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EU Referendum Press Releases : Britain Stronger In Europe – A Personal View by Bear Grylls

Below is the text of the press release issued by Britain Stronger In Europe on 21 June 2016.

I am proud to represent a number of different & very inspiring organisations, but on this issue, I speak from the heart and only for myself.

I also so respect the right for people to have varying views: that’s a key part of democracy. But the EU Referendum is an issue that really matters & this is why I believe it is important to be open.

This referendum has been hard to watch at times but, at heart, this is what I feel: I have travelled all over the world and have noticed, so often, how many of the most vulnerable people look to the UK for character and leadership, as if we are like beacons of good manners and fortitude. Our country’s values and contribution are respected across Europe and beyond; the UK is a trusted friend to so many nations. Those things can get lost in the maze of headlines.

At such a time for the UK to retreat, run and cut ourselves loose from Europe, when there are so many challenges on our doorstep, to me just doesn’t feel either courageous or kind. Europe has many flaws, but I also believe the way to help resolve many of those tough issues is from within. History has taught us that together we achieve more. I guess I believe that to help make the future of the world a better place then that future has to be about partnership.

As a taxi driver said to me in Paris recently, we really need you, the UK. Don’t desert us when times are tough, stand with us like you always have.

That rang true.

I have never been a good quitter and I am so proud of the UK and our values: tolerance, kindness, respect, courage and resilience. This is why I want us to stay together and Remain in Europe.

Bear Grylls.

February 9, 2020
EU Referendum Press Releases : Britain Stronger In Europe – Sporting Figures Back Remain

Below is the text of the press release issued by Britain Stronger In Europe on 21 June 2016.

Nearly 50 sports stars and industry figures, including Lawrence Dallaglio, Paula Radcliffe, Martin Glenn, Colin Graves and Neil Lennon, have today signed a letter urging Britain to stay in the EU by arguing that “we are stronger working together”.

The list of signatories also features Kyran Bracken, Bobby George, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Greg Dyke, Peter Coates, Steve Cram, Neville Southall, Ben Ainslie and Daniel Levy.

The letter comes on the same day that David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand have both thrown their support behind the campaign to keep Britain in the EU.

In the letter, the signatories say:

“In sport, the one thing that matters above all else is your team. Whether on the football pitch or running track, in the pool or in the gym, you can achieve so much more by working together. And the same is true for Britain in Europe: we are stronger working together with other countries with the ability to travel, work and play sport right across the continent.

“To remain a world leader in sport, we need to remain in the European Union. And that’s why we’ll be voting to remain on 23rd June.”

Writing for the London Evening Standard, Rio Ferdinand said:

“Sir Alex Ferguson always taught us that no individual is bigger than the team — that just because we played for Manchester United didn’t mean we could swan around doing our own thing. We had to work even harder, and be even more of a team, to get where we wanted to be.

“I think Europe is a bit like that. Britain is an amazing country but we’ll achieve much more if we’re a team player – working with others to get things done. I believe we need to work with our friends and neighbours in Europe if we want to make changes our children can be proud of.

“The sort of things young people care about: tackling climate change, helping refugees, fighting disease in Africa — they can only get fixed if we all work together.”

Full text of the letter:

With Euro 2016 well under way, and the Rio Olympics and Paralympics approaching, Britain is gearing up for an exciting summer of sport.

The pride of Great Britain at London 2012 showed how we can punch above our weight with a haul of medals beyond many people’s wildest dreams. But we need to continue to invest in talent at the grassroots and, for the thousands of young people starting out in their sport, every last penny is vital. At the moment, EU funding promotes UK sport at the local level and funding for school sport is essential too, and this is at risk if we decide to leave.

And, for the fans following their teams across Europe, being able to hop on a low-cost flight without a visa makes it easy to do – both things for which we have the EU to thank.

In sport, the one thing that matters above all else is your team. Whether on the football pitch or running track, in the pool or in the gym, you can achieve so much more by working together. And the same is true for Britain in Europe: we are stronger working together with other countries with the ability to travel, work and play sport right across the continent.

To remain a world leader in sport, we need to remain in the European Union. And that’s why we’ll be voting to remain on 23rd June.

Full list of signatories:

Allison Curbishley – Former British Athlete
Ali Jawad – IPC powerlifting World and European Champion
Anna Turney – Paralympic Skiier
Ben Ainslie – 4 time Olympic gold medallist
Bobby George – Former Professional Darts player
Carol Galashan – Commonwealth Games athlete and former Olympic gymnast
Catherine Bishop OBE – 2004 Olympic Silver medallist
Colin Graves – Chairman of the ECB
Daniel Levy – Executive Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur
Dave Moorcroft – Former 5,000m world record holder
David Dein – Former Vice-Chairman of Arsenal and the FA
David Sullivan – Co-Chairman of West Ham United
Delia Smith – Joint Majority Shareholder of Norwich City FC (signing in a personal capacity)
Emma Pallant – 2 time World Duathlon Champion
Frank Warren – Boxing Promoter and Chairman of Box Nation
Gary Mabbutt – Former professional footballer
Georgia Francis – Rowing U23 World Champion Silver medallist
Gérard Houllier – Former Liverpool and Aston Villa manager
Greg Dyke – Chairman of the FA
Hannah Beharry – Nine times British boxing Champion, two times European medallist
Julien Allwood – Triple Jumper
Jarvis Astaire OBE – Former boxing promoter
Johnny Nelson – Former WBO Cruiserweight Champion
Kate Haywood – British Record Holder for the 100m Breaststroke
Kyran Bracken – Rugby World Cup winner
Lawrence Dallaglio – Former England Rugby World Cup winner
Lee Hoos – CEO of Queens Park Rangers
Lee Shinkin – 7 times National Judo Champion
Lily van den Broecke – Paralympic Gold medallist at London 2012
Mark Abberley – CEO British Taekwondo
Martin Glenn – CEO of the FA
Meg George – Former USA Rowing Team Member
Mike Garlick – Chairman of Burnley FC
Neil Lennon – Hibernian manager and former Norther Ireland international
Neville Southall – Former Everton and Wales goalkeeper
Paula Radcliffe – British long distance runner
Peter Coates – Chairman of Stoke City FC
Peter Reid – Former Sunderland manager and England midfielder
Peter Storrie – Former CEO of Portsmouth
Rachael HeyHoe Flint OBE – Former England Women’s Cricket Captain
Robert Elstone – CEO of Everton
Sam Brearey – Sailing World Champion
Stuart Hayes – 2012 Olympic Triathlete
Steve Cram – World, Olympic, European and Commonwealth medallist
Sophie Newnes – 3 time World Martial Arts Champion, National Jujitsu Champion
Tanni Grey-Thompson – 11 times Paralympic Gold medallist

February 9, 2020
EU Referendum Press Releases : Britain Stronger In Europe – The Patriotic Campaign to Remain

Below is the text of the press release issued by Britain Stronger In Europe on 21 June 2016.

Tonight Ruth Davidson, Sadiq Khan and Frances O’Grady held the Leave Campaign to account for their lies during this campaign – and for having no plan for Britain’s future.

And the three Remain supporters set out the strong, patriotic case for staying in Europe: for jobs, for workers’ rights, for a stronger future for UK families.

February 9, 2020
EU Referendum Press Releases : Britain Stronger In Europe – TUC and EEF Unite to Say British Manufacturing is Stronger in Europe

Below is the text of the press release issued by Britain Stronger In Europe on 22 June 2016.

Today [Wednesday], in a joint statement, TUC General-Secretary Frances O’Grady and EEF chief executive Terry Scuoler say that manufacturing is better off in Europe, and that “leaving would be a terrible gamble, amounting to playing poker with people’s jobs, businesses and the country’s economic stability.”

It comes as a new survey by M&A Adviser shows 65% of people working in the M&A field believe leaving the EU would make Britain worse off.

Commenting, Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for Aberavon, said:

“Unions and manufacturers alike know that Britain’s economy is stronger in Europe, supporting jobs, lower prices and financial security for families across the country.

“Nine out of ten economists say that outside the EU’s single market trade and investment would be hit and jobs would be lost.

“When workers, experts and employers unite behind a single argument it cannot be dismissed by leave campaigners, who have no economic plan for Britain.

“Vote Remain for more jobs, lower prices, stronger public services and a decent, tolerant Great Britain. If we vote to leave, there is no going back. Don’t risk it.”

City experts are predicting “considerable and prolonged uncertainty” and there are questions on the “future role of the City of London as the leading financial centre”:

“The preponderance of views points to a post-Brexit world of considerable and prolonged uncertainty which will persist until the UK comes to an agreement with the EU on all aspects of their relationship. Questions have been raised over the future role of the City of London as the leading financial centre. Some say that the pool of talent that exists there will slowly begin to haemorrhage and other, principally European, financial centres will benefit from their knowledge and expertise and from increasing volumes of transactions in the future.”

The M&A Advisor, 21 June 2016

The uncertainty is already leading to a slow-down in transactions already:

“In the run-up to the referendum, we are aware of a number of deals that have been put on hold until the outcome is known. Merrill can look at deals that have been initiated in our systems and see that a significant amount of them have been stalled. A number of clients approach us, full of optimism, at the start of a deal only to inform us that, “Our buyer has pulled out or stalled pending the results of the referendum.” Anecdotally, our clients are telling us that deals are being suspended simply because if you are buying a UK business that has significant exports into the EU, they are going to be very cautious about executing that deal due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.”

The M&A Advisor, 21 June 2016

Following a vote to leave the EU, experts are concerned there would be less investment in the UK:

“Many people believe there will be less investment in the UK if Britain decides to leave. In a post-Brexit world it is unclear what trade agreements will be in place and whether any restrictions in the movement of goods would change these investment decisions.”

The M&A Advisor, 21 June 2016

A vote to leave will also lead to uncertainty increasing risk premiums on debt, making it more expensive for firms to invest and execute mergers and acquisitions:

“But,” he continues, “our research did point to the pricing of ‘uncertainty’ and we estimated that there would be a 50 basis point (BPS) risk premium on debt – a result that would have a major impact on a deal, reducing the price a buyer could pay. Such uncertainty reduces confidence. We believe a hiatus in dealmaking is likely if Brexit wins the vote, and one that could persist for a number of years until we all understand what the full terms of Brexit really mean.”
PwC’s Stuart McKee, The M&A Advisor, 21 June 2016

Survey results

Over 65% of survey respondents felt that the UK would be less likely to prosper if it left the EU. A similar proportion said that Britain would be less likely to attract overseas investment.

69% of respondents felt that uncertainty over the UK’s EU membership is likely to affect the current M&A and markets.

67% said that investment decisions are being negatively affected

64% of survey respondents said that UK businesses would be less attractive to overseas acquirers in the short term if Britain votes to leave the EU.

65% of our survey respondents felt that a vote for Brexit would have a negative long-term effect on M&A and high-yield markets.

The M&A Advisor, 21 June 2016

February 9, 2020
Department for International Development – 2020 Press Release on Supporting the City of London

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 17/01/2020.

Announcement comes as African government and business leaders arrive in London ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit.

Billions of pounds of investment in Africa will be generated by the City of London under initiatives announced by International Development Secretary Alok Sharma today (Friday 17 January 2020).

The announcement comes as African government and business leaders arrive in London ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit on Monday 20 January – the first event of its scale.

More African businesses are listed on the London Stock Exchange than any other finance centre outside the continent. But African assets still only account for around 1% of total investments managed by the City.

Today’s announcements will help more money from private investors like pension funds flow into Africa by making it easier, quicker and more secure to invest. This will also ensure that money is going directly to support green and sustainable development.

The three new initiatives, backed by almost £400 million of UK aid support, include:

Extra support to the UK’s Financial Sector Deepening Platform which will improve the financial systems and regulations of 45 developing nations in Africa, to build more confidence for international investors; lead the way to boost green finance products and improve access to bank accounts and loans for African entrepreneurs.

Collaboration with the City of London on a competition for fund managers to identify new investment products for Africa, which could be listed on major stock exchanges like London, making it easier and more appealing for global investors to put money into African projects at scale.

A new facility with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to develop more local currency bonds, allowing businesses and governments in Africa to raise investment in their own currencies and reduce the risks and costs associated with borrowing in foreign currencies, because of potentially damaging exchange rate fluctuations. This will help African countries better plan and invest in their future.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

“Africa’s substantial investment potential is clear, with many African countries outstripping global economic growth in recent decades. The UK is already the top financial exchange for Africa’s businesses and we want investors to seize the exciting opportunities that Africa offers.

These new initiatives, announced ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit, will make it easier, greener and more secure to invest in Africa, mobilising billions of pounds of sustainable investment to help end poverty.

These announcements come on the same day that a new World Bank Group International Development Association (IDA) Sterling bond will be listed on the London Stock exchange, which is expected to raise hundreds of millions of pounds for high impact investment across Africa.”

President of the World Bank Group David Malpass said:

“By 2050, one in four global consumers will be African. But Africa currently attracts less than 4 percent of global Foreign Direct Investment. Strong actions from countries to improve rule of law and take on vested interests could create the right incentives to spur investment by strengthening financial systems, building confidence in financial markets, and enabling more productive private sector activity.

On behalf of the World Bank Group, I’d like to thank the UK government for their leadership in supporting investments in Africa. Working together with us in global cooperation, the countries of Africa can meet their ambitions to boost growth, create jobs, and lift people out of poverty.”

Minister for Investment Graham Stuart said:

“The UK’s position as a world centre for finance makes it well positioned to support increased private sector investment into Africa, creating more jobs, driving economic growth and financing vital infrastructure projects. Today’s announcements are a brilliant step forward in supporting that objective.”

Notes to Editors

For details on the UK-Africa Investment summit click here.

Over £17 billion has been raised on the London Stock Exchange by 112 African companies in the last 10 years which today are worth more than £125 billion.

Here is further information on the three initiatives announced today:

UK Financial Sector Deepening Platform – £320 million

Since its foundation by the Department for International Development in 2002, the Financial Sector Deepening Platform has strengthened financial markets across developing countries, benefiting over 41 million African consumers and entrepreneurs with improved access to banking and financing.

The new £320 million UK aid will run over the next five years, supporting a further 22 million people and 3.9 million small businesses across 45 countries in Africa, including giving them access to mobile banking for remote communities.

It will support developing African economies like Kenya and Uganda to strengthen financial structures and regulation, encouraging more global investment, as well as supporting countries like Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe to build new financial systems following conflict or economic hardship.

The Financial Sector Deepening Platform will also build stronger financial links across African nations, allowing UK investors to invest in multiple economies with greater security, and develop new financial products aimed at supporting local small businesses, especially those run by female entrepreneurs, to access financing.

It will also build on successes in Kenya and Nigeria to create more green investment opportunities in Africa – supporting local regulators, issuers and policy makers to develop green bonds.

Competition to identify and develop new investment products for Africa – up to £45 million

A new collaboration with the City of London will identify and develop new listed investment products which boost development in poorer African nations, with up to £45 million UK aid support.

Subject to a successful competition, UK aid could be used to support the development of the new investment products that are created, or invest in them, with DFID funding going directly to projects in Africa, like funding new hospitals or clean energy power, which will generate further private investment.

The products will be able to be traded on public stock exchanges like the London Stock Exchange, boosting overall investment potential, and will be available to pension funds, other institutional investors and eventually retail investors.

With this initial financial backing from UK aid, the new investment products will bring opportunities to invest in Africa to more institutional investors, who are responsible for much larger sums of capital then is currently available to developing African countries.

IFC Cross-Border Risk Facility – £30 million

Backed by £30 million funding from the UK, DFID and the IFC are working on creating a new facility to deliver £80 million of local currency finance for a greater number of currencies across Africa.

This will help to build the market for local currency finance ensuring that international financial markets work better for the needs of developing countries and generate new opportunities for UK-based investors.

Local currency finance helps to reduce the risk and costs of damaging exchange rate fluctuations, helping African countries better plan and invest in their future.

This builds on the success of UK-aid backed local currency bonds, including the Kenyan green bond:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/alok-sharma-heralds-green-cities-of-the-future-on-kenya-visit

February 9, 2020
Department for International Development – 2020 Press Release on Money for Clean Energy

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 21/01/2020.

– over £50 million invested in innovative, clean technology as the UK works with African countries to develop sustainable energy sources, providing thousands of people with clean energy

– UK will share expertise in green finance and science and innovation to develop solar farms and battery storage projects

– African energy demand is set to rise 60% by 2040 – clean energy will be central in powering Africa’s growing economies and increasing access to electricity

Green energy supply in Africa is set for a major boost after the UK government announced winners of an investment package for the continent’s clean energy infrastructure at the African Investment Summit today.

Solar farms in Kenya, geothermal power stations in Ethiopia and clean energy storage across sub-Saharan Africa will receive funding and see leading UK scientists and financial experts working with their African counterparts to realise the continent’s huge potential for renewable energy.

With African energy demand set to rise by 60% by 2040, UK experts will help deliver green solutions for the continent’s growing energy needs, bringing clean energy to thousands of people and creating jobs and increased prosperity.

Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:

“Our world-leading scientists and financial experts will work hand in hand with African nations to support their quest for energy security, powering new industries and jobs across the continent with a diverse mix of energy sources while promoting economic growth.”

Speaking at the summit, Ms Leadsom emphasised the opportunity for many African countries to leapfrog coal power to cleaner forms of energy but stressed that more needed to be done to unlock investment.

A world-leader in reducing carbon emissions at home, today’s investment in global clean energy comes after the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced the £1 billion ‘Ayrton Fund’ for British scientists last Autumn to help developing nations reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce their carbon emissions.

As part of the initiatives announced today, the UK will support African countries with the technical skills and expertise they need in order to attract investment in renewable projects, getting innovative projects like wind and solar farms up and running. Close collaboration with African countries will be key as the UK gears up to host the UN climate talks (COP26) later this year.

UK funded projects in Africa include winners of the Energy Catalyst Competition, which has seen solar plants, energy storage batteries and hydro-power built in countries such as Botswana and Kenya; a £10 million programme which matches UK based green finance experts with project developers from developing countries to facilitate investment in clean energy projects; and the Nigeria 2050 calculator, a modelling tool designed by UK scientists to support the Nigerian government’s sustainable development planning.

Kenya is also set to benefit from a £30 million government investment in affordable energy-efficient housing which will see the construction of 10,000 low-carbon homes for rent and sale. This will support the creation of new jobs in Kenya’s green construction industry and help tackle climate change.

Over 50% of the UK’s energy production came from renewable sources last year, and with London’s expertise as the global hub for green finance, the UK is best placed to be Africa’s leading partner and help it harness its wealth of renewable sources as it moves away from coal power.

February 9, 2020
Department for International Development – 2020 Press Release on Stopping the Coronavirus

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 08/02/2020.

UK aid will help prevent the spread of the virus in developing countries, by supporting them to rapidly identify and care for patients with symptoms.

UK aid to the World Health Organisation (WHO) will help prevent the spread of the virus in developing countries, by supporting them to rapidly identify and care for patients with symptoms.

Additional experts funded by UK aid will be deployed to the WHO to help coordinate the international response.

The new support announced today demonstrates how UK aid is making the world a safer place, tackling disease outbreaks that do not respect borders.

The International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has today pledged new support to the WHO to help respond to the global coronavirus outbreak.

A number of developing countries across Asia and Africa have identified potential cases, but many lack the tools, expertise and infrastructure to diagnose and treat patients themselves. Proper detection and isolation of patients is essential to prevent the spread of the disease globally, and leaving countries with fragile health systems unable to respond risks further outbreaks across the world.

£5 million of UK aid will support the WHO’s Flash Appeal to stop the spread of the disease by supporting the developing countries most at risk of coronavirus to quickly identify cases and care for patients.

This will include training rapid response teams and medical staff to identify and respond to symptoms, raising awareness in developing countries of how to avoid coronavirus and predicting the spread of the virus to better target future support.

On top of the UK’s support for the Flash Appeal, additional experts funded by UK aid are expected to be deployed to the WHO. The experts will help coordinate the international response to ensure developing countries are better prepared and can respond effectively to potential cases.

The UK is well prepared for these types of outbreaks and was one of the first countries in the world to develop a laboratory test for the new virus.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

Diseases are global threats and to save lives around the world we need a fully coordinated international response.

By supporting developing countries with fragile health systems to properly respond to suspected cases of coronavirus, UK aid can help prevent the spread of the outbreak.

New UK aid support announced today follows £40 million invested into vaccine and virus research earlier this week by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC). The new DHSC funding, some of which is also UK aid, will support work on developing new vaccines for epidemics, including three new programmes to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV.

Notes to editors

UK aid will support the WHO’s Emergency Flash Appeal to respond to coronavirus. The WHO has initially asked donors worldwide for a total of $61.5 million (approximately £47 million) of new funding, of which the UK will contribute £5 million.

In addition, UK aid will fund the deployment of experts to the WHO’s Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

February 9, 2020
Andrew Selous – 2020 Speech on the Persecution of Christians

Below is the text of the speech made by Andrew Selous, the Conservative MP for South West Bedfordshire, in the House of Commons on 6 February 2020.

It is a pleasure, albeit a sad necessity for many of us, to speak on a debate on this issue yet again in this House. The analysis I have seen from Open Doors and others shows that in the past three years alone more than 10,000 Christians have been killed for their faith—that is a staggering number. We are right to hold this debate today, because, as others have mentioned, the evidence shows that Christians are the target of about 80% of all the acts of religious discrimination or persecution around the world.

However, as other Members have done, it is right that we focus briefly on the other 20% as well. It is a huge slight to this country that there are record levels of antisemitism here in the UK, but we are not alone, as this has increased by some 27% in France. We know that Muslims are persecuted around the world: there is internment in China, which we have heard about; 49 Muslims were killed in the mosque attack in New Zealand not so long ago; in June 2017 a 51-year-old man was killed coming out of a mosque in Islington, here in the UK; and in New York, in 2016, an imam and his associate were also killed. We also should not forget the issues that atheists face around the world. Thirteen Muslim countries punish atheism or apostasy with death, and in others legal status can be withdrawn. So although it is right that today’s debate focuses on the 80%, I, like many other Members, wish to put on record that we are concerned about all abuses of human rights in matters of faith. The diminution of those rights for people of any faith diminishes all of us, Christian or otherwise, in this House.

Sadly, we could discuss so many countries in this regard, but I am going to deal with North Korea, which has been at the top of Open Doors’ world watch list for a long time. I often feel that North Korea does not get the attention it should in these debates, probably because so little information comes out. However, some information does come out from time to time, and we need to recognise the indescribable brutality against Christians in that country and the fact that it is absolutely directed by its Government. I, for one, would like to see greater protest about that from young people and others, because it is absolutely unacceptable.

I learnt recently of a report from a defector from the North Korean national security agency, who was talking about being trained to look for things such as people who remained silent, with their eyes closed; people who were meditating; and habitual smokers or drinkers who quit smoking or drinking all of a sudden. Those people were to be watched closely, because those things were a sign that they might well be Christians. Severe recrimination, including torture, often leading to death, would follow as a result. There are brave people who have escaped from North Korea. Indeed, some have spoken in Speaker’s House about what goes on in that country, and it gives me pleasure to give amplification to their words, because we do not hear and say enough in this country about what goes on there. We also know that North Korean national security service spies are commissioned to set up fake secret prayer meetings to attract Christians, who, again, will then be imprisoned. Those are the lengths to which that deeply evil regime goes to stop any form of faith happening in that country.

Later on this year, the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting will take place in Kigali, in Rwanda. Such a meeting happens every two years, and I am a big fan of the Commonwealth. It does great work around the world, and as we have left the European Union, we are going to need to invest in that important member organisation even more strongly, to boost our trade links and our links of friendship. But if Members look down the world watch list, they will see that on it are India, Nigeria, Brunei, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya and Malaysia. Those nine are all Commonwealth countries and they have things to answer for on how they are treating Christians. So one of my questions to my good friend the Minister, whom I know takes these issues extremely seriously, is whether Her Majesty’s Government will engage on the issue of freedom of religion and belief with our Commonwealth friends and partners at that CHOGM meeting. I hope she will be able to give us answer in the debate, but if she cannot, perhaps she would write to us.

Like many Members here, I am extremely proud of the fact that my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt) instituted the Bishop of Truro’s review. He was right to do that, and it is even better news that the previous Government committed to it, as has our current Prime Minister. We have a fantastic envoy in this area, whom I spoke to in America early this morning. He might be in Washington but he is still on the case and he is very interested in what we are doing in this House today. He was running me through some of the recommendations, and I wish to focus on three in particular.

The first recommendation was for the UK to seek a United Nations Security Council resolution, and I know the Minister was asked about that earlier. I understand that the United Kingdom will assume the presidency of the Security Council shortly, and I hope that will be a time when we press forward with that important resolution to Governments in the middle east and north Africa to protect Christians and other persecuted minorities in those countries. That is absolutely necessary.

The second recommendation on which I wish to focus is the training that we provide to our excellent diplomats. We are extremely fortunate in this country to have world-class diplomatic representation. As one of the Prime Minister’s trade envoys, I have the privilege of working with some of our diplomats and know that they do fantastic work for this country all around the world. I understand that the recommendation is that all Foreign Office staff, at home and abroad, should have mandatory training on religious literacy, and that in some British embassies, high commissions and relevant companies there should be tailored responses to any violations of freedom of religion or belief. If the Minister is able to update us on the ongoing procurement of further training for our diplomats, that would be helpful. This issue needs to get into the DNA and culture of the Foreign Office—it is the bread-and-butter business of the Foreign Office. Trade deals matter, but so does freedom of religion and belief.

The final recommendation that I wish to dwell on for a while is the consideration of the imposition of sanctions on perpetrators of serious human rights abuses against religious minorities, including Christians. Again, I know that the Government are working on this issue. It would be really helpful to the House if in her response the Minister could perhaps flesh out the situation and tell us whether the Foreign Office has any particular countries in mind. Indeed, it might be helpful to those countries to know that they are potentially in the frame. Perhaps they would raise their game and make improvements so that the sanctions were not imposed.

It would be useful for the House to know what the process is and what sort of things the Government are looking at. How will the sanctions apply? If the persecution comes from the whole Government, will the sanctions apply just to individuals or to the Government as a whole? How will the sanctions be worked into our trade negotiations? Obviously, we hope that the mere threat of sanctions would lead to improvements so that they would not need to be imposed. In a sense, to impose a sanction is always a failure. It is a tool that we want to have in the box but do not want to have to use, but sometimes we need to take the tools out of the box if there is no change or action. It would really help the House if the Minister could kindly flesh out a little more of the Government’s thinking in that policy area. If she is not able to do that today—I may have put her on the spot—perhaps she would be kind enough to write to us to set out the Government’s thinking.

February 9, 2020
Lisa Cameron – 2020 Speech on the Persecution of Christians

Below is the text of the speech made by Lisa Cameron, the SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, in the House of Commons on 6 February 2020.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in this extremely important debate on the persecution of Christians, Madam Deputy Speaker.

As an officer of the all-party parliamentary group on international freedom of religion or belief, I pay particular tribute to the group and its chair, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is here today. His tireless work in the group is outstanding, as is his support for Christians and all other religious groups to prevent persecution and to ensure these issues are regularly raised in this House so that we are cognisant of our responsibility to address them at all levels of government.

This issue is of immense importance to constituents and church groups across East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow. I have received over 60 emails in the past couple of weeks asking me to attend the Open Doors event in Parliament. I attended and was extremely impressed by its detailed work and its watchlist of countries where Christians are persecuted today.

I heard the poignant accounts of those who bravely practise their faith in countries where they experience threats to their life. As a Christian, I always seek to live by my values but, when there is a threat to someone’s life and, particularly, a threat to their family’s lives, the bravery, courage and absolute faith of those extraordinary individuals is commendable and insurmountable. I was moved by the whole experience of that event in Parliament.

Will the Minister take this away and consider the persecution faced by Christians in Turkey, China, Pakistan and Nigeria? I visited Nigeria with the Select Committee on International Development a number of years ago, and we heard at first hand the religious intolerance that appeared to be building and about the very real risks people faced every day. In support of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, we spent time with the mothers whose children had been abducted.

As my constituency hosts the Department for International Development, I ask the Minister to look at the Department’s work. It is important to many Members that the Department continues to make progress on the spirit and recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s report. The Department does fantastic work across the world, and people in East Kilbride are proud that we are at the helm of many programmes that support those facing persecution, as well as those in extreme poverty in developing countries.

As a member of the International Development Committee, I visited the refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan following the Syrian crisis. I went with the hon. Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), who will speak shortly, and I distinctly remember that one of our reports highlighted how refugees from Christian backgrounds were often under threat of persecution and therefore could not, or felt they could not, go to the security and safety of the settlements developed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

We took evidence over many months in producing our detailed report, and we understood that the proportion of Christians included in the resettlement programme was desperately low and that the issue had not been addressed at the time. I am not sure whether the Minister can provide an update today, but perhaps she could write to update me on the UNHCR’s work and on the number and proportion of Christians who are now part of the resettlement programme. Has that been addressed? My fear was that families were in hiding and were not able to take part in the very good programmes to which we contribute funding. That is extremely important.

We think about the international persecution of Christians, but we need to address how Christians across the United Kingdom sometimes feel. People from many different religions feel persecuted at times, and we must always address that. No matter our own religion or values, we must make sure that the UK has freedom of religious belief for everybody.

Some of the groups that contacted me over the past year have highlighted a gradual perception of the erosion of beliefs and values related to Christianity across the United Kingdom. That concern is felt by teachers who contacted me, and by individuals who feel it is important to celebrate Easter and who were very upset by the announcement a few years ago that Cadbury’s would be taking the word “Easter” off its Easter eggs. I remember writing to Cadbury’s at the time, and it subsequently reversed the decision. Although big companies might base such developments on their consumers, they have a fundamental impact on people with religious beliefs.

Other individuals highlighted cases where “Merry Christmas” has been replaced with “Happy Holidays,” or where they felt pressured to make that change. I visited a hospital not so long ago where staff were greatly upset that the star had been taken off the Christmas tree. It is important not only that we continue to work together across this House on all these issues, but that this is not just seen singularly as an issue for other countries, because we have to accept that we also have a lot of work to do to ensure the continuation of freedom of religious belief, which we all hold so dear as an absolute value in this House. We must support that and do everything we can, across all parties in this House, to ensure that it is one of the core fundamental values that underpin our democracy.

February 9, 2020
Bill Cash – 2020 Speech on the Persecution of Christians

Below is the text of the speech made by Bill Cash, the Conservative MP for Stone, in the House of Commons on 6 February 2020.

It is a great honour to speak in this debate and to follow the excellent speeches that have been made by the Minister and by my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh). I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for the work he has done over decades on this subject, and to the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O’Hara) for the interesting analysis that he has just presented us with.

As a Christian, I am well aware that this is not a new subject; it is a very ancient subject indeed. In fact, we had Christian persecution during the Roman empire on a monumental scale. It persisted through the middle ages and the wars of religion in France, and it was of course endemic in the communist era under Stalin. This is not only a question of what is going on in China today; it is something that permeates our history and our civilisation. I shall be bold enough to say that, in my opinion, religious toleration is the best evidence of a civilised society. I say that because it is not just about law-making; it is about attitudes, cultural life and thinking. Where there has been a proper degree of religious toleration in the past, there has tended to be peace. When that toleration breaks down and people compartmentalise their own ideology and use it as a weapon—and as a state weapon in the case of certain countries, many of which have been mentioned today—we end up with the increase in persecution that Open Doors has identified so well. This debate is quite rightly about Christian persecution, which of course does apply and has applied in the past more particularly where there have been atheistic regimes and regimes that discriminated against Christianity but also against other religions.

I welcome and applaud what Open Doors has said. This has not been specifically mentioned yet, but Open Doors estimates that 260 million Christians in the top 50 countries on its world watch list for 2020 are being persecuted for their religious beliefs, compared with 245 million in 2019. In 2014, only North Korea was ranked as extreme for its level of persecution of Christians. In the 2020 report—only six years later—11 countries fall into that category, and Open Doors estimates that attacks on churches have risen by 500%, from 1,847 to 9,488, over the past year. That massive increase is highly dangerous and problematic not only for stability in the countries in which such things are happening, but in relation to what this country must do to attempt to mitigate and prevent them. The International Society for Human Rights estimates that Christians are the targets of about 80% of all acts of religious discrimination or persecution worldwide, so it is significant that this debate focuses on persecution against Christians.

I welcome the initiative of the Prime Minister and, indeed, the manner in which my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) has taken over as special envoy on this matter, under the auspices—if I can use that expression—of my hon. Friend the Minister and the Prime Minister. I will issue a word of encouragement, rather than warning, because when I read the Bishop of Truro’s report, and the commentary around it, I noted that only two of the 22 extremely important and significant recommendations are Christian-specific. It is worth making that point, because if the proportionality demonstrates that the increase in attacks on Christians is so much greater than in those on others, and that that is largely happening in countries with a particular state ideology about religious beliefs that is antipathetic to the Christian religion, then inevitably it is a serious problem on an international scale. For that reason, I am glad that the United Nations is taking an active interest in the matter.

It is one thing to say we do not like persecution, but it is another to say that it is coming from certain quarters and certain countries, and that it is aimed at certain categories of religious minority—in this case Christian—while the volume of persecution against Christians is increasing. It therefore becomes a matter of extreme importance to us, and I welcome what the Foreign Secretary has said about the matter. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister are hitting the nail right on the head. It is one of the most intractable problems, as shown in the historical outline I gave from the Roman empire onwards, and it will not just go away. It will require careful diplomatic, belief-based and religious tolerance from those who want to prevent the situation from escalating.

As I said during the shadow Minister’s very good speech, we must be careful not to generalise the subject in such a way that our attention is distracted from attacks on Christians. I have always been a strong supporter of Holocaust Memorial Day, and I feel intensely about the matter. I had the opportunity the other day to sign the book, and I remember writing, “Never again.” I do not need to write 10 lines, just the words, “Never again.” Having been born in 1940, I am the oldest Member in the House of Commons, so unlike many others—I mean no disrespect; this is a problem of age—I actually lived through that period. I can remember as a small boy seeing the extent of the persecution when I watched black-and-white films after the war about what went on in the concentration camps.

One must remember that some people were taken to those camps due to their Christian beliefs. We all know about Bonhoeffer and Father Kolbe—St Kolbe as I think he is now—and so on, and I am just trying to contextualise the debate a little by saying that this is not a new problem and it is not confined to Christianity. However, this debate is especially important because of the degree to which Christians are now being targeted in a new wave of anti-Christian persecution by certain states that have either atheistic or, in some cases, Islamic objections to Christianity and have weaponised their state control in order to persecute Christians.

We must also be aware of the use of sanctions. My hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Alexander Stafford), the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O’Hara) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) impressed me by mentioning the imposition of conditions on the aid we give. Members will know that I promoted the Bill that became the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014. Its aim was to protect women and children from FGM and all those other matters. The Bill imposes a statutory obligation that where the Government, through the Department for International Development, are giving aid, they are allowed to impose conditions to promote the idea of protecting women and children, including from trafficking, honour killings and other matters whereby women are unfairly treated in different countries.

As we have heard, many countries are actively using state powers to promote anti-Christian persecution. Imposing conditions could be a fruitful line of inquiry and needs to be worked on, because although the 2014 Act related to the protection of women and children, it could just as well be used for ensuring that Christians are not persecuted. The law is already there, and I remember the former Prime Minister saying to me, “You do realise, Bill, that you have changed the law in a really big way,” because the £13 billion that we give in international aid now has embedded in it a statutory obligation, subject to judicial review. I would be keen to see that principle applied to the purpose of ensuring that Christians in other countries are not persecuted.

This debate has been incredibly useful for many reasons, and I will finish by saying something about my great friend Jeremy Lefroy, the former Member for Stafford, who has sadly left this House. He is doing the most amazing work, and I am sure we shall hear more about it from my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce). His work, and that of others doing similar things, can play a big part in ensuring that we get this problem straightened out. I will finish on the domestic abuse of Christians. It has bothered me for a long time that some people appear to be able to go up and down Whitehall with placards attacking Christians—make no mistake—without being properly prosecuted. If Christians were to attack other religions in the same context, it would immediately fall into the category of what is called human rights law. I am not against human rights and never have been, but I am deeply concerned—[Interruption.] I see one or two Members shaking their head. I have a very deep concern that human rights laws sometimes protect some people but can give rise to the invasive question of proper control over the misuse of freedom of speech. That is highly controversial and we do not have time to go into it now, but I put that forward as a proposition.

It is important that issues of religious toleration have complete equivalence of treatment under the law. Once it gets out of control, it becomes so pervasive and causes so much division in society—I come back to Holocaust Memorial Day and my concern for the Jewish population, and to what I have seen in the press about some aspects of the accusations against some members of the Labour party.

We all owe it to everybody to be fair, reasonable and tolerant, but also to put our foot down, using sanctions where necessary and financial conditions where required, to ensure that we do not allow Christians, either abroad or at home, to be persecuted. Such persecution is unjustified and hateful, and we can do something about it.

February 9, 2020