Andrew Rosindell
MP for Romford · Reform UK · United Kingdom
“I understand entirely why His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar needed a new arrangement following our departure from the European Union. Gibraltar was excluded from the trade and co-operation agreement by the last Conservative Government and left high and dry, so it needed a new arrangement.”
“I am sure that the Leader of the House will want to join the people of the Isle of Man this weekend, as they prepare to celebrate Tynwald Day on Monday. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for hosting the Tynwald day reception in Speaker’s House last night with the Chief Minister, the President of Tynwald and the Speaker of the House of Keys.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply, but he will know that my borough of Havering has the second largest number of older people in the entirety of Greater London. Nearly a quarter of my constituents are within that age bracket, and they are losing out.”
“T2. The Minister should know that although the triple lock remains in place, it is not as effective as it should be because of fiscal drag. A lot of pensioners are now paying tax, as the threshold has not been increased since 2021.”
“I feel sure that the Leader of the House will want to join me in celebrating with the people of Romford. We have a double celebration this week: Armed Forces Day, when there is a magnificent parade through the town centre with the Royal British Legion Band & Corps of Drums, ex-servicemen, cadets, and many others joining to salute our brav…”
“There is a consensus across the House that the horrific occurrences in Sudan are worthy of global attention and action well beyond what has been done so far. We spend a lot of time talking about Gaza in this Chamber, but very little time talking about Sudan, which is a far greater humanitarian crisis.”
The complete record
Every one of 608 lines we hold for Andrew Rosindell, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 13.
“Hundreds of thousands remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh, a nation that has its own international issues to overcome, while those still inside Myanmar endure what Human Rights Watch has described as apartheid-like conditions, arbitrary detention and systematic deprivation of their most basic human rights. Christians, too, often from ethnic minority communities and most starkly in Chin state, have been brutally targeted. Churches have been bombed, clergy have been killed and congregations have been forced to flee into jungles or makeshift displacement camps. Nor has Myanmar’s religious and cultural patrimony been spared, with historic cathedrals and churches damaged or destroyed in a deliberate attempt to erase identity as well as faith.”
“Independent human rights organisations such as Fortify Rights have documented deliberate aerial attacks on civilian infrastructure, including schools, churches and hospitals, in the run-up to the sham elections, blatantly indicating how systematic and widespread the military junta’s violence is. The latest report shows multiple airstrikes targeting civilian areas, many of which may constitute war crimes under international law. Muslim communities, particularly the Rohingya, continue to suffer what many have rightly described as crimes against humanity.”
“Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara) spoke about erasing identity and culture—exactly what is happening in Myanmar today—and Burmese nationalism. I think there is unity among all Members this afternoon, but there is a lot more to be said on this. Religious persecution is at the very centre of the wider conflict taking place in Myanmar. The military junta has deliberately targeted religious minorities—whether they are Muslims, Christians or others, as hon. Members this afternoon have mentioned—simply because of their faith, identity and ethnicity, which are so deeply intertwined in that country. The result is a campaign of terror that has displaced millions of innocent people and destroyed so many places of worship.”
“Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) for highlighting that the issue is not about one religion; it is about all religions that are persecuted. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians are all being persecuted, and he particularly highlighted the plight of the Rohingya. I was not aware that the hon. Member for North Durham (Luke Akehurst) had been so involved in the Burma Campaign over the years. I commend him for that. He also spoke about the appalling humanitarian crisis and the tragic failure of the global community to highlight it more seriously. We look at so many other issues going on in the world, but we rarely talk about that. The Liberal Democrat spokesman, the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), made a similar point. Finally, the hon.”
“Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) spoke about the importance of upholding the rights of religious minorities and about the need for international action in Myanmar. My right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) hit on a very important point about the motivation behind all this, so there are still questions to be answered. Why is there such severe repression against religious minorities in that country? The hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West), who served as a Minister until recently and who worked on this issue as a shadow Minister, spoke about the fragile situation on the border with Bangladesh and the importance of remembering that issue as part of the overall tragedy taking place in Myanmar. I am grateful to the hon.”
“Sadly, it is abundantly clear that the assault on the right to believe, to worship or simply to think freely is not receding. I regret to say that in many parts of the world it is intensifying, and Myanmar is the most tragic and alarming example of that. It is, sadly, a depressing way to start 2026: to hear that such tragic circumstances in a country continue in the second quarter of this century. However, I find it reassuring that today we have heard from MPs from about six different political groups who all had the common theme of wanting to see the tragedy in Myanmar end. I thank all Members who have helped to play a part in that process over many years, some of whom have spoken today. The hon.”
“It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. Like other Members, I sincerely congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this important debate and on his long-standing and tireless commitment to defending freedom of religion and belief around the world. This debate is the latest example of those efforts. Once again, he has brought before the House an issue of grave moral urgency and deep international concern, which too often escapes the sustained attention of hon. Members across this House. For that, he deserves our sincere thanks. In my capacity as a shadow foreign affairs Minister, I have stood in this very place on a number of occasions to raise the vital importance of defending freedom of religion and belief.”
“Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to all of your staff in the Speaker’s Office. I would like the Leader of the House to know that I am very concerned to hear that several police and community support officers, who are currently under transport policing command in the Metropolitan police, are being forcefully redeployed to a private contractor within Transport for London. That has caused a tremendous amount of upset for those concerned, including one of my constituents whose only other option is to resign. Will the Leader of the House consider having a broader debate on the structure of the Metropolitan police and its relationship with outside, private organisations?”
“We know that some creatures do not have to be registered if they are run over by a motor vehicle, so will the Minister consider amending the Road Traffic Act 1988 to include cats and other wild animals?”
“I welcome all efforts by the Government to make roads safer for pedestrians and motorists, but I heard nothing about roadkill of wildlife, horses, pets, and other animals that can also cause collisions involving the deaths of human beings. In my constituency, Havering-atte-Bower is a rural Essex village with a lot of horse riders. I am told that up to 700 horses have been killed on the roads in recent years, and up to 50 riders. We also have a lot of roaming deer in areas such as Harold Hill and Noak Hill. Apparently, up to 75,000 deer are killed on the roads, along with hedgehogs and other animals, so there is a lot going on with wildlife which needs to be considered.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. Does he accept that freedom of responsibility, when it comes to gambling, is exactly where we should be, rather than restricting people from taking part in activities such as greyhound racing at Romford greyhound stadium in my constituency? It is a part of our local culture and it is very important that we do not allow such places to close down because of severe restrictions from Government.”
“Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on these pressing issues, which affect the daily life of my tax-paying, law-abiding constituents in Romford?”
“Madam Deputy Speaker, may I wish you and all the staff in the Speaker’s Office a very merry Christmas, and may I thank you for all your kindness and courtesy throughout the past year? However, I must say to the Leader of the House that this Christmas, my constituents in Romford are increasingly afraid to walk through the town centre; reports of violent crime and street robbery are becoming a regular occurrence. Despite the huge precept that we pay to the Mayor of London—it is an average of £500 a year, per household—we simply do not get the police we pay for. Inner London always takes priority. Indeed, the whole Greater London region has become plagued with petty theft, shoplifting and violent crime, especially on Transport for London services.”
“Sanctuary housing has failed to deal with the issues facing the residents of the estate, where unacceptable conditions exist. That housing association has completely failed to do an effective job for the tenants who pay its wages. That is another issue that I ask the Leader of the House to raise on behalf of my constituents. Finally, the Building Safety Regulator has failed to act swiftly on cladding on the Mercury Gardens estate and the Axis estate at the back of my headquarters. It is causing unbelievable stress for the residents of flats, because they are trapped as leaseholders, unable to sell their properties until the matter is resolved. Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish you a merry Christmas. Thank you for your kindness and courtesy, and thank you to all the Speaker’s staff for all they have done over the year.”
“They include the Gallows Corner roundabout, which is a disaster because of the Mayor of London and Transport for London’s complete incompetence and failure to deal with the junction and rebuild the flyover much faster, which is affecting everybody in the Essex and east London area. We need action on that, because it is making people’s lives quite miserable. The Mayor of London is also reducing our police counter hours in Romford—all our police stations are already closed except the main one, but now the hours there are reducing. We also have a boom in HMOs—houses in multiple occupation—in Romford and across the borough of Havering. Homes are being built without the consent of local people, causing much anger and creating disruption for families in many residential streets. We also have the ongoing situation on the Oldchurch estate.”
“I bring greetings to all Members of this House from my constituents in Romford, a town that I am proud to represent in my 25th year as a Member of Parliament. Having been born and brought up in the town, I can tell the House that we are proud of our Essex roots, although we are unfortunately part of Greater London, instead of Essex. Nevertheless, we are determined to reassert our identity as a proud part of the great English county of Essex. On Friday, I will be hosting the carols round the Christmas tree for my local churches, scout groups and schools at Margaret Thatcher House in Romford. Everybody is welcome to come and celebrate our proud Christian heritage. However, we enter 2026 with a lot of issues that we are simply not happy about—the Leader of the House knows, because I raise them with him every Thursday.”
“I thank the Minister for his helpful reply, but as he knows full well violence, illegal drug dealing and escapes are on the rise in prisons, with a shocking 12% increase in breakouts across England and Wales since 2024. That is risking the safety of all our communities. Dangerous criminals are also being released in error. When will the Justice Secretary take responsibility for this utter shambles, get a grip on the situation to ensure that dangerous criminals remain locked up behind bars and do the job he is supposed to be doing to keep the British people safe?”
“Will the Leader of the House please ask the Secretary of State to make an urgent statement on the situation at Queen’s hospital? I fear that many people’s lives could be at risk at Christmas.”
“I want to urgently draw the attention of the Leader of the House to the appalling situation at the Queen’s hospital in Romford, which serves the boroughs of Redbridge, Barking, Dagenham and Havering and the wider Essex area—in fact, it is the hospital that serves the constituents of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting). The A&E unit is simply not able to cope; it is dealing with double the number of patients it was built to serve. People are lying in corridors and people’s lives are at risk—frankly, it is totally unacceptable. I have raised this matter with the Minister for Secondary Care, the hon. Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), as well as with the Secretary of State, yet nothing is happening.”
“The United Kingdom is increasingly and uniquely vulnerable to malicious cyber-activity targeting national infrastructure and democratic institutions, including Parliament itself. That poses a serious risk to our national security. Experts have warned of a critical data leak, a new scale of severe blackouts, transport disruption and even Government being brought to a halt. What action is the Minister’s Department taking to ensure that the Government are prepared and sufficiently resourced to meet this pernicious national security threat?”
“I disagree with all of this. I believe in strong local councils that are truly democratic and reflect local communities. My amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill last week was about my borough of Havering, whose identity is linked to Essex. Will this delay allow the Minister to look again at the possibility of Havering being part of Greater Essex—with certain conditions, I accept—and not part of Greater London? If there were a referendum in my borough, I have no doubt that the people of my constituency would rather be linked to Essex than to inner London. Will the Minister please reconsider the arrangements for my borough of Havering?”
“Last month, the Government buckled under pressure about their lack of consultation with the Chagossian people on the shameful handover of sovereign British territory to Mauritius. If the process is genuinely intended to inform policy, what steps will the Minister take to ensure that the views expressed to the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee are free from external interference? How will its findings inform the Government’s decision on the future of the Chagos islands?”
“I hope the Minister will check that there are actually Chagossians and not outsiders taking part in that consultation. Anyway, let us try something else. Given last week’s report that the Chancellor had a £4 billion surplus rather than a £20 billion deficit as previously suggested, will the Minister explain why the Government are pressing ahead with this eye-wateringly expensive £35 billion gift of British sovereign territory to Mauritius? Does the Minister not agree that scrapping that atrocious deal would be a better way to help the Chancellor restore fiscal credibility and save British taxpayers’ money?”
“Once again, Havering is getting an unfair allocation of police resources, thanks to the Mayor of London, who seems to have no interest in our borough. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate in the House on the detrimental policy of closing police station front desks across the London region?”
“May I also wish you a happy Lancashire day, Mr Speaker? I thank you for ensuring that the historical county flags are flown from New Palace Yard. It is great to see the Lancashire flag flying today. If I may go on to an Essex question, the Leader of the House should be aware that the Metropolitan police are reducing the opening hours of 25 police stations across Greater London. Romford police station’s opening times will be cut to four hours. That comes on top of the closure of all other functioning police stations throughout Havering, leaving my constituents with limited access to local police stations, and limited opportunity to meet a constable face to face to seek advice or report a crime. That is unacceptable.”
“The truth is we have a massively bloated welfare state, and I have no confidence that the Labour Government will seriously tackle that issue. It is time to get back to common sense and sound economic management, so let us remember what Margaret Thatcher achieved for our country.”
“The Government’s social engineering taxes are without doubt what Winston Churchill described as the philosophy of envy. VAT on private schools has added additional pressure to the state sector and has been the cause of the closure of large numbers of private schools. It has been so harmful to children and to the standing and success of our education system at home and abroad. The family farm tax is another example of how the Government’s policies are causing misery and harm to our rural communities and to families who for generations have farmed the land to feed the nation. It should be cancelled, and the Government should apologise to our farmers. We now have a new wealth tax disguised as a levy on property, which represents a dagger to the heart of private property. This is an attack on the very notion of ownership.”
“It makes no sense whatsoever for the Chancellor to freeze rail fares and give bumper pay rises to the public sector while raising taxes to the highest level in living memory to pay for them. This is economic illiteracy. Then, there are the millions for electric vehicles, representing yet more subsidies for the green agenda and more money thrown at the failed ECOS—employee car ownership schemes—experiment. The British people are no longer willing to fuel the fantasy of net zero to the detriment of our British industry. This is not economic ambition; this is an ideological obsession which now has little support. My constituents of Romford have no time for the net zero agenda any more. They can see that it is only making Britain poorer, with much pain for little gain.”
“Margaret Thatcher rebuilt our economy in the 1980s based on sound money, living within our means, cutting taxes for hard-working people, reducing the size of Government, reforming the labour market and making it flexible, curtailing the power of the trade unions, abolishing exchange controls, and creating an enterprise culture that generated prosperity and incentivised wealth creators for many years to come. That approach led to decades of economic prosperity, which was inherited by the Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown only for it to be mucked up by their Labour policies, leaving the Conservatives to start to rebuild the economy once more. The first woman Prime Minister got it right, and the first woman Chancellor of the Exchequer should now take a leaf out of Mrs Thatcher’s book.”
“Pensioners in my constituency will be poorer, and I can tell the Minister that they will resent that. The tax burden is now the highest it has been since the second world war, and my constituents will rightly ask what they are getting in return for this additional payment to the state. The truth is Britain is spending way beyond its means, and our Government appear incapable of making the serious cuts that are essential to restore our finances. The Conservative Government before should have done a lot more as well, but this Government are compounding the problem and making things far worse. If we carry on taxing and spending like this, our economy will continue to fall into a downward spiral. We need a radical change of approach, or I fear Britain will face bankruptcy.”
“Yet this Budget will hold my constituents back, stifle growth, increase the burden on hard-working families and demonstrate what seems to be a complete disregard by the Chancellor for supporting the genuine aspirations of the British people. The Government are taxing people beyond that which is reasonable or sustainable, while showing no serious attempt to reduce the size of the state, cut back the over-bloated public sector or get people off a life of benefits and back to work. This Budget has radically increased taxes on working people and the freezing of the income tax threshold is, I am sorry to say, nothing but an underhand method of taking yet more tax from my constituents. In fact, 800,000 pensioners will be put into the 40% tax bracket.”
“It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West (Dame Chi Onwurah), but I am afraid that I have to disagree with what she has said this afternoon. I am sorry to say that this Budget will not improve the lives of my constituents in Romford, who are hard-working people who pay their taxes and contribute to society and who do not want the state to take money out of their pockets in the way this Government are doing. The people of Romford are market traders, small businessmen, shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, City workers and company directors. They are the kind of people who will set their alarms early each day to get up for work to earn an honest living to support their families.”
“I like a lot of what the hon. Lady is saying, because I believe in communities, towns and villages being properly represented. However, names are important, too. Does she, as a Surrey MP, agree that instead of east Surrey and west Surrey, perhaps west Surrey and south Middlesex would be the correct name for the new authority, because of the area that is traditionally part of the county of Middlesex?”
“I say to the Minister that it would not affect any of the local government changes the Government are proposing. It is nothing to do with local government; this is purely ceremonial and historical.”
“Whatever it may be, we are proud of our county identity, and it should not be muddled up with administrative councils, which chop and change, as we are now seeing again today. Historic and ceremonial counties are for cultural celebration and for historic purposes, so the lord lieutenants of the different historic counties and ceremonial counties really should be as one. That would end the confusion. In my borough, which is the so-called London borough of Havering—everyone who comes to Havering knows that it is really Essex, not London at all—we are constantly confused about where we are. The people of my borough are tired of this, and they want the muddle and confusion, which was caused by bureaucrats in the 1960s, to end. It is a very simple thing to resolve.”
“It was only in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, that that changed. The entire history of the constituency that I represent has, except for in the past few decades, been a part of the historic county of Essex. New clause 85 would combine the historic Essex with the ceremonial Essex, which I believe would end the confusion and allow the people of my fine county to once again fully celebrate the rich heritage of the county in its entirety. Let me explain a little further. Across the entire country, the identity of each county is very important to all our constituents. People are proud of their historic county identity, and it is reflected in so many ways—whether it is through sport, social activities, church or the local regiment.”
“I rise to speak in support of my new clauses 85 and 86. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin), my right hon. Friend the Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale), the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), my right hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden), the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock (James McMurdock), my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), and my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) for supporting both new clauses. New clause 85 seeks to ensure that the boundaries of the ceremonial county of Essex are once again aligned with the historic county, as they were for many hundreds of years—in fact, for well over a millennium.”
“I would prefer the authority, power and funding to go directly to our towns, villages and boroughs that are controlled locally by elected councillors, not a huge bureaucracy in City Hall that is unaccountable, undemocratic and has very little support among anyone I speak to.”
“I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. That is why fundamental reform of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London needs to take place. Personally, I do not believe that we need the GLA. I believe we should transfer powers back to local boroughs, towns and communities. If we have some form of authority for London, it should deal purely with the capital—the central part of London. Frankly, do we need a GLA that goes all the way from Hampton Wick up to Havering-atte-Bower, and from Ruislip down to Biggin Hill? We do not; it is an unnecessary layer of government.”
“The overarching bureaucracy in City Hall, which is so unaccountable, really needs to go. No, I do not believe we need a Mayor of London. I believe we need to have local authorities working together where there are strategic matters to be discussed—transport, planning or infrastructure—but we do not need to create a monstrous bureaucracy. Margaret Thatcher was right to abolish the GLC and Tony Blair was absolutely wrong to bring back the GLA, with all its paraphernalia, bureaucracy and huge costs to the council tax payers of the Greater London area. On that note, I ask Members to please support new clauses 85 and 86 to restore our Essex identity and to give us the democratic right to decide our own future.”
“Yes I would, personally. Madam Deputy Speaker, you will undoubtedly recall that our former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, abolished the Greater London Council. The right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) will remember that very well, because he sat on the GLC at the time. In 1986, the GLC was abolished and what happened? The power went back to each borough across London. We did not have to pay a huge precept. We paid our way for policing and the fire brigade and so on, but generally speaking the powers truly returned—as I hope the Liberal Democrats believe in—to local communities. We did not have an overarching bureaucracy interfering in everything we do, from planning to transport to policing. I would hope that the Liberal Democrats believe that powers should be held as locally as possible.”
“Their repeated rejection of peace proposals, their game-playing over the release of deceased hostages and their brutal campaign of summary executions against Palestinian civilians tell us everything we need to know.”
“Since becoming shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have not had the opportunity to speak on this subject, as other shadow Ministers have spoken instead of me. I would like to put on record that I have always believed that Hamas—an Iranian satellite and a terrorist organisation responsible for atrocity upon atrocity, culminating in 7 October—can play no part whatsoever in the future governance of Gaza, let alone in civilised global politics. I am glad that many Members have said things along those lines this afternoon. Hamas’s contempt for human life and dignity is matched only by what appears to be their absolute hatred of Israel and the Jewish people and, from what I can see, the wider free world. We have nothing in common with Hamas.”
“I will not refer to everyone who spoke this afternoon, but I thank them all. Speaking on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition, let me firmly put on record our support for President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. As I said during the Foreign Secretary’s statement last week, the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2803 represents a major step towards restoring order, security and a pathway to peace. I sincerely hope that prosperity and peace will be returned for all the people of Gaza as a result. The United States has brought leadership, and the United Kingdom must stand shoulder to shoulder with our closest allies, especially the United States and Israel, if we are to have any hope of ending this conflict and building something better.”
“I hope and believe that everyone in this Chamber, whether we completely agree or not, wants the same outcome: to see peace and stability returned, and to see women, children and others who have suffered living in peace and returning to normal life. We all want to see that, whatever our opinions. I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have spoken this afternoon. Of course, I am always moved by the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), and I listen avidly whenever he speaks—we do not agree on much, but we do agree on some things. I also want to thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal), who spoke earlier. We share the same part of Essex and east London, and our constituents have similar views on many issues.”
“Thank you, Ms Butler, and Ms McVey before you, for chairing the debate; it has been a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon. I also thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for bringing this debate to the House on behalf of the vast numbers of people—198,966—who signed e-petition 700682. I have listened to the debate carefully. I have been moved by the passion and the deeply held, sincere concern heard from Members on both sides of the House. No human being should be subject to the kind of inhumane treatment that we have all seen in Gaza in recent times.”
“We also need to hear that Britain will play its part in creating security, peace and stability, and give the people of Palestine, Israel and the whole region hope for the future.”
“Will the Minister confirm that British expertise will not be wasted and that we have a plan to support the creation of that force alongside our allies? Does he have a view on what the ISF operating parameters should be? Does he think that it should move into the red zone? On the rebuilding of Gaza, what actions is the UK taking to support the establishment of alternative safe communities? It is widely acknowledged that if the current ceasefire is to turn into a sustainable end to the conflict, Hamas must be removed from power and their terrorist infrastructure dismantled. What we need to hear today is how the Government intend to work with regional partners—Israel, Egypt, the UAE and the emerging Palestinian security structures—to achieve that essential objective.”
“The testimony of Emily Damari about the location of her captivity is incredibly serious. UNRWA must sever all links to the Hamas terrorist group. It is critical that UN bodies ensure adequate vetting of personnel and activities, and that Catherine Colonna’s reforms be fully implemented as soon as possible. I hope the Minister will accept that Hamas has been using aid as a weapon by stealing and hoarding it, preventing Gazans from receiving it, and then profiteering from its sale. That is wholly unacceptable. What constructive steps are the Government taking with international partners to address aid diversion? At the heart of President Trump’s peace plan is the establishment of an international stabilisation force. The United Kingdom has world-class peacekeeping, policing and stabilisation expertise.”
“Israel also agreed to extend the opening hours of the Kerem Shalom crossing point, and we were able to achieve commitments to increase the number of trucks entering Gaza. For a period, we saw an increase in the quantity of aid delivered. The United Kingdom supplied vital food and medical aid for innocent Palestinians. With the help of the UN and Cyprus, we managed to secure infrastructure, including the floating pier off the coast, to help get aid into the territory. I respect the fact that this is an immensely complicated and tragic situation, but the Government need to focus on practical and even novel solutions for getting around the bottlenecks. Regarding UNRWA, we must not forget that it had to fire nine staff after investigations into their involvement in the appalling attack on Israel on 7 October.”