Speeches by Falconer.

“I remind the House that I have announced three waves of sanctions in relation to settlements in the west bank. I have announced sanctions on both Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir—the two politicians in the Israeli Government that colleagues from across the House have most often referred to in their understandable concerns a…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his kind opening remarks. It is easy, with so much going on, to lose sight of the individual cases in these conflicts, and meeting some of the children that we have medically evacuated is a truly humbling reminder not only of the horror of war and what is happening in Gaza, but of the power o…”

“My hon. Friend makes important points. The dual use list, which restricts aid into Gaza, is clearly having very significant humanitarian effects, as it covers a wide range of items, including the shelter items he describes. It has also had an adverse effect on the ability to ensure even the rudiments of health provisio…”

“As with the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), I will resist the temptation to be drawn into speculative questions, but let me just be clear that the west bank is considered Palestinian territory, and Israeli goods must be labelled as being produced within green line Israel if they are to benefit…”

“Let me say a little bit about the 19 settlements that were announced. I condemned them immediately. I have sanctioned the Minister in question—I announced it in June—Minister Smotrich, who is completely committed politically to opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state. As I announced in my statement, today we …”

“My predecessor is knowledgeable on these questions and invites me to comment on a speculative proposal about what would happen should the Iranian Government fall in response to the protests. I have learned in this job not to make predictions or speculate in that way. All I will say is that the status of Iran’s nuclear …”

“I know that my hon. Friend has written to the Foreign Secretary and I on those questions, and I will respond fully to that letter. She knows that the Government are deeply concerned by the expansion in settlements and the violence associated with it. That is why we joined our E4 colleagues—France, Germany and Italy—in …”

“We have talked at some length before about the actions we have taken, including sanctions against two Israeli Ministers. I will not, for reasons I have already alluded to, speculate on sanctions from the Dispatch Box. On the questions about aid, it is absolutely incontrovertible that we have made tough decisions in rel…”

“In the spirit of Christmas, I will not respond to allegations of betrayal. I suspect that Conservative Members will want to chunter throughout this discussion, but they might remind themselves who started these negotiations and on what basis. No doubt they will wish throughout this session to focus on transfer of sover…”

“On 22 May the Diego Garcia treaty was signed and laid before the House. As the Defence Secretary told the House on the day of signature, the treaty secures the strategically important UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The base is essential to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping Br…”

“I appreciate the question. In my own time overseas, and indeed in Africa, I saw the vital work that church groups do. It was the bishops in South Sudan who performed some of the most important peace mediation work. Just last night I met Christian groups operating in the Holy Land as well. We are conscious of the vital …”

“In relation to the UN report, I am sure that it will be discussed on Third Reading, when the House of Lords further considers the treaty, and again in this House if that is where it returns. On the trust fund, the written ministerial statement yesterday set out the position of the Mauritian Government. There will be fu…”

“I wonder if the hon. and learned Gentleman accepts all the UN findings—for example in relation to Gaza or UNRWA. There is a wide range of different UN bodies with different responsibilities. The UN Secretary-General himself welcomed the agreement between the UK and Mauritius. This further report by a UN body will no do…”

“I am confused whether I am or am not to follow the example of those on the Opposition Benches. My understanding was that Boris Johnson offered large quantities of money to Mauritius, absent negotiations, to try to make this all go away. That did not work. Negotiations were then opened with sovereignty at their heart. I…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I will ensure he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.”

“As colleagues across the House will know, there is a range of views across the Chagossian community. I am not familiar with the Government in exile in any great detail, but I suspect that there is a whole range of views among Chagossians here in the UK, in Mauritius and elsewhere. The relevant Minister has been closely…”

“I thank my constituency neighbour for that question. The UK negotiations with the Mauritian Government have had the wishes of the Chagossian people very much at their heart. Some of the elements that I laid out in my response to the shadow Foreign Secretary are responses very much to the Chagossians themselves, includi…”

“These issues have been discussed at some length. Mauritius is obviously an important partner for us. I will leave it to the relevant Minister to provide a fuller commentary about the state of its relations with China.”

“I addressed the questions of Russia and China somewhat in my previous answer, but let me reassure the shadow Foreign Secretary how central those issues of conflict are to us. I travelled to Libya in recent months, where, as she knows, Russia has been active, particularly in the west. The Wagner Group may have been rena…”

“The hon. Gentleman will know that I have been asked an urgent question about the trust fund. That is what I have come prepared to talk about. I am sure that the relevant Minister, in the plenty of opportunities he has had before and no doubt the House will give him again, will answer further questions about the UN repo…”