Speeches by Alexander.

“It is not a matter of trumping one or the other; it is reading the complete statement offered by Minister Trevelyan to the Commons at the time, in which literally she used the phrase, “The application of these criteria will be without prejudice to the application of specific cases of specific measures as may be announc…”

“Perhaps I can offer some assistance. On the criteria, and the basis on which it was used in the written ministerial statement that introduced the criteria in 2021—about which the Committee has already spoken—it was set out explicitly by the then Secretary of State that “Application of the criteria would be without prej…”

“Forgive me for interrupting my colleague, but just I wanted to clarify something at the earliest opportunity: the figure of £18 million that you mentioned is actually £18.2 million and that is actually military goods exported. That does not reflect general trade.”

“I do not have that figure in front of me, and I certainly would not want to mislead you or the Committee.”

“You are certainly correct in your broad assumption that first, there is no direct military aid provided by the UK Government in a manner that will be familiar to you from the United States. Often when these issues are discussed in the public prints, the perception is left that somehow the UK Government are directly tra…”

“This is the point I was trying to make earlier. As soon as the Foreign Secretary reached a determination that there was that risk in terms of a breach of international humanitarian law, the effect in terms of the judgment that was then made by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade was identical to if there had …”

“There is an assessment that informs the Foreign Secretary’s opinion. The Foreign Secretary then writes to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, who then makes a judgment and determination in relation to licences.”

“When you describe exceptions and when you sought to draw a distinction between moral and legal responsibilities, the basis, as I sought to evidence earlier, on which the Foreign Secretary is advised and then seeks to reach his judgment is set down very clearly in terms of criterion 2c, which states that, “The Governmen…”

“No, the red lines have been established by a very clear sense that there is a risk of breach of international humanitarian law. That has had an identical effect in expression of those figures, as if similar criteria had been reached in relation to the conduct of the conflict. Far from there being no red lines, the Fore…”

“For example, you are arguing about body armour for journalists that can be exported to Israel; I would not see that as being consistent with Government policy. In that sense, the risk of the blanket ban that you describe, in relation to the strategic arms export licence regime, would be that it would have unintended co…”

“In the information that we have shared with the Committee today, over half the licences are non-military, and less than half of the extant military licences are for the IDF. Regarding the perception that the licences per se are open—notwithstanding the judgment of the Foreign Secretary and the decision of the Secretary…”

“Yes, 2c sets out use in military operations in the current conflict in Gaza.”

“If you like, there is a policy focus specifically on Gaza and, in that context, arms export licences and the operation of the SELC in relation to Israel. You are right in saying the international humanitarian law compliance assessment process, of which Minister Doughty spoke, while it sits within the FCDO, was set up t…”

“Forgive me, is it Israel or Gaza?”

“The threshold and boundary that have been drawn are military use in Gaza, if your question is implicitly, “Are there open licences which could be facilitating and allowing military use?””

“Criterion 2c states that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. That is the basis on which the judgments have been reached.”

“I pay tribute to the right hon. Lady for the work that she has done—and to others for their work—both during and after the passage of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Government recognise that the landscape has changed since the Act was introduced, and we are committed to tackling modern slavery through a holistic Gove…”

“Let me pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman for his sustained effort on, and interest in, these issues. It has come at some personal cost; he has received criticism from foreign Governments. He is an example to us all in this Chamber in his willingness to speak up for human rights without fear or favour. On his poin…”

“Notwithstanding the concerns that have been expressed in the Chamber about the existing statutory framework, we need to send a clear and unequivocal signal that no company in the United Kingdom that operates under the existing statutory framework should have any forced labour whatsoever in its supply chain. There are a…”

“It is important to draw a distinction between the legislative approach taken by some jurisdictions, which have named countries and provinces where there is abuse of human rights, and the statutory foundation for the way that British business is expected to conduct itself, not least in relation to modern slavery and thr…”