Stephen Doughty
MP for Cardiff South and Penarth · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to set out the situation, the threats and the impact on our economy. Across this House, we share a desire to get the strait reopened.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his sustained and continued advocacy on behalf of his constituent, which is deeply powerful. I know it is of concern to many Members across this House. Despite some progress in Mr Johal’s legal proceedings, eight of the cases against him remain outstanding.”
“I share the hon. Gentleman’s horror at some of the things we have seen going on in those illegal settlements, and we have absolutely condemned the settler violence—the settler terrorism—that we have seen.”
“I pay tribute to our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office consular teams, particularly for their current work on the Nepal-China flooding crisis. It is also important to pay tribute to the work they do to support the thousands of British nationals who are arrested or detained abroad each year.”
“If I may, Mr Speaker, I want to start by acknowledging the devastating floods in Nepal. I know many Members are supporting constituents who have been affected by this tragedy, and our intention remains to support British nationals and the people of Nepal.”
“The right hon. Gentleman raises important cases. I can assure him that we continue to support the clemency applications of Ryan Cornelius and Charles Ridley and to raise their case with the UAE authorities. In fact, I did so recently; the former Foreign Secretary did so as well and has met the families. As the right hon.”
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“The Minister is being very generous in taking interventions. A moment ago, in relation to China, he mentioned the importance of UK-based companies and their role, and he is now speaking about Myanmar. Will the Government look again at the situation where the UK’s Commonwealth Development Corporation has been investing in telecommunications companies in Myanmar that have been complying with Government-ordered repression and blockages of internet sites and others, which not only have potentially covered up atrocities against the Rohingya people, but could be being used now? Will he look again at that investment and whether it is appropriate in the current circumstances?”
“Thirdly, can he confirm whether there will be any further orders of this nature related to these matters, or whether it will now be for the Welsh Government to resolve them and for the two Governments to work constructively to ensure there is not confusion in what is a very complex area? I think reference was made in the other place to the deep complexities of the constitutional legislation relating to devolution in this country, and we do not want to create confusion and an undue bureaucracy, so it is important that these matters are clarified. However, with that, we are very happy to support the order.”
“We need to see more of this type of sensible, pragmatic, mature co-operation, rather than some of the stuff that we have seen going on in other respects, which, rightly, the Welsh Government are now challenging the UK Government over. I have a few minor questions to ask. First, can the Minister confirm that, if any further corrections are needed as a consequence of our EU exit, the Welsh Government will be able to legislate to make such corrections? Secondly, given that the Environment Bill and indeed the Trade Bill are still going forward through the House, can he explain how any issues arising from those will be dealt with?”
“Governments from different nations, even when they are headed by parties of different colours, can work together, as opposed to some of the instances that we have seen, whether it is on furlough, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 or on other matters. I hope that the Minister can reassure us that this statutory instrument will lead to a further collaborative approach from the UK Government on other constitutional issues that need resolving. The Minister and I do not agree on very much when it comes to policy, but we do believe in the clear benefits of working together in this Union. I hope that we will see a welcome change from the UK Conservative Government in taking this approach, because, as I said, we have seen some very unfortunate developments relating to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and other matters.”
“However, as was referred to by my noble Friends in the other place, I want to commend more than just the contents of this order; I also commend the way in which it has been brought forward. This is a rare example of the UK Government working constructively with the Welsh Government to support the devolution settlement and it has been positive to see the practical steps that have been taken in relation to this measure, even during the very tumultuous and complex legislative process that we have been through. I hope that this is the start of more grown-up politics from the current Conservative Government relating to devolution.”
“Legislative competence for the Senedd will be properly held by the Senedd, and should there be need for any further corrections arising from the UK leaving the EU, then it should be the Welsh Government that legislate to make those corrections. The United Kingdom functions, of course, as an effective family of nations, precisely because of the demarcation of legislative competencies that allows for our national legislatures and Governments to adequately represent the citizens who have elected them. I am pleased that the order reinforces that demarcation, after some of the blurring of the lines that we have seen, and so we are very happy to support this statutory instrument.”
“However, with the volume of secondary legislation that was needed to deal with Brexit, the UK Government proposed and the devolved Administrations agreed that concurrent powers made sense in a large number of areas, so that Parliament could make correcting statutory instruments with the consent of the devolved Administrations. I understand that there was an agreement previously, in 2017 or 2018, that when the process of primary legislation related to Brexit was coming to an end, there would be further secondary legislation so that the Senedd got back the competence and role that they rightly have. I know that the reports by the Senedd’s Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee also examined this matter in detail and made a number of recommendations.”
“That was extremely rare, so the provisions in the Government of Wales Act 2006 say that if UK primary legislation gives concurrent powers to UK Ministers in areas of devolved competence, the Senedd can only legislate to remove them with the consent of UK Ministers. However, in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the legislatures could use new legislation to remove concurrent powers, provided of course that they related only to devolved competence, without such consent. The Minister has referred to the number of important areas that are covered in this order relating to plant varieties, direct payments to farmers, the Coronavirus Act 2020, Agriculture Act 2020, Fisheries Act 2020, the Trade Bill, the Environment Bill and other measures. Those are obviously important corrections to make.”
“And importantly for proper devolution, the order will remove restrictions on the Senedd’s legislative competence. This will ensure that there is a clear division in that legislative competence and that the Welsh Government will not have to rely on the UK Government to legislate on their behalf, whether or not they wanted them to, as was permitted to occur consensually and temporarily for the limited purpose of correcting the statute book in the devolved areas as a result of the UK leaving the EU. Of course, as the Minister has explained, the order arises out of a quirk in the way that the Wales Act 2017 amended the Government of Wales Act 2006, relating to new concurrent powers, where either Welsh Ministers or UK Ministers can make changes to devolved law.”
“Diolch, Cadeirydd. Thank you, Mrs Miller. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship. I start by apologising on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Gerald Jones), who would normally have spoken for the Opposition on this statutory instrument. Tragically, he lost his father in the past few days. I send condolences on behalf of all Committee members today and I thank the Minister for his kind comments. From the outset, I want to be clear that Labour supports this statutory instrument and we note the debate that has already been held on it in the other place. This is, of course, a necessary instrument that will correct deficiencies that have arisen as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union, as well as a number of drafting errors.”
“The Minister will know that cladding issues affect thousands of my constituents, as do the wider issues of fire safety and building safety. Will he make clear when the legislation will come forward on both fire safety and building safety? Will he also give us an update on the EWS1 forms? He told the House in November that there had been negotiations, through the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, with lenders, but many of my constituents say that they are still facing serious issues in acquiring those forms.”
“What assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 on the level of (a) infection, (b) hospitalisation and (c) deaths of transport workers in the (i) aviation, (ii) airports and (iii) airport transfer sectors since January 2020.”
“This week, we passed the grim milestone of 100,000 people having lost their lives tragically to this terrible disease. Last year I was strongly critical of the Government’s policies on the border, including through our airports. Figures released by Government Ministers showed that more than 2,000 UK Visas and Immigration and Border Force officials were off with symptoms of coronavirus in January to April last year, and that is before we even look at others working in, for example, our airports and on planes. Can the Minister explain what exactly he is doing to keep airport workers safe, particularly those at Heathrow and other major hubs and especially those who will be involved in transporting individuals to quarantine hotels?”
“The Leader of the House will be aware from my previous questions of the concerns of thousands of my residents in Cardiff South and Penarth who are affected by fire and building safety defects, and of the need for UK Government legislative action on the issue. He will know that this concern is shared throughout the House. Will he be clear about when the Lords amendments to the Fire Safety Bill will come back to this House; whether there will be adequate time to discuss the many excellent amendments that have been tabled, including by my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the Opposition; and when the draft Building Safety Bill will be brought before the House? My residents want to see action and they do not want leaseholders to have to pay the costs of the terrible defects in their buildings.”
“The hard workers my hon. Friend is talking about includes the many British Gas workers in my constituency, GMB members I met last week. I was very surprised to be told by them that the chief executive of British Gas had called personally to put pressure on them to accept new, worse terms. Bizarrely, he suggested that senior Labour figures had endorsed that. Will my hon. Friend confirm that that is absolute nonsense, that we stand in solidarity with them and that British Gas should get back around the table for serious negotiations? Of course, I draw attention to my membership of the GMB and the support that it has provided to me.”
“The Secretary of State is speaking about fire and rehire, and his colleague the Chief Secretary to the Treasury told me that those tactics were completely unacceptable. Does the Secretary of State agree with those comments and does he share my concern? In September of last year, I met the chief executive of British Gas about that specific dispute and he tried to suggest that they were not using those tactics, despite having written to members in July to do just that. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is completely unacceptable in our labour market?”
“I praise again the work of Cardiff and Vale University health board for its vaccine roll-out. Yesterday it delivered 10 times as many vaccines in one day as it did on its first day of delivery of the programme; it is doing an incredible job. The Secretary of State rightly said that supply was the limiting factor, and this morning we heard that the Wockhardt factory in north Wales had been affected by flooding. Can he confirm whether any supplies have been damaged or affected? We have also heard that the Serum Institute of India factory has been affected by fire this morning. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that we have more manufacturing capacity and more fill and finish capacity, and that we have a back-up in case something goes wrong, which would be devastating for the supply of this critical vaccine?”
“Now, while more than 1,000 jobs have been able to be saved through a deal with Marston’s, the tragic possibility is that Brains beer will no longer be brewed in Cardiff. I have been speaking with the Welsh Government, Cardiff Council and others, and I urge the Minister to consider what support can be given to breweries in particular, especially those with particular cultural and historical heritage in parts of the UK. I hope that he can address some of those concerns in his remarks.”
“Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) raised many of these issues—many local independent pubs in my constituency have contacted me because they are in significant difficulties, but primarily I want to raise the case of Brains Brewery, one of the signature brands of Wales. Tragically, it has found itself in significant difficulties. Brains has its headquarters in my constituency and has been brewing there for many decades. It is one of the things at the very heart and soul of Welsh culture or, certainly, of Cardiff culture, as anybody who knows groups like the Hennessys will know—they refer to the importance of Brains Dark and many other fantastic brews.”
“It is not just the pubs, restaurants and cafés; it is also the food supply businesses, the breweries and the laundries—I have some major laundries in my constituency. It is the wider economy and all the jobs that come with it. I commend the approach taken by the Welsh Government. A new tranche of the economic resilience fund was announced in December—£340 million for hospitality, tourism and leisure—on top of the £1 billion they announced to support businesses through rates relief and other measures, as well as the job retention scheme and the self-employment income support scheme. The new measures required new support, and on 18 December, they were announced with £110 million of support. On the situation facing pubs in particular—my hon.”
“I also second many of the points made by colleagues across the House about the support that will be required to ensure that businesses can come out on the other side of this when restrictions can eventually be lifted. I have had a huge number of emails from businesses in my constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth and from concerned constituents who point out that turnover across the sector is down by 40%, and that 41% of businesses might fail in 2021, yet one in six new jobs in the economy were created in this sector. I know that from my own constituency. Even during the pandemic, businesses were able to set up, particularly during the summer period, and get going, but have found themselves in new difficulties. We have to remember that the sector is much wider than it appears on the face of it.”
“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I second the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on virtual participation in these proceedings. I hope that can come sooner rather than later. I also second many of her excellent comments in opening this crucial debate. It was disappointing to come to this debate after the Chancellor’s statement earlier—the first statement he has made in Parliament in 41 days. He had very little new to say. I think many of the hospitality businesses in Cardiff South and Penarth and in many of our constituencies would have hoped for something different, given the new and very difficult but necessary restrictions that they face.”
“We need to get through this first phase, absolutely, but we also have to look at the medium and long term, because this virus is not going away anytime soon.”
“What are we doing to expand it? I want to see those plants operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the supplies coming in all the time, getting into those phials and getting out to our communities across the country. Fundamentally, that is a UK responsibility and the responsibility of the Minister. I hope that he can give us some assurances on that. Lastly, at the moment there is rightly a lot of concern about variants. At some point in the future, obviously, we will have to produce tweaked vaccine alternatives to deal with variants that may emerge, in the way that we do with the flu vaccine. Will the Minister give us assurances on how our productive capacity will be there to produce variant vaccines at the right moment, when we need them in the future?”
“Secondly, the other crucial part of the process is the cold chain. We know that there have been issues with, for example, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the way in which it has to be kept at that hyper-low temperature. Will that be similar for some of the other RNA vaccines? If so, what are we doing to scale up our cold chain and storage capacity to enable such vaccines to be used more quickly across the country? As we know, the Oxford-AstraZeneca one can be kept in a fridge, but that of course still requires a safe cold chain to get it to all the key locations. Thirdly, the fill and finish part of the production process is critical. The Minister knows that I have asked him questions about the Wockhardt factory in north Wales. What other fill and finish capacity do we have across the UK? Will he be specific about that?”
“We know about the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines; when will the Moderna vaccine first be delivered to this country, and how will it be rolled out? I have heard positive things about a Johnson & Johnson vaccine; when do we think that will be approved by the MHRA, and when might we see supplies? First, I would like more assurances from the Minister about our productive capacity in the UK. We all know that things can go wrong; there could be problems with delivery, accidental damage or contamination. Any of those things could happen. How are we scaling up our productive capacity in the UK to create all the different types of vaccines? What new factories are being built? What new facilities are being procured? That is right down to the level of capital equipment available in this country for vaccine production.”
“We need confidence in all these choices, and in the decisions taken at UK level by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the JCVI and jointly by chief medical officers. I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for them; they are having to make difficult choices because we do not have enough supply in the country. That is the point I largely want to deal with. I have already raised a number of issues on that subject with the Minister. I would like clearer guarantees on the schedule for delivery to and around the UK. My constituents in Wales want to know when vaccine procured for the UK is being delivered to Wales, and when the different types of vaccine are being delivered to Wales.”
“I hope they will be part of the plan across the whole UK. The reality we face, as shown in the petition, is that there are very difficult choices of prioritisation. I think everyone recognises that, including many of those who have contacted me to ask, “When am I going to get the vaccination?” It is really important that we follow the best scientific, medical and clinical evidence set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and others. I want assurances that the Minister is considering all the representations that are being made, because it is important that there should be confidence in the difficult decisions that are reached. For example, there has been a lot of anxiety about spreading out the dosing. I have heard concerns from health professionals about that, and I appreciate that there is a live debate on that.”
“That is why it is absolutely crucial that we secure the supply and production. I praise the work of my local health board, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which in recent days has rapidly scaled up its vaccination plans and the number of vaccinations it has delivered. I spoke to members of its staff this morning. A few days ago, when I visited my GP on a personal matter, I was pleased to hear that the member of staff treating me had been vaccinated and was looking forward to being part of the roll-out programme that the Health Minister in Wales set out today, in which an increasing number of GPs will be involved. Community pharmacies, which have been mentioned, will be involved too. They have a critical role. I am pleased that it was set out today that they are part of the plan in Wales.”
“I have Ysgol y Deri in my constituency, a fantastic school that is part of the Penarth Learning Community. The First Minister in Wales has been very clear that we will extend vaccination to staff working in those contexts, given the care that they provide to often vulnerable young people. That is good to hear. I commend the Welsh Government on the vaccination strategy set out today by my constituency colleague, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething; I know the Minister here also set one out today. It is important that we get information on those strategies out there, because we are hearing a lot of worry and genuine concern. Of course, everybody wants to be vaccinated, including those in frontline work and those who are particularly vulnerable.”
“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir David. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for her introduction to the debate. I declare an interest: my partner is a teacher who has been dealing with covid-safe procedures in school, and has dealt with many track-and-trace processes, so I have heard about the challenges in our schools very clearly. I have also heard from those in retail. I have close associations with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers; I declare that interest, too. It is really important that we listen to all those concerns, because there is deep worry in the country about the case rates. In particular, I have heard concerns relating to special schools and the care that they provide; that was mentioned earlier.”
“The Secretary of State mentions the vaccine as one of the crucial routes out of this, and I pay absolute tribute to all the incredible scientists and NHS staff who are preparing to deliver it. However, one of the things my constituents are asking me is how we can be sure that the production of the vaccine will meet the ambitions the Prime Minister and others have set out and that we are building the types of facility we need to continue to ramp up production to the highest levels we can. Can the Secretary of State explain what is going on, because I was concerned to hear about the factory in Wales that is not operating seven days a week? Why is that? Is it because it is not getting enough supply into its system?”
“Secondly, we must not make the mistakes we made in previous lockdowns, one of which is about our borders, as the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) and my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds), the shadow Home Secretary and others have rightly raised. In January, February, March, April and May last year, we let in people who spread different strains of covid-19 around the country. We now need measures in place at our borders, because there will be more variants and more cases coming from around the world. We need to have the best systems in place. We were told we were taking back control of our borders. We have to have health protections at our borders, and we need those measures now.”
“In 1915, we faced what was called the shell crisis in world war one. I know about it because my great-grandmother was one of 12,000 women recruited from the cotton mills of the north-west to work in emergency factories, mixing nitroglycerine for munitions for the western front. It was a dangerous, complex and difficult manufacturing task, but one that this country turned itself to 105 years ago. We need to engage in that kind of effort and investment in expanding and adapting facilities for the production, bottling and distribution of the vaccine. We need greater assurances from the Government on that in the weeks ahead, not least so that we know they are doing everything they can at the UK level to get that vaccine produced and give hope to our people suffering under these lockdowns and suffering with the effects of this virus.”
“This weekend, I had some heartbreaking conversations with people working in the health service, including in Cardiff. I spoke to someone who worked in the intensive care unit at the Heath Hospital, and the stories they told me were utterly, utterly heartbreaking. My thoughts, solidarity and support are very much with all those in NHS in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and across the country who are on the front line, and are dealing with the reality of this, rather than the fantasies that we have heard from some corners of the House. I want to discuss two issues briefly. We have to offer people hope on a way out of this situation, and that is why the vaccines are so crucial. I asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care earlier on to give us some guarantees on scaling up production and distribution of the vaccines.”
“I must respectfully disagree with a number of previous speakers. These lockdown measures are necessary —they were necessary when they were introduced in Wales by the Welsh Government on 20 December—because of the sheer crisis that the health service faces. If we needed any more information to underline that, we only have to look at the statistics this afternoon: over 1,000 deaths—over 1,000 tragedies for families up and down the country, and individuals who are no longer with us. That is on top of an average 700 deaths every day—people who have lost their lives to this terrible virus. Nobody wants lockdowns or restrictions, but they are absolutely necessary. If we need any more evidence, we know that my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens), is in hospital at the moment.”
“Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), and ask him to make an urgent statement to the House? I think that we should be sitting next week, virtually. If we do not, will the vaccines Minister do a virtual session online for Members of Parliament? The last one, before Christmas, was an absolute shambles, which hardly gives us confidence. Our constituents want to know what is happening with the vaccine, and they want to know now.”
“I am delighted to hear from my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan), that his mother has received the vaccine, and I am delighted that the Oxford vaccine has been approved—I pay tribute to all the scientists behind that—but we are in a race against time now. We have heard this afternoon that there will be only 530,000 doses of the vaccine available next week, not the millions that were promised; Jonathan Van-Tam has been telling us that there is a global fill and production capacity issue; and the Prime Minister is now refusing to give guarantees on the number of doses that will be administered each week by the NHS. Will the Leader of the House therefore speak to his colleague the vaccines Minister, the hon.”
“Clearsprings Ready Homes, which I believe manages the Penally camp and has also managed accommodation in my constituency for many years, made multimillion-pound profits over the past few years, has paid one of its directors £147,000 last year—that is more than Dominic Cummings—and took a £2 million dividend in 2019. Yet we hear of squalid, degrading and unsafe conditions at its properties. I have raised those issues over many years with Ministers and officials, but it has been awarded a generous new contract with the Home Office. Why was it awarded that contract? How is it value for money? What will the Minister do to bear down on those appalling conditions?”
“The Secretary of State has rightly set out the very stark picture today—not only of the variant, but of the growing pressures, including the pressures that are likely to be placed on our NHS at this critical time. Will he therefore agree, particularly given the crucial supply chains for the vaccine, for PPE and for the 40 million packages of medicine that go back and forth between ourselves and the EU every month, that the talks must continue and we must not end up in a no-deal outcome, which would be absolutely devastating at the most critical time for our NHS and our country?”
“On the comments of the hon. Member for Thurrock, it is not about being holier than thou. It is about accepting that, because the dignity and rights of human beings are universal, when we have frank and friendly relationships with countries such as Qatar, we use those relationships to be candid.”
“Today is the anniversary of the adoption of the universal declaration of human rights on 10 December 1948. A former Labour MP and trade unionist, Charles Dukes, later Lord Dukeston, played a critical role in drafting that document, although tragically he died before its adoption. Britain was one of the key players that insisted that a moral principle on human rights was not enough, but that legal force and action were needed to defend basic human dignity worldwide. As I have said on many occasions, I regret that some of the Government’s recent actions have undermined those commitments on the global stage and caused the loss of our influence in some key UN human rights bodies and others. That is after a proud tradition of defending human rights and the rule of law globally under Governments of multiple colours in the last few decades.”
“There are attempts to influence policy and behaviour by the larger powers in the region, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, and we must always be conscious of that. Given the ongoing conflict in Yemen, for example, and the devastating humanitarian disaster, will the Minister give us his latest assessment of Qatar and other regional powers in relation to that conflict, and say what we are doing to resolve it? Indeed, what are the prospects for wider peace within the region, which is something I would hope for? We have seen a number of peace deals recently with Israel, so how does the Minister see Qatari-Israeli relationships? This has been mentioned in a number of speeches, but it is critical today to recognise international Human Rights Day.”
“The UK’s important wider diplomatic relationships with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt, among others, mean that it can play a critical role with international partners such as the United States, Kuwait and others to work to ease the ongoing diplomatic crisis, which has lasted three and a half years. I would appreciate—I am sure other Members have asked for this as well—an update on how the Minister sees the dispute, how he sees it being resolved and what role the UK Government are playing in facilitating candid conversation. Given the complexity of the political and security situation in the Gulf and the wider middle east, we must always consider the implications of our engagement, particularly when it comes to military and security arrangements.”
“We also heard about the acquisition by Qatar of the nine Hawk aircraft, which could lead to a new squadron. Given the ongoing threat posed by Daesh and other extremist groups in the immediate and near region, joint defence and security improvements are significant steps in protecting security in the region. That is reflected in our relationships in many other key locations, including the Duqm port in Oman and the Royal Navy facility we are developing there. We have heard about crucial economic co-operation. We have an ever-deepening economic relationship, and since 2017 the UK has been one of the most significant, if not the most significant, destinations for Qatari investment—£35 billion-worth. Significant announcements were made at the Qatar-UK business forum in March 2017.”
“I had the pleasure of visiting that facility, on a visit with the Welsh Affairs Committee when I was first elected. It was fascinating, given the critical role that the terminal plays in the diversity of our energy supply in the UK. Will the Minister reflect on how the relationship is developing, particularly ahead of next year’s commitments that we need to make on climate change and moving away from fossil fuels? How he perceives the transition we must make, which is being implemented in our country at such facilities and in Qatar, is critical. We have heard lots about security and co-operation, and earlier this year the Royal Air Force and Qatar Emiri air force Typhoon squadron, No. 12 Squadron, commenced flying—the joint squadron that we heard about.”
“We enjoy crucial co-operation, not least with respect to the Royal Air Force, and indeed other allied air forces, at the Al Udeid airbase. It would be remiss of me not to reflect on the particularly special relationship between Qatar and Wales, not least through the air link with Qatar Airways, facilitated by the Welsh Government and our Economy Minister Ken Skates, which helped to connect Cardiff international airport directly to the world. That link is suspended because of the pandemic and low winter demand, but I hope that as things improve into the spring, we can re-establish that important route, given the aspirations we have heard about for Wales in relation to the 2022 World cup. We also heard about a crucial link with the South Hook LNG terminal.”
“Member for Southend West is not in his place, but I would mention that normally after visits people are given a book, a cake or a bottle of wine. To get camels is quite extraordinary and something I shall not forget. British relationships with Qatar go back more than 100 years, prior to, during and after the protectorate period of the early and mid-20th century. Potentially, that relationship has deep and significant diplomatic, security and economic benefits for the people of Qatar and the people of the UK—and, indeed, the people of Wales—as well as for the region. As an example of that partnership, I had the pleasure of studying alongside representatives of Qatar at the Royal College of Defence Studies a few years ago.”
“It is, as ever, a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe, and I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing the debate. He is a long-time advocate of the importance of the United Kingdom’s relationship with Qatar, not least in his ongoing role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group, although I will point out to him that Scotland’s premier university is, of course, St Andrews. [ Laughter . ] I also thank the hon. Members for Gravesham (Adam Holloway), for Southend West (Sir David Amess), for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price), and the right hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb), some of whom are no longer in their place, as well as the Scottish National party spokesman, the hon. Member for Stirling (Alyn Smith). The hon.”
“I hope that the UK Government’s engagement with Qatar will continue to be productive and friendly in that vein.”