic right for far too long. Election results have not been respected, and Venezuelans have faced some of the most horrendous political repression, including on an industrial scale. The July 2024 elections were clearly not respected, and the official results were never published. That is why we are continuing to talk to the opposition parties and others in Venezuela about the importance of getting a democratic transition in place.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  The undersea cable issue is important, and we have considered it not just in terms of UK defence, but internationally. We have discussed it at NATO, and as part of our alliances. It is why we must continue to take much more seriously the operation of the Russian shadow fleet in our waters.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member should not make a false equivalence between different situations; it would be inappropriate to do so. We will continue to work with the US in the discussions this week on the defence of Ukraine, which is in itself about maintaining international law and the rules-based order, just as we will continue to raise issues around international law in our private discussions with it and in public debates.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his support for Jimmy Lai and his release. Unfortunately, China has not currently agreed either to consular access or to health access, but let me be clear that we will not relent. We will continue to raise this issue with our international partners as well as directly with China, including in international forums. I join him in condemning the targeting of Carmen Lau and others who have been targeted in the UK. It is why we are strengthening the training for all police forces across the UK on how to deal with state threats and transnational repression. We increased investment in our intelligence and security agencies, so that they can deal with state threats as well as traditional counter-terrorism threats. We are increasingly using new measures, such as sanctions, on issues around cyber-threats. He will be aware that we have recently sanctioned two Chinese entities around cyber-threats and cyber-challenges to the UK. The hon. Member also raised the embassy. As he will know, it remains a planning decision for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under its independent processes, but security considerations have been taken immensely seriously, not only by the Home Office and the Foreign Office, but by the agencies throughout.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I will certainly do so. I will follow that up, and get back to the right hon. Member. I agree with him that it is immensely important that we speak with one powerful voice, with all of us calling for the release of Jimmy Lai.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I agree with the right hon. Member that, given the immediate circumstances for a 78-year-old man in poor health, there is an urgent need for clemency and humanitarian recognition of those circumstances. We of course have strong differences on the national security law, which we are very clear is a breach of the declaration, but we surely have a shared humanity. We urge the Chinese authorities to recognise that shared humanity and release Jimmy Lai immediately.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend’s highlighting of the Hongkongers in his constituency and other local communities. He will know that over 200,000 Hongkongers have been welcomed to the UK through the BNO route. I will pass on the points he has raised to the Home Office, but the route has played an important part in Hongkongers arriving and being part of our economy, our communities and our joint respect for human rights and the commitments we made in 1984.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I know that the right hon. Member has campaigned and spoken out on this area for a long time, so let me recognise his continued speaking out, not just for Jimmy Lai, but more widely on issues around China and national security concerns. Let me be clear that we will continue to pursue this issue through international routes, as well as directly with China. He raises issues around sanctions. As he will know, we never talk about sanctions in advance, but we have expanded the sanctions not just around cyber-threats, but on issues such as support for Russia and the war on Ukraine. I have addressed the question of the planning process for the embassy, but let me be clear that the UK continues to have strong restrictions on the numbers of people who can come to the UK and on the visa arrangements. All of that continues and does not change at all as a result of any planning decision. No state can bully and persecute the British people for exercising their basic rights. That is why we have been clear in our strong condemnation of this politically motivated prosecution and in calling for the release of Jimmy Lai.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right to raise that issue. There is a real concern. I am sorry about the difficulties that I know she has had. She will know that they have been raised with the Chinese authorities. She is also right to raise the concerns of Hongkongers who live here but who still have family back home, and who, as a result, do not feel that they can visit them. Even where they have British citizenship, the Chinese authorities do not recognise dual nationality. Therefore, there are real concerns for anyone visiting family, either in Hong Kong or more widely in China, that that dual citizenship or their British citizenship simply will not be recognised. That is what has happened with Jimmy Lai and it is why we continue to raise this issue. This issue is about British citizens, and we will stand up for British citizens.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I am very sorry to hear the circumstances of my hon. Friend’s constituent, and I am happy to discuss them further with my hon. Friend. As she will know, we have raised our concerns repeatedly, especially in relation to the national security law and the way in which that law does not respect the circumstances and the commitments that were agreed. It has been a crucial part of Hong Kong’s identity for so many years, and what was embodied in the declaration was that it was about respect for the rule of law.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is right to say that many other people are facing prosecution or have already been charged and been through a process under the national security law. We are very clear that the national security law should be repealed. It directly contradicts the declaration and the legal obligations on the Chinese authorities under that declaration. I will follow up the case he raises.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will recognise that we have independent processes for the judiciary, but he is right to say that the rule of law is really important. It is an important issue for the UK, and we stand up for those values in all their dimensions. The Chinese authorities have increasingly spoken about the importance of the international rule of law, saying that major countries ought to provide leadership on the international rule of law. Again, our strong message to them is that, to show international leadership on the rule of law, they need to recognise their legal obligations, which are still present, to implement the declaration. That means ending the national security law and releasing Jimmy Lai.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend’s championing of Jimmy Lai. She is right: this is about some of the most basic freedoms of all. It is about freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly—freedom to gather—and also the fundamental freedoms in relation to journalism that are so important and have been such an important part of Hong Kong’s identity and history for so long. They were embodied in the declaration to recognise that uniqueness about Hong Kong, which is why we will continue to maintain them. I can assure my hon. Friend that the Prime Minister has already raised this directly with his counterparts, as have many other Ministers, and we will continue to do so.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for standing up for his constituent. Obviously, I have seen the most recent reports of the circumstances that she has faced. I have not met her since then to discuss them and hear from her about them, but I think the whole House will be totally appalled by the experiences that she has had. I can assure the hon. Member that our counter-terrorism police, who cover both state threats and terrorism threats, take this immensely seriously and pursue every possible investigation, which it is why we as a Government have expanded their work in relation to state threats.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Jimmy Lai Conviction · Hansard source

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  I assure my hon. Friend that we will continue to do everything we can to provide consular support for all those affected by the national security law, and in particular Jimmy Lai. May I also reiterate the tributes to Sebastien Lai, who I know is in the Gallery today?