Speeches by Gemmell.

“I congratulate the Minister on this important agreement, which provides certainty for the people of Gibraltar, while also providing economic opportunities and important safeguards for that place. I thank Foreign Office staff for the work that they have done, and both the current and previous Gibraltar Government repres…”

“We want the Minister to go on and on, so we will keep the interventions going. On diplomatic relations, I put on record my condolences on the death of His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. I thank the Minister for the UK’s leadership in countering Iranian actions in both the strait of Hormuz a…”

“How easy is it to shift resources, even from where you are sitting, to pick up some of those opportunities?”

“Is the Leader of the House as surprised as I am by the faux outrage from so many Conservative Members? Would it not have been better to see them in the Lobby with us, voting to increase workers’ rights and the minimum wage, and to lift the two-child benefit cap?”

“You mentioned in your Chatham House piece that we need to build global alliances to strengthen our country’s security and that our national security is linked to our economic security at a time when we are seeing energy weaponised and “chokeholds on critical minerals”. Can you say any more about the kinds of alliances …”

“Thank you for joining us, Foreign Secretary. I want to talk about Syria, and I draw the Committee’s attention to my register of interests. I was in Syria earlier this month at the inaugural Syria Britain Business Council conference, and it is clear that there are opportunities for the UK to support the transition and t…”

“Can I thank Minister Elmore for his work to fix the British Council’s financial situation? I am a former member of staff, so I know it is quite hard for them to get ideas into the Foreign Office from time to time. Will you and your permanent secretary commit to making sure that we see the British Council’s chief exec a…”

“How many options are you looking at and when might you have an answer?”

“As a Scottish MP, I am very proud that we have an FCDO outpost in East Kilbride. There is some concern there about the restructure, and particular concern about the timing of the announcement of job cuts during Scottish and English school summer holidays. Unions are also concerned that we may not be following Cabinet O…”

“SAINTs, maybe.”

“I am very happy to complete this hat trick of Scottish colleagues. I thank my hon. Friend for this excellent report, and I agree about the need to focus on science diplomacy, which is an opportunity for the UK; we should be much more ambitious about what we do. As a former member of a science and innovation network ove…”

“I thank the hon. Member for giving way and my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) for securing this very important debate. May I put on record my constituents’ disgust at the actions of Israel in these settlements? Does the hon. Member agree with the Foreign Secretary’s use of the term “settl…”

“I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement and for her focus on Sudan at the summit. The world has never been in a more dangerous place, with Russia playing a dangerous game in and around our waters and harassing our carrier strike group. I welcome the £70 billion for Ukraine pledged at Ankara. What difference wil…”

“I thank the Minister for his statement and for his engagement on this issue. Coastguard rescue officers are an essential part of our emergency response and are much supported by people in Ayrshire, and I put on the record my thanks for their dedicated service. My hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ire…”

“My concern is that the only British company offering to build an advanced jet trainer replacement for the Red Arrows Hawk jet, AERALIS, has gone into receivership because of the delay in the DIP, which means it will not assemble those lovely British jets in my constituency.”

“I think maybe 14 out of the 70 were women. We also met the brilliant female Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, who is also responsible for returnees. What are we doing to help Syrians return to their country?”

“I hope the Committee will get to visit soon to see what I have seen. I should put on record that Invest Northern Ireland had also supported this conference and sent someone there—it was good to see one bit of the UK taking up the opportunities. When we were in Syria, President al-Sharaa announced his 70 appointees to P…”

“I will ask some questions about Syria, and I draw the Committee’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests because I visited Syria last week. Chair, I might tell you that Dr Dixon and I were not just diplomats together in Israel; we were neighbours in Jaffa in a much easier time for the UK’…”

“The Committee is interested in the work of the British Council and soft power. What is your assessment of what the British Council is doing in the region, and particularly in Israel and Palestine, at the moment? I know it is a hard power problem, but what are they doing that has been helpful?”

“The Minister raised the much more difficult issue of British children left in camps in Syria, and asked what we might do about that. What are your thoughts right now?”