Speeches by Doughty.

“I will say a little introduction and pass to Jane, who has been part of some of the important discussions on this. We secured agreement on the first CCAMLR marine protected area in 2009 and we supported the Ross Sea region MPA designation in 2016. We have continued to advocate for a network of MPAs within the CCAMLR co…”

“We remain huge supporters of the Blue Belt Programme. Indeed, we discussed this at the Joint Ministerial Council with the overseas territories leaders just a few weeks ago, and we have been encouraging further sign-ups. As you know, all government spending is part of the spending review processes, and it is not for me …”

“I will defer to Jane. She was in the conversation just a few minutes ago.”

“Specifically on plastics?”

“I might add that when you look at, for example, the impact on emperor penguin colonies, the low sea ice cover in 2022 resulted in the total breeding failure of four out of five of the emperor penguin colonies. We see a very direct and immediate impact on key species that we all want to see protected.”

“That is absolutely the process that was undertaken and, again, I point out that this was a process we launched on day one. We considered the evidence, took a decision, and it led to the suspension of a number of the licences. That is a clear material difference, so that is a line being crossed and a decision being take…”

“Again, it is that absence of understanding the intent and decision-making process on the other side. I should just say, on the World Central Kitchen incident, that it was utterly appalling. We said so. The Foreign Secretary is obviously engaged with the families of the British aid workers who lost their lives in that i…”

“Without that full picture—without understanding what was going on on the other side—you cannot have that definitive judgment. That is the difficulty. It does not get away from the horror or the evidence that you see before you that we can all see with our own eyes. That is very much what we reflected when we spoke abou…”

“Assessment 9 is currently underway. It is about to report, and be considered in due course by Ministers, and then obviously the findings of that will be taken in due course. There has obviously been assessment 7, which was the one that triggered the 2 September suspension decision. That concluded between 25 April and 1…”

“The dates I have here are that it took place between 20 June and 31 July, and the licensing submissions were on 2 October.”

“Well, we all have very serious concerns, and we have all seen what we have seen in this Committee. But as I said, there is a technicality here about the way the assessments are done, and the way in which those then inform. As I said, the actual outcome of this is the same; the licences were suspended.”

“Maybe Lord Coaker wants to say something about the RAF flights.”

“We consider a wide range of information. Lord Coaker has already answered on the specific point about the purpose of the RAF flights. We consider all information from the United Nations, NGOs, media reporting, open-source information—all these factors are considered.”

“We consider the important role of the ICC and the ICJ as we would any other evidence. The ICJ has not come to a definitive judgment on this. Obviously, it would inform any future processes. We weigh that in the same way that we do all the other evidence that is there, and we take their roles very, very seriously.”

“On 2 September, the Foreign Secretary informed the House very clearly that the Government have rigorously followed every stage of the process that the previous Conservative Government established. On 2 September, we also published a summary of the IHL assessment process to allow for greater transparency on our decision…”

“Yes. The approach to applying criterion 2c draws on the framework upheld in previous litigation, and that gathers information from a wide range of sources. That includes information reporting from NGOs on the ground, reports from other FCDO desks, reports from the media, statements from the UN, NGOs and so on, and repo…”

“I obviously cannot comment on the process and ways that the previous Government conducted it, and I am not privy to the document.”

“No.”

“And we followed the criteria exactly as set out in the SELC criteria.”

“All that is balanced.”