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  • Janet Daby – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Retention and Recruitment of NHS Workers

    Janet Daby – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Retention and Recruitment of NHS Workers

    The parliamentary question asked by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 24 January 2023.

    Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)

    If he will bring forward a plan to increase (a) retention and (b) recruitment of NHS staff.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    What steps he is taking to ensure that gaps in the NHS workforce are filled.

    Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)

    What progress he has made on increasing the number of doctors and nurses in the NHS.

    The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)

    The long-term workforce plan that is being developed by NHS England will help to ensure that we have the right staff numbers with the right skills to deliver high-quality services in the future.

    Janet Daby

    Is the Secretary of State fully aware that under this Government every part of the NHS is in crisis? Are the Government satisfied with the fact that, as medical students in their second year told me recently, the shortage of staff on hospital wards and the pressures on those wards are affecting their training? The students also told me that they had little aspiration to work as junior doctors in the UK after qualifying, because of the acute strain on the NHS and because they felt undervalued. Does the Secretary of State know about this, and what is he going to do about it?

    Steve Barclay

    We see a considerable number of applications for medical undergraduate places, far in excess of the number of places available. We have boosted the number of places—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) chunters from the Opposition Front Bench, but when I was last in the Department and the Chancellor had my role, we increased the number of medical undergraduate places by 25%. Indeed, we have more doctors and nurses than we had last year, and 3.5% more full-time equivalent staff: we have over 42,000 more people working in the NHS than we had last year.

    Jim Shannon

    The British Heart Foundation has reported that by the end of August 2022 a record 346,000 people were waiting for heart care. Despite the best efforts of NHS staff, workforce shortages are affecting primary and secondary care services. Can the Secretary of State explain how the Government’s comprehensive NHS workforce plan will address specific gaps in the workforce, especially those in cardiology services?

    Steve Barclay

    The hon. Gentleman has raised an important issue. I think that, in particular, we should look at our approach to major conditions, and I will say more about our thinking in that regard at the start of topical questions. I also think that we need to look at the issue of heart conditions in the context of the wider debate about excess deaths; we know that there is a particular issue in the 50 to 64-year-old cohort. As well as providing those extra doctors and clinicians—and from next autumn we will also have the additional medical doctor degree apprenticeship route—we need to look at methods of upstream testing, particularly in respect of heart conditions.

    Karl MᶜCartney

    In reference to my right hon. Friend’s earlier answers, we are keen to see the success of the new Lincoln medical school leading to more locally trained NHS professionals working across Lincolnshire. What more can the Government do to remove barriers to entry to ensure that anyone who can do so is able to train to become a doctor, nurse, dentist or dental nurse in our NHS, specifically in Lincoln and Lincolnshire?

    Steve Barclay

    My hon. Friend raises an important point on two levels. The first relates to how we boost recruitment in areas such as Lincolnshire, and the new medical school in Lincoln will play a key part in that. The second relates to how we increase the retainability of staff in those parts of the country, and having more on-the-job training and apprenticeships is a key way of doing that. That is why things like the new medical doctor degree apprenticeship will be particularly relevant to cohorts of the population in areas such as Lincoln.

    Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)

    One of the biggest issues my local hospitals raise with me in outer London is the impact of Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone expansion, with nurses and other staff facing charges of £12.50 per shift or £25 if they are working nights. Given that 50% of London’s emergency service workers live outside the capital, does the Minister agree that the Mayor and the Labour party should stop ignoring Londoners and drop their ULEZ tax rate?

    Steve Barclay

    My hon. Friend raises an important point about the additional costs that the London Mayor is imposing not just on NHS staff but on all staff working in the capital, in contrast to the approach the Chancellor has taken to energy support to help staff across the workforce, including in the NHS, with the cost of living.

    Sir Gary Streeter (South West Devon) (Con)

    Most of the GP practices in South West Devon report to me that their biggest challenge is recruiting new doctors. Does my right hon. Friend have an estimate of the number of young doctors finishing their training this year who are likely to want to become GPs, and can he reassure us that that is a greater number than the number who are likely to retire in the next 12 months?

    Steve Barclay

    My hon. Friend raises two important themes. The first relates to how many are in training, and I think it is around 4,000. We have boosted the number of GP training places and we have looked at medical schools as a specific issue. Also, he will have seen some of the changes being made around pensions in order to better retain staff, mindful of those clinicians who are leaving the profession, and further discussions are taking place with Treasury colleagues in that regard.

    Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)

    In Shropshire there are 14% fewer GPs and 29% fewer GP partners than in 2019, yet in the period from April to November 2022, they provided 6% more appointments. It is this additional workload that is causing burnout in GP practices and a flight from the profession. What is the Secretary of State doing to improve the retention of GPs as well as recruitment?

    Steve Barclay

    It is important to look at the number of doctors in general practice, and those numbers are up. There are 2,298 more than there were in September 2019, so we are increasing the number of doctors. What is also important is getting the right care at the right time within primary care, which is about the wider workforce—the paramedics, the mental health support and others working in primary care—and there are an extra 21,000 there. This is enabling GPs to see more patients a day and allowing more patients to get the right primary care, perhaps not from a doctor but from others who can offer specialised support.

    Eddie Hughes (Walsall North) (Con)

    One of the best ways to improve recruitment and retention is to make sure that staff have an excellent working environment, which is why I campaigned for a new urgent and emergency care department at Walsall Manor Hospital. I was successful, and it is opening in March. Will one of the ministerial team join me to celebrate this success?

    Steve Barclay

    I welcome my hon. Friend’s drawing attention to the investment that has been made, which is in no small part due to his campaigning and championing his constituents, as he does so assiduously. I think the Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince) has plans to join him to mark the opening of that important facility, which shows our investment in the estate within the NHS.

    Mr Speaker

    There will be a 24-hour service at Chorley as well, I hope.

    Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)

    One way to improve retention and recruitment of NHS staff at Northwick Park Hospital, which serves my constituency and which I believe the Secretary of State visited last Thursday, would be to invest in doubling its intensive care beds. Did the Secretary of State discuss that issue with the chief executive of Northwick Park when he visited last week? Will he tell us when he might be able to announce funding for the new 60-bed unit that Northwick Park needs?

    Steve Barclay

    The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of bed capacity at Northwick Park, but my discussions with the chief executive were more in the context of how step-down capacity will relieve pressure on A&E. The hon. Gentleman will know that Northwick Park has one of the busiest, if not the busiest, A&Es in London on many days, and the chief executive spoke to me about the value of adding extra bed capacity from a step-down perspective, much more so than from an intensive-care perspective. If there are specific issues for intensive care, I am happy to follow them up with the hon. Gentleman.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the shadow Minister.

    Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)

    In mental health we rely on staff, not shiny machinery, so why is the Secretary of State rehashing old announcements and scrapping plans? It is because the Government have run out of ideas. Labour has a plan. We will recruit 8,500 more mental health professionals, ensuring a million more patients get treated every year. We will double the number of medical school places. We will train 10,000 extra nurses and midwives every year, and we will focus on retaining the fantastic staff we already have. Where is the Government’s plan? We have had our plan for two years, but they are binning theirs.

    Steve Barclay

    It is slightly odd for the hon. Lady to talk about a plan when she does not agree with the plan of the shadow Health Secretary, the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting). He plans to use the private sector, which he describes as “effective and popular,” whereas the hon. Lady said:

    “In my own brief in mental health we have use of the private sector, which ultimately often lets patients down.”

    First, the hon. Lady does not agree with the shadow Secretary of State. [Interruption.] The hon. Lady chunters, but she asked about a plan when she does not agree with her own Secretary of State.

    Secondly, the hon. Lady talked about shiny new equipment. I am delighted that she allows me to draw the House’s attention to yesterday’s announcement of a fleet of 100 new mental health ambulances, which will relieve pressure on A&E. I am delighted that she gave me an open door to highlight that investment, which is part of our £2.3 billion investment in mental health.

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Comments After Andrew Western Wins Stretford and Urmston By-Election for Labour

    Janet Daby – 2022 Comments After Andrew Western Wins Stretford and Urmston By-Election for Labour

    The comments made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, on Twitter on 16 December 2022.

    Congratulations Andrew Western on your resounding victory in the #StretfordAndUrmston by-election.

    Decisive win for UK Labour and very poor showing for Rishi Sunak’s Tories!

    I’m looking forward to welcoming you in Parliament soon.

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Speech on Southeastern Railway Timetable Changes

    Janet Daby – 2022 Speech on Southeastern Railway Timetable Changes

    The speech made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons, on 6 December 2022.

    It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Harris. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) for securing such an essential and necessary debate. I share many of the concerns that have been expressed by other Members and hon. Friends.

    The changes will be implemented in just five days’ time. They have been very controversial, to say the least. South London has always been seen as the poor relation to north London in terms of transport connectivity. In Lewisham East, we do not have the Elizabeth line, the docklands light railway, the Jubilee line and so on. We rely on rail services to travel. They are essential. The changes reduce connectivity in areas south of the River Thames. That means that for users of Blackheath station the number of direct trains to Charing Cross is dramatically reduced. In fact, there will be no direct trains to Charing Cross during off-peak times.

    The new timetable clearly creates problems, not solutions, for many of my constituents. I will share with the Chamber two significant quotes from constituents. One said:

    “Changing at London Bridge will be difficult for me as a registered blind person with severe arthritis. I avoid changing trains as a rule. The changes will make any trips to Charing Cross or Waterloo significantly harder and more time-consuming for me. I will probably stop going into London unless I have to”.

    Another constituent said:

    “My elderly neighbours rely on the service to Charing Cross for entertainment and for connecting trains to Kings Cross. They have told me that the change at London Bridge is so stressful that they will probably stop taking the train altogether. They are aged 91 and 85 years old and the escalators and lifts at the New London Bridge present too much of an obstacle for them.”

    Southeastern really needs to ask whether it is trying to deter people from using the train service, or is it trying to encourage people to use it. It seems that the former is being achieved. My concerns about the timetables include the impact on the safety of young girls, women and vulnerable people, as they have to make an extra change at London Bridge late at night. I am concerned about commuters’ ability to get to work on time and about the timetable making it harder for Londoners to use public transport during the climate crisis, as already mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Vicky Foxcroft).

    Blackheath councillors and I started a petition as soon as we heard about the proposed changes and cuts to the trains, to call for the reversal of the timetable. It was signed by hundreds of local people. Last week, the petition was handed in at Southeastern headquarters. What has angered many residents is the fact that local people have not had the chance to be consulted on the changes. It is outrageous that the Government have allowed Southeastern to implement the changes without a consultation, which is entirely unacceptable.

    My Blackheath constituents have written to me endlessly on this matter. They need to be heard. That is why I did a survey asking for their views on the timetable. Of the 1,151 households who responded, 98% said that Southeastern should not go ahead with the timetable. Some 96% said that the timetable changes will make their journeys more difficult. When asked what concerned them most about the timetable changes, the top three answers were: the safety of vulnerable people, including young women and those with disabilities, travelling back from central London; the fact that the timetable would make them change their commuting journey; and increased crowding on trains for those using Blackheath station. Lastly, when we asked whether Southeastern should have consulted on the changes, 96% of respondents agreed. I also agree, and I encourage the Government to ask Southeastern to press the pause button on the plans. Will the Minister tell us that all future significant train cuts to services will be met with transparency and consultation?

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Damp in Properties

    Janet Daby – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Damp in Properties

    The parliamentary question asked by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 16 November 2022.

    Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)

    Last month, a 52-year-old gentleman contacted me, crying down the phone. He said that, in his previous accommodation, he had developed breathing problems due to the damp, rot and mould in that home, that there was no heating in his present home and that he was worried and scared. What will the Secretary of State’s Department do to invest in social housing, enforce capacity and provide legal aid to help to end this scandal once and for all?

    Michael Gove

    I am very sorry to hear about that individual case. I would be grateful if the hon. Lady let me and my office know about that and the landlord responsible, and we will seek to follow it up. On her broader point, I hope that the regulator and the ombudsman together can help to ensure that individuals like her constituent have their concerns addressed. However, if more needs to be done, my Department will do what we can to review that.

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Speech on the Government’s “Plan for Growth”

    Janet Daby – 2022 Speech on the Government’s “Plan for Growth”

    The speech made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 19 October 2022.

    We have had more than 12 years of a failing Conservative Government, and I will outline some of those failures. There has been a drastic rise in food bank dependency, and the Government appear to think that is acceptable and should continue to exist in our society. I say no, that should not happen, and I know Labour Members agree with that. Child poverty is very prevalent. Children in my constituency are going hungry, some both in the mornings and at lunchtime because their parents do not have enough money to feed them breakfast and give them lunch. Universal credit does not go far enough, and the very least the Government could do is ensure that it increases in line with inflation. The Government have carried out cut after cut to our public services. Those cuts affect the quality of people’s lives every day, because services are no longer in existence, and charities do not have the support they need to carry out those vital services.

    While the roll-out of the vaccine is to be commended—let me say again how great the NHS was in rolling out that vaccine, as it continues to do, and acknowledge our key workers—even under the previous Prime Minister the economy was mismanaged. Many self-employed people were left to fend for themselves during the pandemic, and millions, even billions of pounds were written off by the Government. The UK has recovered more slowly than any other G7 country.

    For the recent Prime Minister and her Government it is even harder to know where to begin. In light of what is happening globally, the mini-Budget was supposed to help, but instead it was an act of economic self-sabotage. How on earth did the Prime Minister and her then Chancellor fail to see that large unfunded tax cuts would not work? What we saw was high inflation, the devaluing of the pound, pension funds plummeting and mortgage rates being hiked.

    The consequences of the crisis were made entirely in Downing Street. In years to come, the cost will be paid by millions of working people. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have now admitted that the mini Budget caused mortgage rates to go up and borrowing costs to surge. Nearly 10,000 households in the borough of Lewisham will face higher mortgage rates in 2023, and the situation for renters is no better.

    Earlier this week, I raised the case of my constituent who was forced to leave an abusive marriage. She works and has children, and she could barely afford her private rent. She was already on universal credit. To make matters worse, her rent recently increased by £300. She simply cannot afford that. Other constituents are experiencing similar things. One shares a house and has since seen their rent rise by £600. They, too, cannot afford that. Are the Government saying that it is okay for people to fall into debt and that the everyday person has to accept the situation? It is not right.

    Many parents across the country are struggling to feed their children. In fact, 26% of households with children have experienced food insecurity in the past month. Instead of the Government focusing their efforts on helping struggling families, they have lifted the cap on bankers’ bonuses. How can the Conservatives say that theirs is a party of fiscal responsibility when they hold the management of the economy in scant regard?

    The Government have seen four Chancellors in the last 107 days. They need to stand aside. Labour will restore financial responsibility for the country with a serious plan for growth that puts people first. The next Labour Government will establish a great British energy company, because we are committed to lowering bills, protecting the environment and creating jobs. Labour will also introduce a new deal to boost job security, promote fairer pay and tackle the gender and ethnic minority pay gaps. The price of the Tory Government is already far too high to pay.

    The Prime Minister says that she is a democrat. If she is, it is vital that we have a general election now.

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Janet Daby – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

    I rise to pay tribute on behalf of my constituents of Lewisham East and to express my own sadness.

    Our late Queen Elizabeth II was the nation’s longest-serving monarch, who reigned for seven decades. She was for so many of us a constant, enduring and reliable figure for our great nation. I was deeply saddened by the news that our beloved Queen had passed away. She served her country with dignity and grace. One of the finest quotes I have recently heard about her is

    “neither did she explain herself and neither did she complain”.

    She rose to each challenge with grace, and she dedicated her life to her nation. She was a Queen who loved and who in return was loved.

    One of my earliest memories of the Queen was meeting her when I was seven years old during her visit to south-east London. Strangely enough, my mother’s earliest memory of seeing the Queen dates from when she was around the same age, many years earlier in the Caribbean. My mother said that

    “in Jamaica children used to run to her”.

    Nothing really changed there. She was adored by many across the Commonwealth and, indeed, the globe.

    I remember that as a child, my greatest street party was in 1977—the silver jubilee. I fear that many of us are giving away our age, as we all seem to remember the silver jubilee. She gave us all much cause for joy and celebration, and I am grateful that she was able to mark her platinum jubilee earlier this year. It brought together thousands of people across Lewisham, where over 100 street parties were held to celebrate her many achievements. Her departure reminds me that there is a time to live and, indeed, a time to die. Let us in this place do our very best to do what we can while we live to make a difference to the lives of others.

    In the meantime, my thoughts are with her family, our nation, and all those who mourn our beloved Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, across the Commonwealth and across the globe. May she rest in peace. Long live the King.

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Speech in the No Confidence in the Government Motion

    Janet Daby – 2022 Speech in the No Confidence in the Government Motion

    The speech made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 18 July 2022.

    I have no confidence in the Prime Minister and this Government. My inbox is filled with emails from constituents telling me how the current Prime Minister and his Government are not fit to lead our country. Conservative Members seem to have amnesia; they seem to have forgotten that they recently had a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. They also recently had an exodus of Ministers resigning from the Prime Minister’s Cabinet. They are now in the middle of a contest to choose the third leader that the Tory Government will have had in the four years that I have been in this place.

    The Prime Minister is a significant risk to our country, as we have seen time and again. It was wrong that he put the former Deputy Chief Whip in such an important position of responsibility and authority when he knew that he had displayed sexually harmful behaviour towards others. Since the PM has been in office, he has gone from one scandal to the next, just like in a soap opera, but Parliament is not a soap opera, nor should it be reduced to one.

    The Prime Minister is a safeguarding risk, but he is also a national security risk. His careless words as Foreign Secretary led to evidence being given against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe that led to her spending five years incarcerated. Anoosheh Ashoori, my constituent, spent four years in prison in Iran. The Government should have repaid the debt to Iran a lot sooner, which could have brought them home even sooner. Then there was the private meeting that the Prime Minister had with the ex-KGB agent Alexander Lebedev in Italy. What was that about?

    These are a few of the many incidents that have been inappropriate, dangerous, disgraceful and lawbreaking. The Prime Minister unlawfully prorogued Parliament. He did not lock down fast enough at the beginning of the pandemic, which could have saved lives. His former adviser even said that the Prime Minister resisted the autumn lockdown in 2020 because he thought only over-80s die of covid. How ridiculous and insulting is that?

    Millions in taxpayers’ money was lost as Ministers signed off deals for PPE that was not used. The Government’s test and trace system failed to cut infection levels, despite being funded by £37 billion of taxpayers’ money. The then Chancellor wrote off £11.8 billion in public funds. There was the U-turn on keeping overseas aid spending at 0.7%; the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat and the questions about who paid for the £840-a-roll wallpaper; the Tory Ministers being allowed to help a Tory donor to avoid paying a new tax on his housing development; the Owen Paterson scandal, where the Prime Minister tried to change the standards rules to save his friend; and, of course, partygate. It is clear that this Government are not up to the job of governing our country, and the only solution is a general election.

  • Janet Daby – 2022 Speech on the HM Passport Office Backlog

    Janet Daby – 2022 Speech on the HM Passport Office Backlog

    The speech made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 14 June 2022.

    I am convinced that every Member has received letters, emails and telephone calls from their constituents reaching out to them about these delays and their frustrations with the Passport Office. We are hearing constantly about situations people are experiencing and our constituents’ frustrations. We were expecting a spike in passport applications post-covid. We knew that was going to come, as did the Government. Obviously, they had not fully prepared for it and the proof is in the pudding. They need to review that, but I suggest they do not do so now, because we need their focus on the Passport Office and getting this right for our constituents.

    The Government are catching up, but they are doing so far too slowly. As we know, the Home Office is in crisis; the wildfire has gone out of control, and the Government really need to get a grip on this and gain control. Like many Members from across this Chamber, I do not hold the civil servants accountable for this in any way, shape or form; this is clearly about the Government, and they need to get ahead of the game. They need to work to ensure that these backlogs are brought under control.

    As we heard from the Minister, we have no idea how many passport applications are being delayed and how vast the backlog is. We can only assume that it is vast and terrifying. I do not say that to alarm people in our country—our constituents. I do so to say to the Government, “You really need to address this, to make sure that this backlog is reduced.” We are hearing things about how it will be addressed, but we need to get a sense from the Government that they understand, that they apologise for the backlog and that they are seeking to reassure people that it will be addressed and that they will get on top of it.

    People need to see their family members. The pandemic has lasted an extremely long time—more than two years—and people need to see their grandparents and parents, and visit their sons, daughters and friends. People need to travel for work and they need to go on holiday. There are so many reasons why people, including families, need their passports.

    Many constituents have contacted me about this and I am going to share some of the examples of the situations they have been experiencing. One constituent has said that they have phoned several times and not been able to get an answer. They are frustrated by that and so have turned to my office, to me, to address this for them. My staff have told me that they have been on the line for 45 minutes trying to get through to the Home Office. They have even been on the phone for more than two hours and still not got through. The Government need to think, “Is this the best use of people’s time?” Is it the best use of our staff’s time if they are on hold, waiting to get through? Is it the best use of time, economically? Time is being wasted.

    Constituents have told me that they have waited for an hour and a half and then someone has hung up on them. They have been distressed by this situation and have felt grossly let down. Last Friday, the Home Office phones were even down for a period, which is also unacceptable. Just yesterday, a constituent told me that they arrived at the Passport Office at 6 am, queued until 3 pm and when they were eventually seen by someone, they were told that their application was in Newcastle and that they needed to go there to advance it. That is simply outrageous. It is simply wrong. That is one of so many examples where our residents are feeling and being let down.

    The Home Office has a pattern of failure, with inadequate systems for Afghan refugees, the inability to run the Windrush compensation scheme properly, and the shameful Rwanda offshoring policy, as well as the Department’s staffing shortages. The Government need a new, coherent strategy to reform the running of the Home Office, because our constituents are losing out and this is unacceptable.

    As my hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) said in his opening speech, “A Government fail when they fail to plan”. This Government’s plans are failing.

  • Janet Daby – 2021 Speech on Detention of Anoosheh Ashoori in Iran

    Janet Daby – 2021 Speech on Detention of Anoosheh Ashoori in Iran

    The speech made by Janet Daby, the Labour for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 26 January 2021.

    I am grateful to have the opportunity to present the case of my constituent Anoosheh Ashoori today. Anoosheh is the 66-year-old father of Elika and Aryan, and a devoted husband to Sherry. As we speak, Anoosheh is lying in a prison cell in Evin, Tehran. The Minister will know some, if not all, of the details I am about to say, but I am saying them again because, in spite of the Minister and the Foreign Secretary being in full awareness of the facts of Anoosheh’s case, they have not improved their approach in the three and a half years he has been imprisoned.

    I am grateful to Anoosheh’s wife, Sherry, for telling me about his life before his capture. Anoosheh’s dream when he was a teenager was to become an astronaut—not so different from some of our children’s dreams perhaps. He had big ambitions and worked hard to make them happen. When he was 18, he moved to the UK from Iran to study, and he finally gained his masters in aeronautical engineering in 1977. When his father passed away in the 1980s, Anoosheh situated himself in Iran to take over the family civil engineering business, for which he won national awards. Anoosheh, Sherry and their young family moved back to the UK in 2004. Anoosheh spent the next decade working tirelessly to make his business successful in the UK. In 2015, they moved into their dream home, in my constituency of Lewisham East, and planned their retirement.

    It is obvious from Sherry that Anoosheh is absolutely besotted with his family. He uses his creativity to serve those he loves—from building baking machines to support his daughter to making a hobbit house in the family garden. Sherry has spoken of the pride that she and Anoosheh feel for their children: for Elika, who runs her own patisserie business, and for Aryan, who is an academic researcher with his own music label. It is clear that Anoosheh is a selfless, compassionate and caring family man. His devotion to his family is what led him back to visit his elderly mother in Tehran.

    On that horrid day in 2017, just minutes after speaking to his wife on the phone, Anoosheh Ashoori was kidnapped off the street, with a bag over his head, and bundled into a van. He has been detained in Evin prison ever since. He was charged with spying by the Iranian authorities, and given a 10-year prison sentence. There has never been a scrap of evidence presented, and Anoosheh was denied legal support for a trial that should never have happened.

    The conditions Anoosheh has had to endure in the past three and a half years are too painful for his family to recount, and I am confident that he spares them the details. Evin prison is known for the psychological and physical torture of its prisoners. There have been reports of mock executions, beatings, brutal interrogations and solitary confinement—not once or twice, but over and over again—of prisoners. Anoosheh has tried to end his life. He has attempted suicide three times, feeling unable to cope and to survive any longer.

    But what exactly did Anoosheh do to deserve this horrific ordeal? His only crime is his dual British-Iranian nationality. The Minister will know well of the trauma Anoosheh and other British prisoners in Iran go through. We have had several urgent questions—particular thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq)—and we have heard many Government statements expressing their regret at the situation. However, our Government are simply not doing enough. Indeed, they are sitting on their hands when it comes to releasing innocent British citizens being held as hostages.

    In November, the happy news was reported that Australian national Kylie Moore-Gilbert was released from prison in Tehran. This was a bittersweet experience, as Anoosheh’s family wondered when their loved one would return home. We are left to wonder: why can the Australians, and the Americans, make it work for their citizens, but not us?

    The Foreign Office’s current strategy for dealing with consular disputes is not effective enough. It is imperative that the Government call out the hostage status of Anoosheh and those other dual British nationals being held by Iran for political leverage. To quote the international convention against the taking of hostages, international law dictates that:

    “Any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure or to continue to detain another person…in order to compel a third party, namely, a State…to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the hostage commits the offence of taking of hostages”.

    Although this specifies individuals who take hostages, this is the precisely the mentality behind Iran’s strategy of hostage diplomacy.

    Related to the imprisonment of Anoosheh and other British citizens is the £400 million debt owed to Iran by the United Kingdom. Iranian officials have told Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe that she is being detained because of the IMS debt. Our Foreign Office has repeatedly insisted that there is no link between Iran’s demand for payment and the taking of British prisoners. That is utter nonsense. For the rest of us, it is plain to see.

    Anoosheh, Nazanin, and other British people in Iranian prisons are not mere “consular cases”. They are not just numbers, but people with families and futures. They are people being brutally mistreated over an international financial dispute. They are hostages. When will the Foreign Office accept that and acknowledge them as such?

    Furthermore, court hearings were due to take place in the autumn to discuss managing the IMS debt, but they were postponed. Will the Minister give an update on the progress that his Department has made in resolving this sticking point? Iran is holding these prisoners in an attempt to hold Britain’s feet to the fire. The Government’s refusal to admit that and to act on that is only keeping the hostages in bondage for longer. To add insult to injury, last month the Foreign Secretary asserted that British citizens being held hostage abroad are not entitled to protection from the British Government. Surely I do not need to explain how absurd and inhumane that is. Will the Foreign Office issue a retraction of this damaging comment and assure the families of those randomly held that their loved ones will, of course, be given consular assistance?

    Ultimately, we need detailed assurances that the UK Government will do all they can to support Anoosheh’s release from prison and to step up their efforts to bring him home. Anoosheh needs hope that his brutal treatment will come to an end; and his family need to know that he will soon be home where he can begin to heal. I implore the Minister to give a commitment today that his Department will not just express “concerns” for Anoosheh’s welfare, but detail a clear plan of action that will explain how they will bring Anoosheh and Nazanin back to London where they belong.

    I also urge the Minister to confirm that the UK Government will not abandon my constituent and his family, but will in fact stand by British citizens who are being unlawfully detained abroad and that my constituent is as entitled to protection from the Foreign Office as the Foreign Secretary himself would be.

  • Janet Daby – 2021 Comments on Trump Supporters Attacking the Capitol Building

    Janet Daby – 2021 Comments on Trump Supporters Attacking the Capitol Building

    The comments made by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, on 6 January 2021.

    The scenes in the US is one of violence [sic] rioters. It’s not protestors but instead is an attack on democracy.

    I hope everyone in US Capitol is safe.