Speeches by Ferguson.

“I thank the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for securing this urgent question; it is indeed urgent. At the UN, the UK called for Israel to abide by UNSC resolution 2286 on the protection of civilians and healthcare. It is clear that Israel is not abiding by that resolution, so with the words havi…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“I thank the hon. Member for taking an intervention. Does he share my fear that the statements of Israeli officials suggest that they intend to have a long-term presence in Gaza? Will he join me in condemning the de facto annexation of parts of Gaza that is going on at the moment?”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to talk about the heroism, frankly, of people like Dr Mamode. I recall that, when showing us a short video from his video diary, he pointed out that the noise in the background was the noise of drones. Medical staff are not exempt from these attacks, nor are civilian people who are th…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. The situation is of course getting worse rather than better as we watch the actions in northern Gaza unfold. The presentation that some of us observed from Professor Mamode was heart-rending in many ways. He also spoke about not having medicines or anaesthetics for people, includin…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I do not intend to take up too much time in today’s debate as I hope that as many colleagues as possible will have time to speak. The issue conc…”

“This has been a wide-ranging debate and it is fair to say that Members have covered all the issues pertinent to the situation in Gaza at the moment. I am sure the Minister was alive to the great deal of concern about the ongoing tragedy that is Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. Of course we all want to see…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend that we have to redouble our efforts, and we have to do more than just talk about what is happening in Gaza; we have to act to ensure that this comes to a conclusion as quickly as possible.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. With the news that the Israeli Government have banned UNRWA from working in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem, and that even conversations between UNRWA staff and Israeli officials will be banned, the 2 million people who are currently dependant on UNRWA aid are made even m…”

“I thank my friend for that intervention. The shocking aspect of the statistics is that the figure of 16,000 children who have been killed does not refer, of course, to those children who have been maimed. I would personally like to see more of those young people, or at least some of those young people, being able to co…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend; that kind of language does not help the people of Gaza, or the hostages. That is the message that many of the hostage families have been trying to get across. There have been massive protests all through this horrible period. Indeed, at the weekend, despite the fact that demonstrations have…”

“I think the hon. Member will accept that I have said that there should be sanctions, particularly against Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, but I also think that we have at this point—perhaps we should have done it sooner—to formally accept Palestinian statehood and argue for that. The city of Glasgow, my home city, has for many …”

“My hon. Friend makes a very valid point that I was just about to come to, so it is very timely. I think our Government have to work very hard with the international community to try to find a way—and hard it will be—to bypass the Israeli Government and ensure that we manage to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. We …”

“In 2023-24, more than 16,000 crimes involving fraud were committed in Scotland. Since crime of that kind is often committed online and observes no borders, will the Solicitor General advise the Chamber on whether the UK and Scottish fraud offices are co-operating on that issue?”

“6. What steps her Department is taking to support the Serious Fraud Office in tackling economic crime.”

“I am grateful to the right hon. Member for taking the intervention. I struggle to understand what the Conservative party’s line is on the Bill. It would appear that he disagrees with a number of his colleagues. At the end of the day, how will Conservative Members vote?”

“The point is that the birthrights the right hon. Gentleman describes are available to all of us, whereas the birthrights we are talking about are restricted to very few people, some of whom have inherited them from a point that is literally in the history books and is so far back, and the contribution is so archaic now…”

“rose—”

“Having gone to school next door to the Mack, it holds a great place in my heart. I also worked next door to it for a time, so it was rooted in my life when I was growing up. It is incredibly sad to see what has happened to it, not only because of its architecture but because of what it has meant to generations of Glasw…”