Speeches by Thornberry.

“I wonder whether the right hon. Lady could help the House. During the 14 years when the Conservatives were in power, when was the time that the benefits system worked well?”

“In the year since the election of this Labour Government, Britain is back as a force for good on the world stage. Following the outbreak of conflict in the middle east last week, I was proud to see the Prime Minister lead calls for calm, cool heads and de-escalation. In its aftermath, we must take seriously the renewed…”

“Our relationship with China is most definitely a difficult one. On the one hand, it is our third biggest trading partner, but on the other hand, the national security strategy, on page 35, says that there is an increase in espionage, China is undermining our economic security and interfering in our democracy, and that …”

“We must not forget Gaza. Despite the eyes of the world now being turned to the Iran-Israel war, it is important that we continue to remember the suffering of the Gazans and continue to move on it. As a witness from Médecins Sans Frontières said to my Committee, there is “lethal chaos” in Gaza. There is one read-across …”

“In the absence of the published China audit, which we have all been looking forward to so much, the national security strategy has been gone through with a fine-toothed comb by many of us. On China, it states: “Instances of China’s espionage, interference in our democracy and the undermining of our economic security ha…”

“The only way to stop Iran building a nuclear bomb is a deal, but there cannot be a deal without negotiations and there cannot be negotiations without trust. President Trump tore up the first nuclear deal and is now acting alongside Israel, and its attack last week ended the US-Iran negotiations for a new nuclear deal. …”

“Thank you very much for having us—it is great to appear in front of you. I will just address the first issue. I know that Departments that have not had a debate before are given preference over those that have had one, and we have had a debate—I accept that. However, the Foreign Office has got quite a lot on its plate.…”

“We do not. We are working all the time, Chair. We don’t just sit on one day.”

“Will the Minister please convey the gratitude of this House to the Foreign Office staff and the police officers who have had such difficult work to do on behalf of us all? Public service can be very hard sometimes, but we are very grateful.”

“It is completely understandable that Israel feels threatened by a bellicose neighbour with uranium mines and a nuclear programme, but the rest of the world is unanimous in saying that the way to deal with Iran is through discussion, negotiation and a nuclear agreement. There once was such a deal, thanks to the extraord…”

“I have to admit that when Brexit happened, I thought that the problem of Gibraltar would be so difficult that I really did not see how we would ever get over it. It is a tribute to the flair, the flexibility and the fraternity on display on all four sides of the negotiations that the Foreign Secretary has been able to …”

“I begin by thanking the Prime Minister for what he has said about Gaza. The message he is sending to Netanyahu’s far-right Government could not be clearer, and it should have the unanimous support of this House. It is essentially, “This must stop.” Turning to the grown-up EU deal, which comes hard on the heels of the t…”

“The Minister already knows my view that, as we develop our sanctions policy, Parliament should be more engaged so that we can have collective knowledge and all feed in to the best possible sanctions policy. We do not have enough of that at the moment, and there is more that we should do. One thing that Members would do…”

“I know that a lot is going on, but the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction treaty is important. It is about our blue planet and our oceans, in which we used to have a leadership position. When we were leading it, 115 countries signed that treaty, but it needs to be ratified as well, and very few countries are rat…”

“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The Houthis say that they are shelling international shipping in order to help the Palestinians, but does my right hon. Friend agree that by not just undermining international trade but causing a devastating decline in the use of the Suez ca…”

“At the meeting last night between the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Palestinian Prime Minister and his delegation, it was clear that they were very encouraged by the discussions they had had with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, and rightly so, because the memorandum of understanding shows serious thin…”

“I have just come back from Ukraine—I went with other members of the Foreign Affairs Committee—and can certainly confirm what we all know, which is that there is huge gratitude and affection for the United Kingdom in Ukraine. Whatever is happening on the western front, it is a war that affects the whole of the country. …”

“Over the last few days, the number of calls to Switchboard, the national LGBT+ helpline in my constituency, has skyrocketed. The callers are in fear of what this ruling means for them. Trans people who are frightened to use public loos today know that the overwhelming threat to women and to all the trans community is t…”

“As I look around the Chamber, I am proud to see so many Members from all parties who have come here to support our sister parliamentarians, but I am disappointed not to be able to include Members of the Front Bench of His Majesty’s Opposition in that. Our fury at this insult to our Parliament and to our country is temp…”

“Many of us may remember a time when Boris Johnson and many of those on the Conservative Benches claimed that a trade deal with Donald Trump could increase our trade with the US by up to five times. It was clearly more difficult than they thought, but it is important to learn from failure. I wonder whether the Oppositio…”