Speeches by Foord.

“Forgive me, but I understood that Grangemouth was a crude oil refinery. We need only look to Eurasia—we need only look at what has been happening in Ukraine and Russia—to see that war comes to those who do not really want it to come to them at all. Yes, that is a failure of diplomacy, but it is also a failure of prepar…”

“Thinking about the Gaza peace plan, what aspects of it do you consider to have been successful?”

“When you compare the situation now to that 18 months ago, and you describe it as being so much less violent now than then, it is all relative, isn’t it? I mean, 738 Palestinian civilians were killed between 10 October 2025 and 10 April 2026, according to the UN. I wonder what you consider to have been the shortcomings …”

“In May, you talked in the House of Commons Chamber about the humanitarian restrictions on aid being imposed by Israel and that they really must end. What has the FCDO—what have you—been doing to bring about an end to those restrictions?”

“What was it about the Board of Peace that made you come to that conclusion?”

“You mentioned the Board of Peace. In what circumstances would the British Government join the Board of Peace?”

“I am asking you, as a Minister of HMG.”

“In October last year, US CENTCOM—Central Command—set up a Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre, and there were some reports at the beginning of May that that might close. I just wondered what you know about the potential closure of the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre. If it were to close, what might follow in its pl…”

“With UK aid cuts, we have seen a ringfence to preserve for conflict areas in the world. Palestine is one of those. I wonder if that ringfence—that preservation of UK aid—pertains to Gaza in particular, or whether that is Palestine in the round. Is it specifically about maintaining UK aid to Gaza?”

“What is the UK Government's position on the Gaza peace plan?”

“Much of the commentary on the defence investment plan is on the threat to the UK mainland, our interests and our assets. First, does the Secretary of State think that it is more useful to think about the Russian threat to NATO in general terms? Secondly, now we have the DIP, is the UK still 31st out of 32 NATO members,…”

“It is barbaric that 185,000 babies were taken from young mothers across a quarter of a century until just 50 years ago, and the Prime Minister is right to say how wrong that was. In apologising on behalf of the state, he acknowledged that, of the children who were taken, some were raised in loving homes by adoptive fam…”

“A Government consultation on changes to the planning system closed on 10 March. It included consulting on weakening flood protection in planning guidance, which could lead to greater house building on land prone to flooding. To avoid the need for new insurance schemes such as Flood Re, which supports people after their…”

“For coastguard rescue officers, remuneration provides recognition of the sacrifices that they and their families make: the nights away from home, the cancelled plans, the annual leave taken for training and the loss of income as a result of having to go out and answer calls. These coastguard teams are not built overnig…”

“In June last year, the UK sanctioned Israeli far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinian communities. In recent weeks, Smotrich has issued an order to displace the Palestinian Bedouin community. The UK position on sanctions against Smotrich was part of a joint statement last year with …”

“The Great South West pan-regional partnership produced an agrifood growth plan which I commend to the Secretary of State. It was launched by Baroness Batters back in February. The south-west region accounts for one third of England’s dairy farms and makes an outsized contribution to the UK food system. How will the Gov…”

“Q14. Tony Blair suggested that at the beginning of his premiership he was at his most popular and least capable, and talked about ending his time in office at his least popular and most capable. For the sake of people in the south-west and across the country, what tips can the Prime Minister offer his successor?”

“So far, the debate has been about how much funding should be found for defence. We should also think about the resignation speech by the former Minister for the Armed Forces, the hon. Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), who said last week that the DIP, which he has seen, does not strike the right balance betwee…”

“A week ago, the Prime Minister said that the UK would support the deal between the United States and Iran by standing up a “defensive, independent, multilateral mission”. At the planning stage, that was designed to restore freedom of navigation to the strait of Hormuz. In May, the UK was supposed to deploy drones, Typh…”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of sewage pollution in the River Otter, a river that flows through many of the Devon communities that I represent. I should say at the outset that, this morning, I declined an offer of hospitality from the new chief executive of South West Water and its parent compan…”