Results 1-20 of 127 for iraq speaker:Peter Hain

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Northern Ireland (9 May 2007)

Peter Hain: ...home-based Army soldiers will be withdrawn at the end of July, which will leave still stationed in Northern Ireland only a garrison that can be deployed anywhere in the world, from Afghanistan to Iraq.

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Cross-border Transport (29 Nov 2006)

Peter Hain: ...Gillan) back to her seat—to have a go at me later, I hope. The hon. Lady is an extremely dutiful Member: she even went through the Lobby in her wheelchair to vote for a Plaid Cymru motion on Iraq, while the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) was enjoying tapas and vino tinto in Madrid.

Business of the House (17 Mar 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...will want to take a close interest in the matter, and perhaps to respond to him so that his constituents can be better satisfied. On the previous question, I do not think that the debate on Iraq is assisted by stunts that are deliberately contrived to get a headline. The future of Iraq is about building a democracy and not succumbing to terrorism, and I wish that the hon. Member for East...

Business of the House (3 Mar 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...recently and the read-across to Syria, the huge change in the middle east and the prospects of democratic pressure running right through the middle east as a result of the successful elections in Iraq, will be debated in due course.

Business of the House (3 Mar 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...budget continues to rise in real terms and will continue to do so. The hon. Gentleman will recognise that, because of new threats and new operational necessities on the ground—for example, in Iraq and other theatres of conflict—we have to tailor our defence forces to meet those realities. I do not accept that there is any shortage of skills provision as a result of this...

Business of the House (10 Feb 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ..., including my hon. Friend, to express their views. [Interruption.] I respect the disagreement that my hon. Friend has with the Government on the original decision to topple Saddam and invade Iraq, but my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary came at the first opportunity—the first day back after the elections— and made a statement to the House. He has kept the House informed...

Business of the House (3 Feb 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: I endorse the principle that the hon. Gentleman expresses: our armed forces, especially those serving in some of the most dangerous conditions, which he knows of at first hand in Iraq, should have the opportunity to vote at the general election. The Secretary of State for Defence is looking into the matter—

Business of the House (27 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's comments about holocaust day, which reflect a common position throughout the House. I will bear in mind what he said about Iraq. Sunday will be a historic day for Iraq, and the extent of Iraqi participation in the election is enormous, with 8,000 candidates, 150,000 officials and thousands of polling stations. Whatever we felt about the war—I...

Business of the House (27 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...on whether the military action was right or wrong, we have to decide whether, with all the difficulties that exist at the moment—I know that the hon. Gentleman agrees with me on this—an Iraq moving into democracy provides a better future for the Iraqi people than an Iraq trapped under Saddam's murderous and corrupt tyranny.

Modernisation of the House of Commons (26 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...almost a week. I am sure that none of us would find that satisfactory. Let us take as an example a key debate of the kind that has dominated the House over the past couple of years, such as that on Iraq or that on student fees. Under my hon. Friend's proposal, we could have had a situation in which a reasoned amendment was decided on, but nobody knew the outcome, because that amendment...

Business of the House (20 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: Obviously, we will want to assess, as will the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, the situation after the Iraqi elections on 30 January. I am sure that my hon. Friend will want to applaud the fact that recent polling in Iraq shows that more than 80 per cent. of Iraqis intend to vote if they can and that 111 groups with almost 8,000 candidates are standing in the national elections and a...

Business of the House (13 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...in the House. I am sure that there will be plenty of opportunities to do so as the G8 presidency progresses. The hon. Gentleman will know that the information that has just come to light from the Iraq survey group about its changed role is nothing new. He will also recall that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement to the House on 12 October; I do not know whether the...

Business of the House (13 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...should still be in power? The real choice now is not what the original decision was and the merits of the basis of the original decision; the real choice is whether we should have a democratic Iraq, with elections at the end of this month, or terrorists destroying the prospect of democracy in Iraq. That is the choice before us now.

Business of the House (13 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...The Afghans have now had their first ever democratic election. It was not perfect, but it is a massive advance for democracy in that region. When the elections take place at the end of the month in Iraq, we will see a massive advance for democracy and a defeat for terrorism. Surely we should make common cause in that objective.

Business of the House (13 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...eligible voter to participate. The elections are being organised under terrorist threat, and we cannot allow terrorists to stop them, which would stop the prospect of democracy being entrenched in Iraq, by intimidating some voters and denying them the opportunity to vote. We cannot give in to terrorism and must ensure that democracy progresses as best it can in the difficult circumstances.

Business of the House (13 Jan 2005)

Mr Peter Hain: ...by the Foreign Secretary last autumn, when he was asked detailed and challenging questions, and there has been nothing new. I think I am right in saying, though I stand to be corrected, that the Iraq survey group has not shut up shop and is doing other work, but there is no question but that it did not find any evidence of weapons of mass destruction—that is not in dispute, and the...

Business of the House (2 Dec 2004)

Mr Peter Hain: The court verdict is obviously a great boost for the hon. Member for Glasgow, Kelvin (Mr. Galloway). The hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) took a different view on the war in Iraq. He did not think that we should intervene at all and that Saddam Hussein should stay in power. Saddam would be in power today if the hon. Gentleman's policy and that of the Liberal Democrats had been...

Business of the House (25 Nov 2004)

Mr Peter Hain: ...Secretary is punctilious—almost more so than any other Cabinet Minister—about coming to the House and making statements when issues develop. I think that I am right in saying that Iraq and other Foreign Office matters have been debated in this House more regularly in the past year or two than almost any other foreign policy that I can recall. On the question of a safer Britain,...

Business of the House (4 Nov 2004)

Mr Peter Hain: It would be good to air this issue on the Floor of the House. We are determined to support the creation of a democratic Iraq, not just through elections early next year, but through the other instruments of civil society—especially trade unions—that make a democracy vibrant and possible. The Iraqi people and the Government certainly welcome my hon. Friend's championing of that cause.

Sessional Orders and Resolutions (3 Nov 2004)

Mr Peter Hain: ...experienced recently when access to the House has been blocked. The individual whom we have discussed does not pose such a threat but all sorts of demonstrations, including those on hunting and Iraq, have, for the first time in my experience, blocked access to the House. That is the problem and the measures are primarily designed to deal with that.