Topical Questions

Question

I thank the Secretary of State for that response, but I am disappointed that he failed to mention the news this weekend that more than 11,000 children have been killed or maimed in the war in Yemen. As he knows, the truce has collapsed, escalation is feared and the humanitarian situation is desperate.

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Carshalton and Wallington is home to many Ahmadiyya Muslims, who remain concerned about the continued persecution, especially by the Pakistani Government, of the Ahmadiyya community. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to raise the matter with the Government of Pakistan?

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Last week, the courageous Dunn family finally secured some justice for Harry, but the disrespect that they received from Ministers at the FCDO was a disgrace. Given the latest allegations that a bullying Tory Minister caused delays to Afghan evacuations, does the Foreign Secretary accept the need for an independent review of whether there has been a toxic culture at the FCDO that is undermining Britain on the global stage?

Question

The response of the Iranian regime to political process has been judicial murder. Two young men were reported to have been executed yesterday, and there is a list of 41 executions rumoured to be happening before the weekend. Will my right hon. Friend call in the Iranian ambassador and express our revulsion, and will he also introduce immediate sanctions against the Iranian regime?

Question

Is the Secretary of State aware of the abusive hate speech issued by Ken Mifsud-Bonnici, who works in the office of President Ursula von der Leyen, and his comments about Northern Ireland, which matched indeed the equivalent to a goose-step across Ireland by President Ursula von der Leyen herself when she spoke from Dublin? Could the Foreign Secretary indicate if he has spoken to those in the President's office and asked them to disassociate themselves from those abusive comments about Northern Ireland?

Question

Notwith-standing the answer my right hon. Friend gave earlier, given that Germany now believes that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind several terror attacks against synagogues, that our own security services have revealed at least 10 attempted killings by the IRGC in the UK this year alone, and as the threat it poses looms ever closer to home, does the Foreign Secretary agree with me that now is the time to proscribe the IRGC?

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Does the Foreign Secretary or the Minister for Development believe that there should be an upper limit on the amount of the aid budget that can be spent in the UK?

Question

Last week, G7 nations imposed a cap on the price of Russian oil exports in an attempt to limit the revenue fuelling Putin's war in Ukraine. As G7 nations have already largely ceased purchasing oil from Russia, can my right hon. Friend explain to the House how this measure will be effective?

Question

Does the Minister agree that unjustifiable Iranian bombardments on Iraqi Kurdistan and other attacks require resolving disputes between Baghdad and Irbil plus accelerating economic and political reform, and that these should continue to be key themes for our excellent diplomats there?

Question

We have heard how Putin's henchmen in the Wagner Group are implicated in many barbaric war crimes in Ukraine, including a brutal assassination of a defector, and how they are sending Russian prisoners to their deaths as cannon fodder, and a massacre in Mali. Do we let this evil continue or should the UK proscribe the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation?

Question

Why did the UK Government withdraw at the very last minute, on 10 December last year, from sanctioning the torturous and barbarous members of the Bangladesh rapid action battalion and then invite them to be trained in the UK in surveillance technology?

Question

In the south-east corner of Europe, Azerbaijan is again waging a human rights abuse against the people of Armenia. Today it has cut off the Lachin corridor, cutting off the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia, on top of the continued detention of prisoners of war, their torture, and lobbing shells into Armenian sovereign territory. Will the Foreign Secretary haul in the Azerbaijan ambassador, read him the riot act and take a delegation of the all-party group on Armenia—I declare an interest as its chair—to put a stop to this continued attempt at genocide and ethnic cleansing?

Question

Yesterday Reuters reported on a massacre by Nigerian Government forces that included at least 10 children who were allegedly unarmed and shot while lying down. Reports said children, some born from rape by Jihadist fighters, are being viewed as tainted. Treating children like that is abhorrent, so what action has the Secretary of State taken to raise these issues with the Nigerian Government and ensure accountability for alleged war crimes even during operations against jihadist armed groups?

Question

The management of the official development assistance budget has been chaotic, leading to a freeze in so called non-essential spending. Can the Minister tell us what the impacts have been and will he publish any impact assessment that has been done?

Question

The backlog of academic technology approval scheme certifications means that many research projects at Durham University are being delayed. What actions are being taken to ensure that any cases my office raises with the Department are investigated and responded to immediately?

Question

What is the Foreign Office going to do about the significant delays in the academic technology approval scheme, which is preventing professors at Edinburgh University and Heriot-Watt University from getting the top PhD candidates?

Question

I learned that I was to be sanctioned by the Iranian regime for my support for human rights and freedom in Iran, which will continue unabated. What support are the Government giving to the BBC Persian service?

Question

The new all-party parliamentary group for Afghan women and girls has written to the Foreign Secretary about draconian restrictions faced by women and girls in Afghanistan. Will he commit that in any conversations or negotiations with the Taliban, the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan will be prioritised?