GCHQ – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 1 March 2005.
When he last met the Israeli Foreign Minister to discuss the situation in the middle east; and if he will make a statement.
I last met Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom during my visit to Israel on
In order to show solidarity with the Palestinian Authority against the terrorist threat to their security, will the right hon. Gentleman use the London conference as an opportunity to add Hezbollah in its entirety to the UK list of terrorist organisations? Will he press the EU to do likewise, because the organisation is not on its list at all?
As I said in answer to an earlier question, this is not an issue of intention, because it is all a matter of evidence. The Terrorism Act 2000, for which I had ministerial responsibility, laid down clear procedures for proscription. I might say, in recalling last night's interesting debate, that the House is quite right to impose specific obligations on Secretaries of State and to make provision for the judicial review of decisions in such circumstances. Such decisions cannot be taken capriciously or without evidence, even though people say to us, "We know that the whole of Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation." That is not enough in the British system, with a Government who are proud of introducing the Human Rights Act 1998, and who live by that Act every day of their existence.