Topical Questions

Answer from The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)

I say to my hon. Friend that we have been clear right throughout this crisis that Palestinian territory must not be reduced in the conduct of this war, and we do not support the forced displacement of people. Palestinian civilians must be permitted to return to their communities and rebuild their lives.

Answer from The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)

The right hon. Lady and I exchanged debate when we published the China audit. There was discussion at the national security strategy, and the Defence Secretary also set out his concerns about Chinese activity in the South China sea in the defence strategy. There have been a lot of debates and discussion in relation to China, and I have been very clear that there are areas where we will co-operate, but we will always challenge where we must.

Answer from The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)

First, I express my deep condolences over Holly’s death. I know this is a very distressing time for Mr and Mrs Woodcock and the whole family. My hon. Friend will know about the consular support that is being provided, as we have spoken about that. I would, of course, be very happy to meet him and the Woodcock family to discuss the matter further, although he will understand that I cannot get directly involved in overseas investigations by authorities in France.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Catherine West)

In June, the Minister for Security, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley North (Dan Jarvis), and I met the UK activists targeted by the Hong Kong arrest warrants and bounties. We have raised concerns regarding the arrest warrants and bounties directly with the Chinese ambassador here in London, reaffirming that the safety and security of Hongkongers in the UK is of the utmost importance to the Government. The matter is being raised at all levels—by Ministers and by the Foreign Secretary, and will indeed be raised, if there is such an occasion in the future, leader to leader.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

I thank my hon. Friend for her sustained engagement in these issues. As the Foreign Secretary has said, we talk regularly to hostage families in Israel and to participants in Israeli politics right across the spectrum, and we will continue to do so. We make our disagreements with the Israeli Government clear, both in private and in public, and we will continue to do that, too.

Answer from Hamish Falconer

The Foreign Office seeks in its consular assistance to always provide timely support to British nationals overseas. I will investigate the case and report back to the hon. Lady.

Answer from Hamish Falconer

We have seen those reports; the Foreign Secretary referred to them in the House yesterday afternoon. As I said earlier, the threshold that the Government must test against is about the real risk, and our actions have flowed from that determination.

Answer from Catherine West

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important matter on behalf of her constituents. I can reassure her that the UK Government have called on Beijing numerous times to repeal the national security law, and we continue to work closely with the Minister for Border Security and Asylum to ensure safety.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

There have been important commitments about the future nature of any Palestinian state, including from President Abbas, who said that any such state would be demilitarised. There was absolute clarity in New York—where we made the announcement about the recognition decision—that Hamas can have no future role in Gaza and that a future Palestinian state must pose no threat to an Israeli state. Two states requires two states living in safety and security and posing no threat to each other.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

I set out the detail of the sanctions to which my hon. Friend refers, and the Foreign Secretary has announced a review of some of the elements of our bilateral co-operation with Israel, including a number of steps in relation to free trade agreements and so on.