Speeches by Foord.

“Are there any exceptions to this doctrine of Head of State immunity?”

“What should we make, then, of the assertions from the United States that Maduro’s presidency is not legitimate?”

“Do you have anything to add on that question, Professor Tzanakopoulos?”

“Can we move on to immunity and the doctrine of Head of State immunity? Does President Maduro enjoy immunity from legal proceedings by virtue of being a Head of State?”

“Could this set a precedent? In particular, are we seeing customary international law change because of that lack of reaction from the rest of the international community?”

“On the international reaction to the operation, what implications are there for international law on the use of force in the reaction that we saw—or didn’t see?”

“Professor Tzanakopoulos, do you have anything to add?”

“What we have seen is that the United States has justified the action in terms of its own domestic law enforcement. What is the significance of the US not having sought to justify the operation in terms of international law? Can I put that first to Professor Dill?”

“The Epstein files suggest that Lord Mandelson was prepared to lobby in the United States in 2009 for a policy position in contradiction to that of Her Majesty’s Government, in which he was then serving as Business Secretary. Will this revelation encourage the Government to find out whether Lord Mandelson lobbied agains…”

“In 2023, the Intelligence and Security Committee reported: “The UK’s academic institutions provide a rich feeding ground for China to achieve both political influence and economic advantage”. Was interference in UK universities raised with President Xi?”

“It is an honour to serve under you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Ukraine and who has advocated daily for Ukraine ever since the full-scale invasion. The hon. Gentleman talked about Stalin, an…”

“I commend the hon. Member on securing this debate. On the point about beavers, this week we have had massive flooding in the west country, in Dorset and in Devon. I am hearing from farmers in my patch who agreed to have beavers released into rivers on their farmland that there are complications. Does he agree that cann…”

“On the point about distributing funding across the country, does the Minister recognise that, under the current high needs block system, a pupil in Westminster receives £2,800, whereas a pupil in Devon receives less than half that amount? When designing the new system, would she ensure that it is less of a postcode lot…”

“Q5. The Met Office reports that climate change is driving wetter winters, but the United States withdrew from the Paris climate agreement yesterday, on the same day that much of the west country disappeared under floodwater. My part of Devon is submerged, and needs better flood defences. Would the Deputy Prime Minister…”

“It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. As of March 2025, nearly nine in 10 London councils were rated good or outstanding for children’s services. By contrast, in the south-west of England, the figure is barely half that. Children’s services in Devon have faced serious challenges over recent years …”

“The hon. Gentleman plainly knows a great deal about this subject and is educating a few of us on it. He talks about the US example; could he also reflect on the European Union regulatory regime around ESG, given that the EU is about to start investing considerably more in defence?”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. His situation is similar to ours: in Devon, it is reckoned that those profiteering companies make a complete packet. Local Government Association analysis suggests that 20 of the largest independent children’s social care providers in England took in about £1.6 billion in fees in 202…”

“Chris, you talked about how this could be really quite difficult if the Lebanese armed forces seek to remove and decommission weapons from Hezbollah. Elsewhere, where we have seen a monopoly on armed force and violence in pursuit of stability, that has happened because there has been an integration of militias and figh…”

“Joanna Watson runs the Elizabeth hotel and the Kingswood hotel in Sidmouth. She is essentially facing a 20% rise in her business rate costs. Joanna’s bills do not reflect what she earns; they stay high all year round, even though there are months like these in winter when income completely collapses. The Government leg…”

“3. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on the hospitality sector.”