David Smith
MP for North Northumberland · Labour · United Kingdom
“They feel, rightly, that investment is always going somewhere else, such as the deep south—Manchester, Leeds or somewhere like that—instead of to the true north.”
“While it is certainly true that dualling would do a lot of good for the road, it is also true that a particular dualling project was long dangled and never delivered.”
“No improvement to the road could fix such reckless behaviour, but the problem was emphasised by the merging of the lanes where we were. It was also tragic to learn that two recent fatalities involved foreign nationals.”
“What consideration will the Minister and his Department give to the road as part of RIS4 and in the light of these Green Book changes? I fully support a menu of improvements to the road and believe that there is a sustainable case to be made for them. There is also a political case to be made.”
“It is a real pleasure to open this debate on the A1 through North Northumberland. I have been seeking this debate for months. When I saw the time at which it was originally to have happened, I wondered whether someone somewhere had decided that this Scotsman did not really need to see the big match tonight.”
“Mention Guyzance, Charlton, Hebron, Chevington, Fenwick, Belford or Denwick in my constituency and people might think of those villages, but they are more likely to think of the high-risk junctions there. The second problem is overtaking and unsafe driving.”
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“In our complex and committed relationship with Nigeria, Britain has a range of tools at our disposal to support change in the direction of freedom of religion or belief, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister about the excellent work that the Government are doing, to which I remain committed.”
“Again, I agree that we should have holistic relationships with all our partners; there should not be a hierarchy of importance when it comes to an economic trade deal versus pursuing our values as a country on things like freedoms. I am sure we will hear more from the Minister on that. I mentioned what is happening on law and politics. In a way, that is almost a more worrying issue, because it creates a context in which it becomes acceptable to persecute. As long as ethno-religious fiefdoms are maintained, contrary to the promises of the Nigerian constitution, widespread reconciliation may be out of reach. The Government are clear in their opposition to the spread of blasphemy and apostasy laws, and I support that.”
“No one wants that and I am pleased that the UK Government are serious about freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria. I am committed to working with the Government in every way possible to support a better way forward. This issue needed attention years ago and I am glad that it now has that attention.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I apologise to the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood). In conclusion, Nigeria is rich with potential and possibility, but in my view violent and legal suppression of FORB is undermining the country’s future. A plural Nigeria, rooted in the common good, in which 250 million people have genuine freedom to reason, question and believe is a blessing to Nigeria itself, to Africa and to the world. A flourishing Nigeria is good for Britain and a challenge to the autocrats of west Africa in declaring that freedom is, in the end, worth it. Conversely, every Christian kidnapped, every mosque bombed and every atheist imprisoned risks the continuation of the cycle of ethno-religious conflict, and a diminishing of all that Nigeria can be.”
“That will protect most family farms, with 85% of estates seeing no additional burden from April. I am indebted to the farmers of North Northumberland both for the way that they have engaged on the issue of inheritance tax and for the hard work they do day in, day out to put food on our dinner tables.”
“I welcome the Finance Bill. I will address clause 62 and schedule 12, which relate to APR and BPR. I have spoken on this subject several times, and did so back in November, because my constituency of North Northumberland has over 700 farm holdings, each of them growing the food that we eat and stewarding our land. As one farmer said to me recently: “We have farmed this land since the mid-1800s—each generation investing in long-term decisions…which have benefited not just the farm, but the local area.” I believe it is messages like that and the ability of farmers in North Northumberland to get this message across that were pivotal to bringing about these Government amendments. The amendments will establish 100% relief up to £5 million for a couple, transferable between spouses, and a 50% relief thereafter.”
“Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard), said, the Secretary of State announced last week the plan for the SFI application process later this year. I particularly welcome the fact that there will be ringfenced support for smaller farms within that. As I draw my remarks to a conclusion, I will just mention that some larger farms will be impacted even after the changes to APR and BPR. For those just above the threshold, I encourage the Government to consider addressing the potential time and capacity challenges for accurate estate valuation and speedy probate, which must dovetail with the expectation of inheritance tax payments, so that estates that need to pay have clarity and are not penalised for blockages in the wider system. I know that the Government are totally committed to the success of farming.”
“Both are squeezed by commercial interests and a globalised race to the bottom in pricing, costs and wages, which is why the laissez-faire approach to farming economics, such as in the imbalanced trade deals of the Conservative party, work against the sustainability of farming. We have to plough a new furrow that will make farming genuinely sustainable in an intergenerational way. Protecting farming will require Government to form a new covenant with farming and green-collar workers more generally. The implementation of the Batters review will be very important here, particularly the farming and food partnership board, so that the whole supply chain can be examined and improved. It is high time the supermarkets in particular gave a fair price for the produce of our famers. Despite what the Liberal Democrats spokesperson, the hon.”
“As I will go on to say, I can confirm that I have had many messages of support for this change in policy. It has been a pleasure to work with the Labour rural research group and other colleagues on this matter, as my hon. Friend mentioned. As I thank farmers, I also want to thank the Government for listening, learning and acting. It is the hallmark of a mature Government and of a healthy parliamentary debate that we have got to this point. A multitude of structural factors contribute to the sustainability of intergenerational farming. There are many similarities between Britain’s blue-collar workers in the factories and what we might call green-collar workers in the fields.”
“I thank my constituency neighbour for his intervention. Rather than go down the route of his question, let me respond with the words of one of my local farmers. She wrote to me on 23 December and said: “As you know, we have been very vocal in opposing the earlier proposals, so it is equally important to state how strongly we welcome this change in policy. Increasing the threshold, together with the ability to retrospectively transfer unused APR and BPR allowances from my late mother to my father, will make a huge difference to our family and the viability of our farm business. I will leave my remarks there.”
“Let me speak to the point about the magistrates. In 2012, I took part in a six-month in-depth application process to become a magistrate, and I was accepted. I was then told that because of a pause by the previous Government, there would be no recruitment. In the following eight years, we lost 10,000 magistrates, to the point that in 2019 the then Justice Committee wrote that the crisis was “as frustrating as it was foreseeable” and that “it has taken a near crisis to prompt the Government into belated action.” Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that the Opposition cannot have their cake and eat it? They must understand that the system is in a crisis of their making.”
“The Secretary of State has already confirmed that under the legacy Act the immunity provisions were never commenced, so it is important to say that nobody was ever granted immunity under those provisions. Sticking with the subject of immunity, the three Veterans Commissioners for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have all said that they are calling not for immunity under the law but for fairness under the law. Does the Secretary of State agree?”
“I am proud to be the MP for North Northumberland, which is home to Holy Island, where historically Vikings attacked British Christians. Over the centuries, however, Northumberland has become a place where people are free to believe what they want to believe. It is tolerant and everyone has the right to believe and confess how they wish. That is my vision for British foreign policy. We must remember that freedom of religion or belief is central to our foreign policy and having a values-led and freedom-focused foreign policy.”
“The world’s most heavily nuclear-armed state, Russia, takes religion seriously, too, and Russian identity is built on the belief that it is the home of the faithful Church. The world’s richest country, the United States, takes religion incredibly seriously and has a whole office for international religious freedom in its State Department. That is because being denied freedom to believe denies our humanity, and it heralds the coming of darkness. I am proud of the UK’s record of championing FORB through being an early supporter of the universal declaration of human rights and the international covenant on civil and political rights, because we have learned the importance of freedom of religion or belief. It is central to who we are, and we cannot separate it from British values.”
“Our country is covered with churches from all over the world, yet sometimes we could be forgiven for thinking that religion is a private or unimportant matter. The rest of the world looks at us and thinks, “That’s crazy”, because everywhere else, religion is a major factor in people’s lives. The world’s largest atheistic state, China, takes religion incredibly seriously. Religion is the main threat to the Chinese Communist party, so the Chinese authorities are busy stomping out Buddhism and the freedom of Buddhists, persecuting Falun Gong sects and shutting down churches. That is why, in July this year, I was pleased to speak at the Human Rights Council in Geneva to challenge the Chinese Communist party on its attempt to interfere with the succession of the next Dalai Lama.”
“In fact, our country’s relationship with religious freedom is in essence our history. I challenge us all to put a finger down on any part of British history at random and not to see that what is there is linked to religious freedom in some way, for better or for worse. Slowly, however, we developed a better way forward. As our country has become more tolerant, diverse and peaceful, we have moved from strength to strength. Who we are as a nation is wrapped up in the religious freedoms that have evolved into the superb protections that we now call human rights. In one area, however, we seriously lag behind and that, ironically, is sometimes in our ignorance of the importance of religious freedom in this country and especially around the world, which is my responsibility.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I am delighted to be speaking in this debate about International Human Rights Day and I congratulate the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) on securing it. I declare an interest as the UK special envoy for freedom of religion or belief. It will come as no surprise that I will focus on reminding us all that our history in this country places freedom, including religious freedom, at the heart of who we are as a nation and therefore at the heart of what we seek to achieve in the world around us. Our country took many centuries to reach the point that we are at now. Thousands of British people have died over the centuries, because they worshipped in the wrong way or did not worship at all.”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this important debate. He mentioned Berwick train station, which is in my constituency. Although the initial timetable change began in 2021, it is true that it has been brought in now. I want to highlight more regional travel. It is good to be working cross-border and cross-party on this issue. Does he agree that, at a review point hopefully coming up in the next few months, we should focus on Berwick’s burgeoning and developing night-time economy as well, and that it would be a shame to miss that opportunity for later evening and weekend trains?”
“I have a simple question for the hon. Gentleman, on this auspicious day of the Second Reading of the Railways Bill: would he characterise the fracturing of rail services in this country over the past 20 years, specifically in relation to timetabling, as a success for rural areas?”
“I thank the Minister for his answers thus far. I may be slightly gazumping him—he may be coming to this—but one key thing that has not come out in the debate so far is investment. Ultimately, we all realise that the east coast main line is overused and very stretched. I thank the Government for the £3 billion of extra investment in the first year of our Government compared with the previous year. My key question for the Minister is: can rural lines be considered? The Northumberland line in south Northumberland has been a great success; we need something similar in north Northumberland. Could that investment go to rural areas as well?”
“The Agriculture Act 1947, brought in by the Labour party, was the first great, sustained support for British farming. We have the opportunity to provide that support again. Farmers need us. They need stability, and they want a fairer system. There is still time to achieve that. In a £1.3 trillion budget, £520 million will not make a difference to our fiscal stability, but it would make all the difference in the world to the flourishing of British farming, including in North Northumberland.”
“It is exceptionally hard out there for farmers, yet from the wee small hours to late at night, and without family holidays or long weekends, they put in the work to ensure that we all have food on the table. As one farmer said to me, “My childhood included no Christmas, home-made clothes and food grown from the veg plot. It was a frugal upbringing…Even now there is no lavishness. Holidays are scarce, the house roof leaks, windows aren’t fit for purpose and damp and mould prevails in the house. A private landlord can’t allow his tenants to live like this, but we accept these conditions. That’s ok”. They continued that the proposal “will bring a tax bill of £400,000. We are a modest hill farm. We cannot make this kind of profit in 20 years, never mind 10.” Most farmers farm not to become wealthy, but because it is a way of life.”
“There is a better way forward. If we raise the threshold at which IHT kicks in, cut the relief for those above the threshold and delink agricultural property relief and business property relief, we can protect those who need protecting and invite those who can pay more to pay more. The Minister knows that the minimum share rule is just one example of that, and he may observe that this change would draw more estates into the policy. Although the number of estates brought into the policy under the minimum share rule may grow, those estates would by definition have larger assets that were less likely to be involved in a working farm, and that would therefore be more disposable.”
“Now, at 80 years old, he has dementia, unable to make any decision on his own and his power of attorney (me) is unable to act on his behalf.” Agriculture has faced headwinds for many years, not least under the last Conservative Government; energy prices rocketed, and dodgy trade deals with Australia and New Zealand undercut farmers. They have also had to contend with unusually difficult weather patterns, whether it has been too hot, too dry or too wet. By 2029-30, the changes that we are talking about will have raised only £520 million. That sounds like a lot, but it is less than two days’ debt interest. In the light of widespread farming opposition to this policy, will the Government keep this policy under review in its first two years and, if the fears of farmers are established as facts, look to alter the policy accordingly?”
“I am not from a farming background, and this past year has been a steep learning curve for me, so I have been deeply moved by the generosity, respect and patience shown to me by farming constituents. They have opened their homes and lives to me, and they tell me that the inheritance tax status quo meant stability. Farm estates could transfer smoothly from one generation to another without their work being interrupted by lengthy processes. In addition to the allowance for transfers to widows, I urge the Government to consider an elderly farmer exemption, so that those surprised by this change in their old age can retire with dignity. One farmer recently wrote to me saying, “My father with his father and brothers worked to buy our farm. He wanted to pass that to me 10 years ago, the legal advice at that point was to do this on death.”
“I am grateful to the Chancellor for listening to my concerns and those of my colleagues on the Back Benches, and for making an adjustment. The expansion of the transferability of inheritance tax allowances to widows retrospectively is welcome. It is a compassionate change, and it will allow widows to add their deceased spouse’s allowance to their own to benefit their children on their death. It is an effective doubling of their allowance, which is to be welcomed. However, I remain concerned about the long-term impact of the policy. In my constituency of North Northumberland, there are 710 farms, and over the past year I have met at least 90 farmers.”
“I am grateful to be speaking in support of a Government who have delivered a Labour Budget that has ended the child benefit cap. That benefits 1,150 children in my constituency. The Budget is tackling the cost of living by reducing household energy bills by £150 from next April. It is raising much-needed funds for our public services by increasing taxation on online gambling and on homes worth over £2 million—mansions—and it includes another rise in the national minimum wage. This is a Labour Budget with Labour values that will achieve so much. It will positively impact millions of lives, and I am proud to support it. It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell the Minister—this will come as no surprise to him—that the one thing I remain concerned about in the Budget is the overarching changes to inheritance tax for farmers.”
“The Minister may or may not be aware that prior to coming to this place, I ran a homelessness and support charity for the general population, including young women. It was always possible in that context, even as a charity, to find support and housing for transgender women, as well as to incorporate sex-segregated spaces for women, who had often gone through difficult experiences at the hands of biological males. Does she agree that it should always be possible, however it is done, to create provision in the prison estate for transgender women and for sex-segregated spaces?”
“We need commitments from the other parties to this conflict, about whom we have not talked enough today—specifically the Provisional IRA, the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Ulster Defence Association, and all other militant and terrorist groups. They need to make those commitments, and acknowledge what they did. I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for this welcome legislation, which seeks truth. I simply urge him to think creatively and ambitiously about how the Government can now help to turn truth into genuine reconciliation and hope for Northern Ireland’s future.”
“There must be trust and a resetting of our relationships, and that does not happen without acknowledgement, without memorialisation and even, in some cases, without repentance. We need community spaces, moments and symbols that do that. We know that no one can make anyone else reconcile, and a Government certainly cannot. At the same time, however, Governments have the resources, the convening power and the cross-cutting responsibilities to empower and enable those moments, spaces and symbols that can foster social reconciliation. We saw that at the time of the late Queen’s visit to Dublin castle. I welcome that commitment, but we need more detail, and we need it more quickly.”
“As strange as it may sound, I am pleased that we are debating the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. Today represents the possibility of a huge step forward. I believe in the bonds of these islands that we share—that is why I am a Unionist—but our relationship with the Republic of Ireland matters deeply. The joint framework of the Irish and UK Governments states: “The Governments recognise that legacy must be addressed across these islands as a whole”. I welcome that, but the challenge is that we need to hold on to reconciliation. Reconciliation is mentioned only once in the Bill, but we must hold on to the principle. Reconciliation is obviously hard. No one in Northern Ireland came out of the troubles completely untouched, and the pain can twist down the generations. Truth alone is not enough for a community to reconcile.”
“For example, it meant that 200 military families were left in limbo, unable to pursue the truth of what happened to their loved ones. They were families like that of Mo Norton, whose brother Terence Griffin was killed in the M62 bus bombing in 1974. She said: “That morning, everything changed. Twelve lives were lost, including children. Our family was shattered. There was no warning, no chance to say goodbye. Just silence, and then years of unanswered questions. I need to know that Terence’s death has been fully investigated, I don’t think it has been properly investigated in the past.” Honourable soldiers follow the law and are glad to do so. That is what made my grandpa a good soldier, and it is what gives the British armed forces their outstanding reputation.”
“I had moved to Belfast four years earlier to begin my first proper job, running the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s first ever youth peace and reconciliation programme. It was a new job, in a new city, in what seemed like a new Northern Ireland, just three years after the Good Friday agreement. It was a hopeful time; there was an appetite from the vast majority of the population to enter a new and peaceful era for that wee country. There was also a realisation that the horrors of the troubles had to be processed and dealt with by the individuals directly impacted, but also by Northern Irish society as a whole. Yet here we are, 20 years on from that moment, still talking about making a serious start on dealing with the legacy of the troubles. I can say with confidence that the legacy Act did not do that; it did not help with that legacy.”
“She was managing her contractions with breathing exercises as I told the nearest soldier of our need to get to the hospital on the other side of town and, crucially, on the other side of the road. In that brief moment of relative calm, the soldier made a split-second decision and waved us through; I did not need further invitation. Before long, we were safe in the maternity wing of the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast. Later that day, our first child—our daughter—was born, and we have called her our Belle of Belfast city ever since. I will always be thankful for that soldier’s decision, but even more thankful that he and his colleagues were there that day to keep us safe in the first place.”
“Just over 20 years ago, in my red Vauxhall Corsa, I rounded the bend at the bottom of the Woodstock Road in Belfast and drove straight into a pregnant pause in the middle of a riot. To my left was a baying mob of young east Belfast men, and to my right was a baying mob of young men from the Short Strand. They were being kept apart by a British Army unit gathered around a group of armoured Land Rovers. As I buzzed my window down, I heard a crunch as my tires passed over the bricks and debris. The worry must have been written across my face. The pause in that moment was pregnant in more ways than one—above all because of my heavily pregnant wife sitting next to me in the passenger seat.”
“I thank the Home Secretary for her statement, and particularly for the commitment to new, safe, legal routes. There has been a lot of talk of morality, and there absolutely should be. This is too important to get wrong, so does she agree that tolerating a system where men, women and children are encouraged on to flimsy rubber boats to risk their life in the English channel, when they are already safe where they are, is not a moral choice?”
“1. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by CenTax entitled, “The Impact of Changes to Inheritance Tax on Farm Estates” published on 14 August 2025.”
“I am proud to support a Government who believe in progressive taxation, as I am sure the Minister does—that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden. Under the CenTax minimum share rule proposal, farm estates where at least 60% of the estate is used for farming would receive relief of up to £5 million per person. This would reduce the risk of family farms being broken up, place a greater burden on very large estates and those gaming the system, and double the forecast tax take. Will the Minister direct Treasury officials to take another look at the CenTax proposals on APR prior to the Budget?”
“We must get better at joining the dots and realising that real people live holistically in the geography of where they are, which should not be determined by what are, in British terms, invisible lines on the map. If that is the situation now, imagine the mess for healthcare if the SNP were successful in its policy of independence. Because of bad cross-border healthcare my constituents are suffering, and the Union that so many of us cherish is suffering too.”
“They are ideologically opposed to the choices that could lead to a cross-border, British healthcare system that serves all British people equally. It is worse than that. I was recently contacted by a young constituent who lives in North Northumberland, in the north of England, and works in the Scottish Ambulance Service. They hope to take up further training in Scotland so that they can continue employment, but the Scottish funding support will not cover them because they are not Scottish, and the English support will not cover them because they want to study in Scotland. A British student who wants to study at a British university in order to save British lives cannot do so. That is a farcical situation. This is the reality for many of my constituents.”
“Northumbria NHS foundation trust recently tried to offer the services of a new infirmary in Berwick to patients on the Scottish side of the invisible line, but up to now there has been a lack of take-up or interest from NHS Borders—something I hope to see change. The primary-secondary care link is in a bit of a black box. Patients have no idea where they will be referred by their GP. Will it be Melrose, Cramlington or Newcastle? Who arranges the appointment determines which organisation provides the referral. It does not have to be this way. The technical solutions clearly exist, as we heard from the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, but the SNP Government in Edinburgh frankly have no incentive to make cross-border care work. I am sad to see no SNP Members here today.”
“I am alarmed to realise that our country seems to have several invisible lines running through it. If someone has a stroke, heart failure or even a nasty cold on the wrong side of those lines, their illness and treatment come with strings attached. That is bad for my constituents and bad for our country. My constituents, like so many, live cross-border lives—that is just their reality. They move across the border all the time to see friends, to go shopping and to seek medical treatment. But as we have seen, if they take ill on the wrong side of the border, they will receive substandard treatment at times. That is not because there is anything wrong with the service of Scottish nurses or doctors—they are superb—but because they have no access to English medical records. There is no joined-up thinking.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick) on securing this important debate—one that is very important to my constituents in North Northumberland. A constituent of mine recently visited friends in the north of the county, near the border with Scotland, and sadly suddenly collapsed with a brain tumour. He was taken across the border to a Scottish hospital. But this hospital, as we have heard, could not diagnose him because it could not access English medical records. Imagine the scene: this constituent’s wife is now filling in her husband’s records from scratch, over the phone, while he waits and waits for an MRI that he cannot get in Scotland because he is under the care of Northumberland healthcare trust.”
“Some quarter of a million people served in Operation Banner, and the vast majority did so with great distinction and huge bravery, leading to the peace that we see in Northern Ireland today. The number of prosecutions of Army veterans is vanishingly small, so will the Secretary of State join me in thanking those veterans for their service and condemn the rhetoric that at times is coming from Conservative Members, which is unnecessarily stoking fear among those veterans?”
“As we have heard, about a quarter of a million civilians, including 130,000 children, are trapped in the city of El Fasher, following a brutal siege that has lasted 18 months. This is a critical moment amidst the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan. What can the UK Government do, with our allies, to ensure that we get humanitarian exit routes out of El Fasher for those civilians?”
“The Conservative party watched the SEND crisis destroy families, yet was unable to fix it, while Reform seems to think that children who need support are just badly behaved. But parents in North Northumberland are desperate for their children to thrive. They are desperate for someone to listen to their children and to them. That is why I look forward to the reform of the system that the Government will shortly introduce.”
“One respondent said: “It took for my child to have a breakdown” and “get medically signed off before they listened”. Our overstretched teachers do not have the capacity to manage, and they need support and training. Thirdly, perhaps most concerning is the increase in non-school attendance. Some 25% of the parents who responded to my consultation said that they had home-schooled their children for a time due to a lack of suitable provision. This is not just a SEND crisis; it is a crisis of trust between families and parents, and teachers and local authorities. It is a crisis that has been a decade in the making, and our children are growing up bearing the consequences. That is why I welcome the fact that the Government are tackling the issue head on.”
“Three hundred of my constituents signed the petition. SEND is a major issue in North Northumberland and, over the summer, 130 families completed a consultation that I carried out on the issue. I will share the information with the Secretary of State in due course. The conclusion was unanimous: the system has to change. Let me share three points that those families would want me to share. First, the EHCP process is complicated and isolating. Only 6% of respondents described it as “very positive”. Parents said that the majority of EHCPs granted on the first application took over 30 weeks to be completed. Secondly, a persistent theme was that there was a lack of teacher and staff understanding of how to support pupils with ADHD or autism. Schools are reluctant to acknowledge needs until a crisis point is reached.”
“I abhor the methods of Palestine Action, and indeed any violence in the course of protest, but I understand that four groups have been de-proscribed in the last 20 years. I am sure that the aim is for all banned groups to de-escalate and become legitimate protest groups, so what steps or evidence would be required for Palestine Action to be de-proscribed in the future?”
“I am grateful for the leadership that the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for the Middle East showed over the summer in their visit to Syria and in engaging with the Syrian Government, especially on the violence that took place in Suwayda. As UK special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, I was particularly worried to see that the violence especially affected the Druze and Christian minorities in that country. What more can we do to work with the Syrian Government to ensure that they protect all their citizens, regardless of their religion?”