Backbench debate on Thursday, 25 January 2018, in the House of Commons, led by Joan Ryan. The answering members were Ben Wallace and Nick Thomas-Symonds.

Proscription of Hezbollah

Motion that this House believes that Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation driven by an antisemitic ideology that seeks the destruction of Israel; notes that Hezbollah declares itself to be one organisation without distinguishable political or military wings; is concerned that the military wing of that organisation is proscribed, but its political wing is not; and calls on the Government to include Hezbollah in its entirety on the list of proscribed organisations. Agreed to on question.

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 635 cc477-514
Session: 2017-19
Department: Home Office
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Proscription of Hezbollah
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Research briefings
Proceeding contributions: Joan Ryan | 635 c478 (Link to this contribution)
I beg to move,
That this House believes that Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation driven b...; Mike Gapes | 635 c478 (Link to this contribution)
I am pleased that my right hon. Friend is bringing this issue to the House. I do not know whether...; Joan Ryan | 635 cc478-9 (Link to this contribution)
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend and I thank him for that intervention, which I take as 100...; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 635 c479 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Lady is making a powerful speech. Does she agree that the 1,000 or so people who m...; Joan Ryan | 635 c479 (Link to this contribution)
I agree with the hon. Gentleman and thank him for that intervention. He is completely right to sa...; Graham Stringer | 635 c479 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend is making a powerful case. Does she agree that, as well as being anti-Semiti...; Joan Ryan | 635 c479 (Link to this contribution)
I have no difficulty agreeing with my hon. Friend on that point. Hezbollah has killed probably mo...; Jack Lopresti | 635 c480 (Link to this contribution)
I just want to highlight the backers of Hezbollah, the Iranians, who provide training and weapons...; Joan Ryan | 635 cc480-1 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point with which I absolutely agree. I will come to it a litt...; Lord Spellar | 635 c481 (Link to this contribution)
Do not the various elements that my right hon. Friend is describing show the indivisible nature o...; Joan Ryan | 635 c481 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is a distinction that Hezbollah not only does not re...; Lord Walney | 635 c481 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend is making a powerful case and we are grateful to her for bringing this to th...; Joan Ryan | 635 c481 (Link to this contribution)
I agree with my hon. Friend. I am hoping that both Front-Bench teams will take note of my speech ...; Matthew Offord | 635 c482 (Link to this contribution)
Is the right hon. Lady aware of the ComRes poll showing that 81% of the public want Hezbollah pro...; Joan Ryan | 635 c482 (Link to this contribution)
Obviously—unless the Labour Front-Bench team is agreeing with my position—we have a difference of...; Nick Boles | 635 c482 (Link to this contribution)
It is so great to see you back in your seat, Mr Deputy Speaker. I hot-tailed it from my office in...; Joan Ryan | 635 cc482-3 (Link to this contribution)
Well said—I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation and i...; Tom Tugendhat | 635 c483 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Lady’s passion and clarity on this issue are absolutely right. I agree that it is ...; Joan Ryan | 635 cc483-4 (Link to this contribution)
Absolutely. The hon. Gentleman is right. Those Governments that do proscribe Hezbollah in its ent...; 635 c484 (Link to this contribution); Lindsay Hoyle | 635 c484 (Link to this contribution)
Order. I suggest an informal time limit of around 10 minutes to 12 minutes.
2.55 pm; Theresa Villiers | 635 cc484-6 (Link to this contribution)
It is an honour to follow the right hon. Member for Enfield North (Joan Ryan), because she made a...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c485 (Link to this contribution)
It is absolutely fantastic to see you back in the Chair, Mr Deputy Speaker.
I congratulate ...; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 635 c487 (Link to this contribution)
We have heard in the past that proscribing Hezbollah might somehow destabilise Lebanon and the wi...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c487 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is right about that. It is a point that my right hon. Friend the Member for En...; Lord Walney | 635 c487 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent case, as he always does. Does he agree that it is also impo...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c487 (Link to this contribution)
In Lebanon and Israel, in Syria and Yemen, Hezbollah is causing carnage. That is its stated aim.<...; Jack Lopresti | 635 c487 (Link to this contribution)
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, as others have said, one of the best ways of defeating Hezbol...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 cc488-9 (Link to this contribution)
That is correct, and the point was made eloquently by the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee ...; David Jones | 635 cc489-491 (Link to this contribution)
May I say, too, how very pleased I am, Mr Deputy Speaker, to see you in the Chair today? I congra...; Nick Boles | 635 c491 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend is making a persuasive speech. Does he agree that it would be as absurd to s...; David Jones | 635 cc491-2 (Link to this contribution)
I agree with my hon. Friend, who is entirely right. More to the point, Hezbollah itself agrees wi...; Louise Ellman | 635 cc492-3 (Link to this contribution)
It is a great privilege to follow so many excellent contributions from all parts of the House. I ...; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 635 c493 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady is making a very powerful speech. It is also worth pointing out that the march was ...; Louise Ellman | 635 cc493-4 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. I will refer to the Grenfell Tower disaster in a...; Matthew Offord | 635 c494 (Link to this contribution)
I, too, have met the Metropolitan police, including Pat Gallan, who informed me that the Met had ...; Louise Ellman | 635 c494 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman makes a good point that should be pursued. My discussions with the Metropolita...; Matthew Offord | 635 cc494-5 (Link to this contribution)
I apologise for ducking out of the debate earlier. I wanted to sign the book commemorating Holoca...; Bob Stewart | 635 c496 (Link to this contribution)
Hezbollah is appalling and I would very much like to see it banned. Only one argument might say t...; Matthew Offord | 635 c496 (Link to this contribution)
I am not in favour of banning things, I have to say. But the hurt, resentment, agitation and gene...; Joan Ryan | 635 c496 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech, which I agree with. I should just say that in res...; Matthew Offord | 635 cc496-7 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Lady has made a really good point, and I want to respond; I am grateful that she t...; Sharon Hodgson | 635 cc497-8 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Joan Ryan) for securing this important...; Jim Shannon | 635 cc498-500 (Link to this contribution)
It is always a pleasure to speak in this House, but especially on this issue. It is a pleasure to...; Bob Stewart | 635 c499 (Link to this contribution)
Please do not think that I support Hezbollah. All I say is that there might be some reason that w...; Jim Shannon | 635 c499 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the hon. and gallant Gentleman for his intervention, but let us make the position clear t...; Joan Ryan | 635 c499 (Link to this contribution)
I should like to clarify this point. Most members of the armed forces cannot comment on these iss...; Jim Shannon | 635 cc499-501 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the right hon. Lady for her intervention. In a moment, I will give the House an example o...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c501 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is right to quote Richard Kemp. I refer him to Lord Dannatt, the former Chief ...; Jim Shannon | 635 c501 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention and for putting on record that extra evidential ...; Matthew Offord | 635 c501 (Link to this contribution)
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that a consequence of the Iranian nuclear deal is that money is goi...; Jim Shannon | 635 cc501-2 (Link to this contribution)
I agree absolutely with the hon. Gentleman. I commend him for his contributions in this House, an...; Theresa Villiers | 635 c502 (Link to this contribution)
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that extending proscription in the way that pretty much every Membe...; Jim Shannon | 635 c502 (Link to this contribution)
If we starve Hezbollah of its funds, we will take away the blood that it needs to exist. It is im...; David Jones | 635 c502 (Link to this contribution)
Does the hon. Gentleman agree, however, that although we require the complete proscription of Hez...; Jim Shannon | 635 c502 (Link to this contribution)
I fully endorse the right hon. Gentleman’s sentiments. It is clear to me and, I think, everyone i...; Stuart C McDonald | 635 cc502-4 (Link to this contribution)
This has been a passionate but thoughtful debate, and I congratulate the right hon. Member for En...; Nick Thomas-Symonds | 635 cc503-5 (Link to this contribution)
First, I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for agreeing to the application led by m...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c505 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is completely right to say that his member of staff’s email address should not be ...; Nick Thomas-Symonds | 635 c505 (Link to this contribution)
indicated assent.; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c505 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is completely right about that, but I am concerned about some of its contents. Giv...; Nick Thomas-Symonds | 635 c506 (Link to this contribution)
I will make two points to my hon. Friend. First, when briefings are prepared, they tend to focus ...; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 635 c506 (Link to this contribution)
Can the hon. Gentleman give an example of when not proscribing the whole of Hezbollah has in any ...; Nick Thomas-Symonds | 635 c506 (Link to this contribution)
To ask about what would have happened had the whole organisation been proscribed is clearly count...; Theresa Villiers | 635 c506 (Link to this contribution)
Hezbollah is a violent, genocidal terrorist organisation dedicated to the destruction of the stat...; Nick Thomas-Symonds | 635 c506 (Link to this contribution)
Nobody supports terrible, violent, barbaric acts; we simply look at the situation as it is and tr...; David Jones | 635 c506 (Link to this contribution)
It was, of course, a Labour Government in 2008 who drew the distinction between the military and ...; Nick Thomas-Symonds | 635 cc506-7 (Link to this contribution)
I have heard a number of speakers make the point about the links. I simply observe that their act...; Ben Wallace | 635 cc507-8 (Link to this contribution)
I congratulate hon. and right hon. Members, including the right hon. Member for Enfield North (Jo...; David Jones | 635 c508 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend says that it is not the view of every country and every security service tha...; Ben Wallace | 635 c508 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend makes a valid point, but he must recognise that it is difficult to separate ...; Lord Austin of Dudley | 635 c508 (Link to this contribution)
The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tug...; Ben Wallace | 635 c508 (Link to this contribution)
With all due respect, I disagree with my hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee. I visited...; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 635 c508 (Link to this contribution)
I have a simple question: does the Minister believe that the United States has any difficulty eng...; Ben Wallace | 635 c508 (Link to this contribution)
The United States finds it harder to engage with Lebanon than does the United Kingdom. I visited ...; Jim Shannon | 635 c509 (Link to this contribution)
Will the Minister give way?; Ben Wallace | 635 c509 (Link to this contribution)
No. I should press on before giving way.
The Government do not condone any terrorist activi...; Matthew Offord | 635 c509 (Link to this contribution)
Let me cut through the rhetoric and ask a simple question: what does the Minister think is the mo...; Ben Wallace | 635 c509 (Link to this contribution)
I am not going to speak on behalf of protestors walking down Oxford Street whom I have never met....; Jim Shannon | 635 c510 (Link to this contribution)
I am reminded of the analogy of the Siamese twins. The two twins are the Hezbollah of politics an...; Ben Wallace | 635 c510 (Link to this contribution)
With due respect to the hon. Gentleman, we take action against Hezbollah and non-Hezbollah actors...; Louise Ellman | 635 c510 (Link to this contribution)
I gave examples of hate speech on our streets, but it appears that the police are reluctant or un...; Ben Wallace | 635 cc510-1 (Link to this contribution)
On the hon. Lady’s first point, it is not acceptable if the police or CPS do not take action when...; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 635 c511 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for giving way again. The Government have their reasons—I cannot understand ...; Ben Wallace | 635 cc511-2 (Link to this contribution)
I hear what my hon. Friend is saying. There are lots of reasons, but perhaps I can offer the Hous...; Matthew Offord | 635 c512 (Link to this contribution)
That is all very well about Lebanon, but my concern is the constituents of Hendon, when they cann...; Ben Wallace | 635 c512 (Link to this contribution)
I have listened to my hon. Friend. First, the people of this country will not be better off with ...; Matthew Offord | 635 c512 (Link to this contribution)
Then why aren’t they?; Ben Wallace | 635 cc512-3 (Link to this contribution)
Well, as I said earlier, that is a matter for the police, if people are spitting and inciting hat...; Joan Ryan | 635 cc513-4 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this debate, and my hon. Friend the Member ...
Subjects: Crime Armed conflict Proscribed organisations Terrorism Israel Antisemitism Iran Hezbollah Peace negotiations Lebanon
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

Proscription of Hezbollah

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