Speeches by Thornberry.

“I read with alarm yesterday’s report in The Washington Post detailing a plan for the future of Gaza that is circulating among the Trump Administration. They call it the “GREAT” plan. It proposes the total transformation of Gaza into a tourist region—a high-tech hub under temporary US administration. What is going to ha…”

“In essence, it has been increased, but not by enough.”

“No one can deny that our relations with the Europeans are a lot better than they were a year ago. They are much warmer. We have had the state visit of Macron, we have had Chancellor Merz and his new treaty, we have the E3 and we have a European summit that was a great success. Since we are on a roll, what are we going …”

“What would a better relationship with the European Union look like, in terms of defence?”

“Can I ask you about something else in relation to defence? I think we have to ask you about that shocking data breach on Afghanistan. Do you think that there was a better way in which the previous Government could have dealt with the data breach? Do you think that a super-injunction was the right way?”

“Earlier today, 31 countries put out a powerful message: the war must end now, aid must go into Gaza unrestricted, the hostages must be released, and all parties must uphold international law. That powerful message was sent to Israel, and by return it was rejected. It was denounced by Israel as being “disconnected from …”

“I am grateful to the ministerial team for my early briefing, which gave me an opportunity to read a Foreign Affairs Committee report that came out—it was begun in September 2021—in 2022 under the chairmanship of the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat). It is called “Missing in action: UK leadership and the …”

“I spent the first 20 years of my professional life in the criminal courts as a barrister. There is no one who loves the criminal justice system, or who has more respect for juries, than I do. However, the courts now are not what they were. The delays are so appalling that defendants just plead “not guilty”, because the…”

“I wonder whether the Minister might be able to help us. We had before us the Iranian ambassador, who made it clear that he wanted to be able to continue to negotiate. Given the way in which the joint comprehensive plan of action fell apart and the fact that the Iranians were in the middle of negotiating when there was …”

“I wonder whether the right hon. Lady could help the House. During the 14 years when the Conservatives were in power, when was the time that the benefits system worked well?”

“In the year since the election of this Labour Government, Britain is back as a force for good on the world stage. Following the outbreak of conflict in the middle east last week, I was proud to see the Prime Minister lead calls for calm, cool heads and de-escalation. In its aftermath, we must take seriously the renewed…”

“Our relationship with China is most definitely a difficult one. On the one hand, it is our third biggest trading partner, but on the other hand, the national security strategy, on page 35, says that there is an increase in espionage, China is undermining our economic security and interfering in our democracy, and that …”

“In the absence of the published China audit, which we have all been looking forward to so much, the national security strategy has been gone through with a fine-toothed comb by many of us. On China, it states: “Instances of China’s espionage, interference in our democracy and the undermining of our economic security ha…”

“We must not forget Gaza. Despite the eyes of the world now being turned to the Iran-Israel war, it is important that we continue to remember the suffering of the Gazans and continue to move on it. As a witness from Médecins Sans Frontières said to my Committee, there is “lethal chaos” in Gaza. There is one read-across …”

“The only way to stop Iran building a nuclear bomb is a deal, but there cannot be a deal without negotiations and there cannot be negotiations without trust. President Trump tore up the first nuclear deal and is now acting alongside Israel, and its attack last week ended the US-Iran negotiations for a new nuclear deal. …”

“Thank you very much for having us—it is great to appear in front of you. I will just address the first issue. I know that Departments that have not had a debate before are given preference over those that have had one, and we have had a debate—I accept that. However, the Foreign Office has got quite a lot on its plate.…”

“We do not. We are working all the time, Chair. We don’t just sit on one day.”

“It is completely understandable that Israel feels threatened by a bellicose neighbour with uranium mines and a nuclear programme, but the rest of the world is unanimous in saying that the way to deal with Iran is through discussion, negotiation and a nuclear agreement. There once was such a deal, thanks to the extraord…”

“Will the Minister please convey the gratitude of this House to the Foreign Office staff and the police officers who have had such difficult work to do on behalf of us all? Public service can be very hard sometimes, but we are very grateful.”

“I have to admit that when Brexit happened, I thought that the problem of Gibraltar would be so difficult that I really did not see how we would ever get over it. It is a tribute to the flair, the flexibility and the fraternity on display on all four sides of the negotiations that the Foreign Secretary has been able to …”