Results 1-20 of 1,322 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Mike Gapes

[Mr.Greg Pope in the Chair] — Arms Export Controls (5 Nov 2009)

Mike Gapes: Will the Minister take this opportunity to answer my specific question about whether the Sri Lankan armed forces used equipment supplied by the UK—licences have now been revoked—in the recent conflicts?

[Mr.Greg Pope in the Chair] — Arms Export Controls (5 Nov 2009)

Mike Gapes: Perhaps the Minister will write to me.

[Mr.Greg Pope in the Chair] — Arms Export Controls (5 Nov 2009)

Mike Gapes: It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir John Stanley). May I begin by endorsing his remarks, with which I completely concur, about my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Roger Berry) and his work as Chairman of the Committee in this Parliament? I want to concentrate on only one area of the report and the Government response. I do so because over...

[Mr.Greg Pope in the Chair] — Arms Export Controls (5 Nov 2009)

Mike Gapes: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the report. An annexe sets out information sent by the organisation Saferworld, which listed arms exports year by year from the UK to Sri Lanka. We were told by the then Foreign Office Minister, now the Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell), that there had been a pause in those exports as a result of the...

[Mr.Greg Pope in the Chair] — Arms Export Controls (5 Nov 2009)

Mike Gapes: I do not have any direct evidence to confirm or deny what my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North says, but it is a matter that the Foreign Office and other Departments should take up. If, as the Government say, there is a culture of impunity in Sri Lanka, and if, as they say, there are serious human rights concerns, is it not appropriate that we should take a much more rigorous...

[Mr.Greg Pope in the Chair] — Arms Export Controls (5 Nov 2009)

Mike Gapes: I should like to update my hon. Friend. Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee were at the United Nations last week, and we had discussions with a number of people. I will not reveal the conversations because they were confidential, but there was a level of optimism that progress is being made on the arms trade treaty. The Obama Administration's shift away from the approach of the Bush...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: G8 Summit (13 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: The Prime Minister is to be congratulated on pushing climate change up the agenda of the meeting. Does he agree that climate change is a bigger threat to the future of humankind than any of the regional conflicts, the economic crisis or the terrorism so prevalent in the world today? We need to act urgently on the climate change agenda.

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: We met that somebody of whom the hon. Gentleman had never heard: his name is Jalili, and we had a very interesting, intense and frank discussion with him.

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: I am pleased to introduce this debate on the Foreign Affairs Committee report, "Global Security: Iran", which was published in February 2008, and the Government's response, which was published in May 2008. Although those documents were published some time ago, many of our conclusions are unfortunately still pertinent. This is a good opportunity for the House to have a three-hour debate on...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: Yes, I do agree, but I also think that we need to be careful. The situation that the hon. Gentleman has described is appalling. Iran executes more people per head of population than any other country in the world, and carries out more executions than any country except China. People are still stoned to death and there is a criminal code that is used in a most brutal and repressive...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: I absolutely agree; we were very well looked after, not just by our diplomats but by the Iranians who worked in the British embassy. They worked tirelessly to make our visit in November 2007 such a success. The one person who is still detained, and who has apparently been threatened with being put on trial for acting against national security, is a 44-year-old Iranian who is the British...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: I think the Minister has heard the hon. Gentleman's point. Before I move on to one or two other matters, I would like to raise the question of how we get out of the current situation. It seems that calls for a recount of the election—although those have now been rejected—were, in any case, mistaken. The regime has clearly shown that it does not in any way wish to give up power,...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: I have some sympathy with my hon. Friend. In fact, on finances, an article about Mojtaba Khamenei's international rule states: "There are claims on Iranian dissident websites that the current anti-British campaign in Tehran is motivated in part by Britain's announcement on 18 June that it had frozen nearly £1bn in Iranian assets, in accordance with UN and EU sanctions. The frozen funds...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Global Security (Iran) (9 Jul 2009)

Mike Gapes: Iran's regime is dangerous because it feels under threat from its own people and is worried about its survival. It also has fears about the future and legitimacy of its revolution. An interesting question is whether the new US approach is more threatening to the regime than the old one. It could be argued that people in authoritarian, theocratic regimes would much prefer the rest of the world...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran (30 Jun 2009) has video

Mike Gapes: The Foreign Secretary will be aware that the Foreign Affairs Committee visited Iran two years ago, and we were greatly assisted in our visit by several locally engaged staff. Will he send a message, through whatever channels he has, to our people in Iran that the FAC greatly appreciates the work they have done for us and that our thoughts are with them at this time?

Opposition Day — [14th allotted day]: Iraq Inquiry (24 Jun 2009) has video

Mike Gapes: When we heard last week's announcement that there would be an inquiry, I had two concerns: first, about the intention that it would be held in private, on which many hon. Members have commented; and, secondly, about its scope. I welcome the Government amendment, which goes a considerable way towards answering the first of my concerns, because it makes it clear that a substantial part of the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Health: European Council (23 Jun 2009)

Mike Gapes: The Prime Minister referred, in the context of the welcome agreement with Ireland, to the prospects for a future accession treaty. Can he say whether there was any discussion, either in the meetings or in the margins of the meetings, about the application by the new Social Democratic Government in Iceland for accelerated membership of the EU or about the difficulties between Croatia and...

European Affairs (16 Jun 2009)

Mike Gapes: rose—

European Affairs (16 Jun 2009)

Mike Gapes: The hon. Gentleman mentioned the good results for the conservative parties in France and Germany. Given that he is using that argument to make his case, why is his party rejecting those parties?

European Affairs (16 Jun 2009)

Mike Gapes: One problem with these European debates is that we are like two peoples speaking completely different languages—it is a dialogue between the deaf. One view, which we have just heard, is that this is somehow all a plot by the bureaucrats in Brussels. That takes no account of the fact that the real threat to democracy in the world is the unelected bankers, financiers and chief executives...