Speeches by Doughty.

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her work and that of the all-party parliamentary group. I genuinely welcome the cross-party involvement in that group over many years, which has always been done with a focus on the interests of the people of Gibraltar. I can see that a number of members of the APPG are in the Chambe…”

“Madam Deputy Speaker, may I apologise to the previous occupant of the Chair? There was no substantive difference in my statement as delivered from the copy provided, but I may have stylistically altered a couple of lines slightly; I apologise. I thank the shadow Minister for her very reasonable questions, her broad sup…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The benefits of this agreement go well beyond just being for the people of Gibraltar, La Línea and the neighbouring region; they reflect a new relationship between the UK and EU—one of trust, co-operation and working in the interests of people, business and consumers, not pursuing an…”

“I am glad to hear about my hon. Friend’s visit. Having visited Gibraltar a number of times myself, I know that it is a truly special place to visit. Having also been caught in long queues while crossing the former border, I know how delighted I will be not to face that in the future and to be able to enjoy the wider re…”

“As always, the right hon. Gentleman asks important questions. I can absolutely assure him that there is no change in the ability to operate in the way that we have done from Gibraltar in the past. Indeed, I welcome the new co-operation with our Spanish friends—our NATO allies. All the appropriate liaison will take plac…”

“I absolutely do. The agreement enjoyed unanimous support in the Parliament. Gibraltar has been at the heart of the negotiations throughout: one of our key conditions was that Gibraltar was entirely satisfied with what was agreed. Fundamentally, the agreement will benefit people, businesses and communities—that is at it…”

“I have been very clear that sovereignty was not on the table. Gibraltar—its Government and its Parliament—has freely agreed to this agreement, and a range of arrangements are in place, as well as dispute mechanisms, to ensure that fluid movement can take place across the border and high standards will continue to be en…”

“With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar. Before I do, I am sure the whole House will want to join me in expressing our sincere condolences to the people of Spain following the recent wildfires in Andalusia. Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman and his party for their wholehearted support, which is very welcome. I assure him that the constitutional safeguards are in place; they are at the heart of this agreement and are entered into in good faith by all involved, particularly by ourselves and the European Union. That is why this has…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his consistent advocacy and support on behalf of Gibraltarians—it is very important to see that support on both sides of the House today. The concordat that I have set out with the Chief Minister, and indeed the letter I have written, set out how we will work incredibly closely with the G…”

“The hon. Gentleman was previously a member of the party that left Gibraltar high and dry when it was in government, so it is quite rich to hear him make those comments. I am afraid that I totally reject his claims. If he had seen the scenes of Gibraltarians celebrating and actually listened to them and what they wanted…”

“We undertake continual assessments and reviews. This is a rolling, ongoing process that looks at a whole range of other contexts as well, and indeed in relation to issues outside the middle east as well. Tom can probably explain a little more about how that process works practically within the team.”

“I would completely agree with what has said. As I said, there is a wider question here. As a Minister, I have certainly been frustrated about the capabilities and powers that we have to respond to issues in relation to IHL and more generally in relation to our sanctions regimes. I am regularly having cases raised by co…”

“Well, we are very clear that our IHL assessments continue to find that Israel is not committed to upholding IHL in relation to Gaza. We have been very clear about that.”

“Well, the threat is very severe, as you point out, Chair. Let us be clear: these settlements are illegal and they should not be taking place. They are not only wrong in themselves, but they threaten that progress towards a two-state solution. We have been very clear about that in our condemnation and in the actions we …”

“Correct. We have raised and continue to raise that with Israeli counterparts at all levels. Obviously that has influenced the decisions that this Government have taken in relation to, for example, advice on the suspension of licences that were extant at the time that we came into office. Those were the assessments that…”

“I do not think we have all the powers that we need at the moment. I have to say, as the sanctions Minister, that this has been a frustration not just in relation to the issue of settlements, but also in a number of other contexts around the world where we want to take further action. You will understand that it is also…”

“I certainly can. I will bring Tom in to confirm this from the official side, but the IHL cell and capability has simply moved. It continues to exist within the ECJU, within the FCDO. It is obviously a crucially important function for assessing UK export licensing decisions, and we continue that work. There was some qui…”

“SAMLA is the overall framework, but within that we have the individual regimes and, below that, designations on individuals and entities. One of the challenges we have is that we do not necessarily have all the regimes in place that we would like to have. I want to pay tribute to our sanctions team: as Chris said, they…”

“I can assure you that both what Sir Chris said about the use of criterion 7 and the extent that we look at this are based on a long-standing look at the records of what has happened previously, the assurances that we have and the assessment that we have done. As Chris says, it is most crucial to get this done beforehan…”