Speeches by Patrick.

“The right hon. Member mentioned the families who are here today to listen to this debate, and in doing so highlighted the impact on not just those detained or held hostage but their loved ones, friends and family. I take the opportunity to invite him to recognise the family and friends of British-linked hostages held i…”

“I am interested in what you just said about the Arab world and what they are seeing, and what Israel is seeing. It sounds like they are seeing different things.”

“I am also struck by a conversation I had with a politician in the West Bank back in March, who told me that October 7 was some soldiers fighting some soldiers, and a couple of hoodlums doing some bad things, but that was all it was. It struck me in that moment that it is going to be intensely difficult if two people do…”

“I made a commitment to Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari, that I would raise her case whenever it is appropriate to do so. How do we best secure her release and that of the other hostages? Abtisam spoke eloquently about the requirement to get aid into Gaza. How do we achieve that? If I can tie this into the broa…”

“With the Chair’s indulgence, I am going to ask a short question.”

“You mentioned the work of UNRWA, which is vital in getting much-needed aid in, but I am also aware of the £1 million that we have invested in the reforms that we feel are necessary. I believe you committed to an annual audit of the work done to introduce those reforms. Will the outcome of that audit be made public? By …”

“It may be very immediately post-conflict, but what lessons from the ceasefire achieved in Lebanon will you take for our efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza?”

“Welcome, Foreign Secretary. When Sir Philip was with us a week ago, I asked a question about the fact that more men were receiving bonuses than women in the Foreign Office, which does not seem right to me. We asked for a note about the gender pay gap and by when it might be eradicated. The note says that there is no da…”

“What lessons can we learn from our past that we need to learn in those next steps for Gaza to bring about its redevelopment and reconstruction? I am thinking about Iraq.”

“You mentioned some of the guarantees that we would need to offer Israel as an ally for it to feel secure in a region that has seen the devastating attack of 7 October. Could you comment on the nature of those and what we as a UK Government can do to offer those reassurances?”

“In the spirit of getting ahead, we are hoping to achieve the ceasefire in Gaza and we are hoping that there will be a rebuilding then of Gaza.”

“I have a comment on that. Coming from you, from the top, the suggestion that that is what you want to see is what is going to make change happen. In my experience of past organisations, when the top say, “We care about this and we would like you to get there”, although you cannot always make that happen at the right ti…”

“I cannot imagine the horror that Emily Damari, now well over a year in captivity in Gaza, is going through. I know that you have talked about stepping up diplomatic efforts to secure her release. Could you update us on those efforts, what that looks like, and what progress is being made to get Emily home?”

“Thank you for your answer and for your daily efforts to secure her release. There is an extremely concerning situation in Gaza in relation to aid, which is desperately and urgently needed to increase. I read reports that suggest that some elements of aid require going through about 10 sign-off processes by different bo…”

“What assessment have you made of the concerns raised by the Israeli military of a Hamas resurgence? Does that further jeopardise the efforts to get aid into Gaza? I worry that it makes what sounds like an incredibly difficult task borderline impossible. What is your assessment of those claims? What is your assessment o…”

“Thank you. I think a few colleagues have mentioned your priority outcomes for 2023-24. They are obviously important for accountability and for staff. I am a great believer in defining success as well as defining failure; it is a good opportunity to learn from things. When I read through them, I see that priority outcom…”

“I read your last published gender pay gap report. Why are men more likely to receive a bonus payment?”

“Thank you. On lessons learned and priority outcome 3, which is about responding to humanitarian crises, there are huge issues with what is happening in the middle east. What frank lessons do we and your successor need to learn about our failure to get aid into Gaza and our failure to retrieve a British hostage held in …”

“That ties nicely into your lessons learned at the start about overambition. If I may, Chair—”

“My colleague has just suggested that I read them out while you are looking at them in case anyone is watching. I have read out priority outcome 1 before. Priority outcome 2 is: “Protect our national and international security and mitigate the threats of strategic competition through building partnerships, strengthening…”