1-20 of 1,052 results for primarymember:"Douglas Alexander"
Librarians' tools
- Search time
- 0.308 seconds
- Solr query time
- 0.004 seconds
- Search query
- primarymember:"Douglas Alexander"
- We searched for
- primaryMember_ses:298817
Type
House
Session
Year
Department
More
Member
More
Primary member
Answering member
More
Legislative stage
Legislation
More
Subject
More
Publisher
Motion to consider. Agreed to on question.
Motion to consider. Agreed to on question.
Statement on a deal has been announced by the Prime Minister and President Trump. Motion this House do now adjourn. Agreed to on question.
Statement on a deal has been announced by the Prime Minister and President Trump. Motion this House do now adjourn. Agreed to on question.
Statement on the progress that this Government have made towards a UK-India trade deal.
Statement on the progress that this Government have made towards a UK-India trade deal.
We know that this will be a concerning time for businesses in Scotland; in 2024, 127.3% of goods exported from Scotland were to the US. That is why the government has been focused on negotiating an economic deal with the US and we remain committed to these discussions.
The...
We know that this will be a concerning time for businesses in Scotland; in 2024, 127.3% of goods exported from Scotland were to the US. That is why the government has been focused on negotiating an economic deal with the US and we remain committed to these discussions.
The...
Committee stage. Clauses 1 and 2 agreed to. Bill reported without amendment. King's consent signified. Third reading agreed to on question. Bill passed.
Committee stage. Clauses 1 and 2 agreed to. Bill reported without amendment. King's consent signified. Third reading agreed to on question. Bill passed.
US Steel Import Tariffs
The following extract is from the urgent question on US steel import tariffs on 11 February 2025.
Donald Trump’s tariffs will cause much uncertainty across the world, not least for those working in our great British steel industry. Tariffs are not just bad news for UK steel producers;...
US Steel Import Tariffs
The following extract is from the urgent question on US steel import tariffs on 11 February 2025.
Donald Trump’s tariffs will cause much uncertainty across the world, not least for those working in our great British steel industry. Tariffs are not just bad news for UK steel producers;...
None of our partner governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have requested a collective UK-SADC FTA. There are two customs unions within the SADC grouping, which our existing agreements aim to align with.
Our UK-Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is with Botswana, Eswatini,...
None of our partner governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have requested a collective UK-SADC FTA. There are two customs unions within the SADC grouping, which our existing agreements aim to align with.
Our UK-Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is with Botswana, Eswatini,...
Motion to consider. Agreed to on question.
Motion to consider. Agreed to on question.
DBT engaged with UK Hospitality as part of a budget briefing call with retail, hospitality and small business representatives held on 4th November. The department also engages very regularly with UK Hospitality, through the Hospitality Sector Council, addressing strategic issues on areas including high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and...
DBT engaged with UK Hospitality as part of a budget briefing call with retail, hospitality and small business representatives held on 4th November. The department also engages very regularly with UK Hospitality, through the Hospitality Sector Council, addressing strategic issues on areas including high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and...
Last year, 2014, was dominated by news of horrendous violence against those of different faiths, from Boko Haram abducting Christian girls in Nigeria to the attacks by ISIL against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities within Iraq. In the light of those developments, does the Foreign Secretary agree that a global envoy for religious freedom, reporting to the Foreign Secretary should be appointed? If this Government choose to act, we will support them; if they do not, a Labour Government will act.
Last year, 2014, was dominated by news of horrendous violence against those of different faiths, from Boko Haram abducting Christian girls in Nigeria to the attacks by ISIL against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities within Iraq. In the light of those developments, does the Foreign Secretary agree that a global envoy for religious freedom, reporting to the Foreign Secretary should be appointed? If this Government choose to act, we will support them; if they do not, a Labour Government will act.
Our general approach is to try to get things done using the mechanisms we have. We have an extensive diplomatic network around the world, and we have large amounts of soft power at our disposal, including the leverage that our large aid budget gives us. I do not think simply creating new posts and ticking a box delivers in the way the right hon. Gentleman and the previous Government seem to think it will.
I certainly echo the sentiment of the Foreign Secretary’s final remarks. At this difficult and dangerous moment, it is vital that Europe and NATO stand united in ensuring that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. However, may I bring him back to his remarks about tier 3 sanctions? Does he believe that new EU restrictive measures should be on the table at the next European Council meeting, as opposed simply to the roll-over and extension of existing measures that he described in his answer?
I certainly echo the sentiment of the Foreign Secretary’s final remarks. At this difficult and dangerous moment, it is vital that Europe and NATO stand united in ensuring that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. However, may I bring him back to his remarks about tier 3 sanctions? Does he believe that new EU restrictive measures should be on the table at the next European Council meeting, as opposed simply to the roll-over and extension of existing measures that he described in his answer?
The European Commission has been tasked to look at a menu of possible additional measures that could be taken. As I have indicated, I think that we need two tools. We need an extension of the existing tier 3 measures through to the end of December. Putin
has been telling oligarchs around Moscow that the sanctions will be over by the end of July: “Just hold your breath and it’ll all be fine.” We need to show him that that will not be the case. Alongside that, we need a credible set of options that we can implement immediately if there is a failure to comply with milestones in the Minsk implementation agreement or a serious further outbreak of conflict in the region.
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s answer, but let me return to the appalling murder of Boris Nemtsov on Saturday in Moscow, to which he has referred. Clearly, the priority needs to be a thorough and impartial investigation into the murder. President Putin has a personal responsibility to show that the Russian authorities are willing and able to identify Mr Nemtsov’s killers and to bring them to justice. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm whether he has raised this matter with the Russian authorities, and give his assessment of the steps that have been taken by the Russian authorities to begin investigating the case?
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s answer, but let me return to the appalling murder of Boris Nemtsov on Saturday in Moscow, to which he has referred. Clearly, the priority needs to be a thorough and impartial investigation into the murder. President Putin has a personal responsibility to show that the Russian authorities are willing and able to identify Mr Nemtsov’s killers and to bring them to justice. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm whether he has raised this matter with the Russian authorities, and give his assessment of the steps that have been taken by the Russian authorities to begin investigating the case?
We have heard a lot of noise from Moscow, but we have not yet seen any serious action. The omens are not promising. I heard just this morning that some countries’ intended high-level delegations to the funeral have not been able to obtain Russian visas. That probably tells us all we need to know.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2015, Official Report, column 79, whether he met the Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister; and with whom he has discussed the case of Raif Badawi.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2015, Official Report, column 79, whether he met the Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister; and with whom he has discussed the case of Raif Badawi.
Due to the late King’s ill health at the time, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not attend the Counter ISIL meeting in London as had been planned. Instead, I raised the case of Raif Badawi with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to London, as the most senior member of the Saudi delegation, at the inaugural meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, on 22 January.
The Minister is absolutely right to pay tribute to the neighbouring countries of the Syrian conflict, Jordan and the Lebanon, for the extraordinary work that they have done in receiving a huge population of refugees as a consequence of the conflict. On the point about the UN food vouchers, given the reports last week of the value of those food vouchers having been cut as well as the importance of ensuring the availability of vouchers, what further steps are the British Government taking to encourage international partners to provide a level of resource needed by the United Nations to meet the humanitarian crisis?
The Minister is absolutely right to pay tribute to the neighbouring countries of the Syrian conflict, Jordan and the Lebanon, for the extraordinary work that they have done in receiving a huge population of refugees as a consequence of the conflict. On the point about the UN food vouchers, given the reports last week of the value of those food vouchers having been cut as well as the importance of ensuring the availability of vouchers, what further steps are the British Government taking to encourage international partners to provide a level of resource needed by the United Nations to meet the humanitarian crisis?
Given the right hon. Gentleman’s previous job, I know that this is a matter that is close to him as well. As I have said, I raised that issue in meetings with the United Nations representatives both in Lebanon and in Jordan. I was assured that, for the moment, the funding streams are in place. It might be helpful if I get a colleague from DFID to write to him with an update.
In these exchanges, we have already heard of the importance of the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Jordan. Beyond the very welcome humanitarian support that is being provided to refugees in Jordan and the Lebanon, what specific additional support is being provided to Jordan to maintain stability within that country given that a significant number of refugees are not in camps such as Zaatari, but with host populations?
In these exchanges, we have already heard of the importance of the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Jordan. Beyond the very welcome humanitarian support that is being provided to refugees in Jordan and the Lebanon, what specific additional support is being provided to Jordan to maintain stability within that country given that a significant number of refugees are not in camps such as Zaatari, but with host populations?
We are adopting a number of initiatives to support a country that has already been described as being very, very close to Britain. The Secretary of State has met his counterpart to look at improvements to the security situation, and I have visited Zaatari, the biggest refugee camp. We are not simply pouring money into the area, but funding support for the local towns that feel the burden of having large numbers of Syrians coming into their area. We are providing support to the
Jordanian towns in the area as well so that they do no feel so burdened with what is happening in the north part of Jordan.
I have written to the Foreign Secretary raising the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for the content of his blog. I am still awaiting a reply. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary mentioned the importance of effective channels of communication to the Saudis. Does that include him? Would he tell the House whether he has raised this matter directly with the Saudi Government?
I have written to the Foreign Secretary raising the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for the content of his blog. I am still awaiting a reply. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary mentioned the importance of effective channels of communication to the Saudis. Does that include him? Would he tell the House whether he has raised this matter directly with the Saudi Government?
As I said earlier, we deplore this punishment—we deplore the use of corporal punishment in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere—but we have found in the past that the best way of influencing Saudi behaviour is to message them privately through the many channels available to us. The deputy Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia—the Foreign Minister is undergoing medical treatment—will be in London on Thursday, and I shall speak to him directly on this issue. We have already made our views known to the Saudi authorities at the highest level.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met Dr Husn Banu Ghazanfar, the Afghan Minister for Women's Affairs.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met Dr Husn Banu Ghazanfar, the Afghan Minister for Women's Affairs.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next expects the Friends of Syria Group to meet.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next expects the Friends of Syria Group to meet.
The Core Group of the Friends of Syria countries (UK, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and United Arab Emirates – also known as the London 11) meets at regular intervals at both senior official and ministerial level. The UK is a leading member and the group most recently met at senior official level on 10 November 2014 in London. There are currently no fixed plans for a next meeting but the group will reconvene when it is appropriate to do so. The group remains committed to helping end the long-running Syrian crisis.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests the UK has received for additional support from the Kurdistan regional government.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests the UK has received for additional support from the Kurdistan regional government.
The UK remains committed to the stability and security of Iraq. To date we have provided substantial support to the Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities to combat the ISIL threat, including airstrikes, Intelligence, surveillance and targeting support, training and lethal and non-lethal military equipment.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) submit formal requests for assistance to the international coordination cell in Erbil, the Organisation for Security Cooperation Iraq (OSC-I), on a weekly basis.
We continue to look at ways in which we can support Kurdish forces, in coordination with the federal government of Iraq, and consider additional requests for equipment or training as they are received.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the interception of Russian aircraft by NATO forces over the Baltic.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the interception of Russian aircraft by NATO forces over the Baltic.
The UK has made no direct representations to the government of Russia on this issue. We strongly support recent comments made by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General Stoltenberg calling on Russia to obey the norms of international air traffic. On 2 December NATO Foreign Ministers also agreed on the need to maintain contact through NATO/Russia military channels to help ensure that Russian military flights, or naval activities, do not give rise to unintended accidents or escalation.