Speeches by Harding.

“It is for north-east Syria. There is a security risk around the ISIS prisoners in north-east Syria. Are there 12,000 of them, in what is a quite fragile security situation? What is being done about that? What are we doing to secure that risk?”

“What is the assessment of the cuts between 2024 and 2025? What impact assessment has there been of that reduced funding within Syria?”

“I think there is a strong feeling that they resisted the ISIS threat for so long that they need to be supported as far as possible from the west, for want of a better term. Is it likely that that money, the £5 million, will increase over time, or is that it for now?”

“Thank you, Minister, for coming to us. I know the middle east, other than Syria, is taking up a lot of time at the moment. In November 2025, you said, “humanitarian support overall has not been adequate to address the scale of the crisis in Syria”. Why, then, has the FCDO reduced bilateral aid funding by 36%, from £151…”

“11. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the US plan for sustainable peace in Iran.”

“My constituents are deeply concerned about further escalation in the middle east and the UK being pulled further into a conflict with no clear objective. They are also concerned about the impact on their energy bills, inflation and interest rates. President Trump is attempting to pull us into his war of choice, urging …”

“The illegal war started by Trump and Netanyahu has now engulfed the entire middle east, and Iran’s reckless retaliation against our partners in the region is putting British lives at risk. There are 300,000 Britons still in the region, yet only 140,000—less than half—have registered with the Government. For families in…”

“The hon. Member is entirely right, and I will shortly come on to the forgotten stories of this war. From the mud of Flanders to the deserts of the middle east, from the jungles of East Africa to the mountains of the Balkans, Commonwealth soldiers were present in almost every theatre of the conflict. Their bravery and r…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for securing this important debate. I, like him, want to start by sharing the story of Khudadad Khan for his extraordinary courage in holding off wave after wave of German infantry in 1914. He became the first soldier of Indian origin to receive the Victoria Cross. …”

“The hon. Member is making such a powerful speech. I wish to draw attention to Princess Alice hospice in my constituency. It receives 20% of its funding from the Government, and the rest through selling woolly jumpers. Most constituents are not aware of this, but the hospice says that it can provide only a quarter of th…”

“I want to express my thanks to the FCDO and officials for their hard work helping British nationals overseas during the conflict in Iran and the middle east, including helping my own constituents get home. This debate comes at a moment of extraordinary global crisis. More than 130 conflicts are active, 120 million peop…”

“I would love to, and I will come back to the hon. Member with those at another point, but I am up against the clock at the moment. As I go through my speech, there may be some examples. Aid is not charity, as the Minister for International Development suggested to the International Development Committee. It is a strate…”

“I understand. May, we have already heard from Avinash about the implications of the suggested cuts in climate finance allocation. Given the UK’s constrained resources, how can it maximise the impact, quality and effectiveness of its climate finance in climate-vulnerable country settings?”

“You say that that is an area that the UK could lead but you seem to be also saying that it is something we are bad at. Are we starting from a low base, but could make great strides because there is nobody else doing it? What is the thinking behind that?”

“To Avinash first, what does UK climate finance do least and most effectively, relative to its international counterparts?”

“You say that that is an area that the UK could lead but you seem to be also saying that it is something we are bad at. Are we starting from a low base, but could make great strides because there is nobody else doing it? What is the thinking behind that?”

“Compared with other countries on that loss and damage, where does the UK sit? Are you seeing it in terms of multilateral assistance that the UK could lead?”

“I understand. May, we have already heard from Avinash about the implications of the suggested cuts in climate finance allocation. Given the UK’s constrained resources, how can it maximise the impact, quality and effectiveness of its climate finance in climate-vulnerable country settings?”

“Compared with other countries on that loss and damage, where does the UK sit? Are you seeing it in terms of multilateral assistance that the UK could lead?”

“To Avinash first, what does UK climate finance do least and most effectively, relative to its international counterparts?”