Rehman Chishti: As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on missing children, I know that every year, 180,000 people are reported to the police as missing across our constituencies in the United Kingdom. I am sure that the Prime Minister and everyone in the House find that completely unacceptable. The Home Office’s strategy on missing people has not been reviewed since 2011, so will the Prime Minister...
Rehman Chishti: Like all Members of Parliament, I condemn all acts of violence and the loss of innocent lives. The focus of my question is freedom of religion or belief for all. Does the Minister agree that the force used against the worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque on the 27th of Ramadan, the night of Laylat al-Qadr, one of the most important nights in the Islamic calendar, was completely and utterly...
Rehman Chishti: Further to my question to the Prime Minister on 27 January and representations from Medway MPs, Medway will now have a mass vaccination centre, and I thank the Prime Minister and the Government for that. The impact of covid-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of young people has been raised with me repeatedly by local schools and the local university. The Children’s Commissioner, Anne...
Rehman Chishti: Further to my question to the Prime Minister last week in which I called for a mass vaccination centre in Medway—also called for by fellow Medway Members of Parliament—I welcome the proposals by Kent and Medway CCG to increase capacity at Medway Maritime Hospital, which now needs to be added to the national booking programme. However, the Minister knows from conversations with Members of...
Rehman Chishti: If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 27 January.
Rehman Chishti: I associate myself entirely with all that the Prime Minister said. I thank the Prime Minister and the Government for all their hard work in these difficult and challenging times with regard to the delivery of the covid-19 vaccination. However, my constituents in Gillingham and Rainham and the wider-Medway towns would like me, as their Member of Parliament, to raise their concerns with regard...
Rehman Chishti: I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and Sir Simon Wessely for the fantastic work that he and the team have done on the review. Personally, I would like to give a big thank you to Sir Simon Wessely, who helped me with two private Members’ Bills on improving mental health care. May I ask the Secretary of State this specific question: will there be proposals to have a review...
Rehman Chishti: I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement on dealing with the horrific situation in Xinjiang. With regards to the United Kingdom’s leadership on the matter and the further actions it can take, the UK will be hosting the G7 later this year and will have the presidency of the Security Council next month, in February. Will this issue and the wider topic of freedom of religion or...
Rehman Chishti: I rise to present a petition to the House of Commons from the residents of Gillingham and Rainham. The petition states: The petition of residents of the constituency of Gillingham and Rainham, Declares that the proposal in Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan Review for up to 2,000 homes at Lidsing, which borders Hempstead in the constituency of Gillingham and Rainham, would negatively...
Rehman Chishti: By way of a declaration, I am a reservist. I welcome the Minister’s statement. Terrorists and insurgents are exploiting open borders in this region to smuggle weapons, arms and drugs. Do the British Government support the French initiative to increase regional co-ordination through the G5 joint force to deploy 5,000 personnel from five neighbouring states? With France’s key role in...
Rehman Chishti: I thank the Secretary of State for all his hard work and congratulate him, the Government and all the scientists on the approval of the vaccine. The Secretary of State will know that Medway and neighbouring Swale, both of which are served by Medway Maritime Hospital in my constituency, are currently recording the first and the second highest covid rates in the country. Parts of Gillingham are...
Rehman Chishti: What steps the Church of England is taking to prevent the persecution of Christians throughout the world.
Rehman Chishti: I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words. Recently around the world, including in Nice and Vienna, evil acts have been committed in the name of religion. Pope Francis said in 2018: “Every religious leader is called to unmask any attempt to manipulate God for ends that have nothing to do with him or his glory.” The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed similar views in 2016 on tackling...
Rehman Chishti: I thank the Minister for his response and the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for the urgent question. On Monday, the United States State Department announced that it was to impose further sanctions on four more Chinese officials over their alleged role in recent crackdowns on democracy in Hong Kong, and that is further to its sanctions on officials with regard to the...
Rehman Chishti: I thank the Chancellor for the statement and all the financial support he has given to my constituents in Gillingham and Rainham during covid-19. My question is specifically in regard to the work of the Financial Ombudsman Service and the six-month statute of limitation when dealing with complaints, as raised with me by a constituent in Gillingham and as faced by constituents around the...
Rehman Chishti: I very much welcome the Minister’s statement. He has outlined the number of incidents that have been foiled by our excellent intelligence and police services. Can he clarify the number of people currently considered potentially to be violent Daesh or far right-inspired extremists in the United Kingdom, and has that number gone down or up over the past 12 months?
Rehman Chishti: I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement. My specific question is with regards to support for the independent small business sector. My constituent Rodney Chambers operates a small card and gift shop in Gillingham. Cards and gifts are considered non-essential, so he will now have to close his shop just before the Christmas period—the busiest period of the year for him. At the same time,...
Rehman Chishti: I thank the Minister for that response, and I also thank colleagues. People of all faiths or beliefs and none have the concept of forgiveness, and I ask for forgiveness for going on for longer than I should have at the outset. I can only do my job as envoy because of the fantastic work of parliamentarians pushing it at every level, and constituents. The first question I asked at the Foreign...
Rehman Chishti: I beg to move, That this House has considered progress on the Bishop of Truro’s independent review on persecution of Christians and freedom of religion or belief. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone, and I am grateful to Mr Speaker for granting me the opportunity to have this Westminster Hall debate. As colleagues from across the House know, I led on the...
Rehman Chishti: Like my right hon. Friend, I fully support the Bill going through. He mentioned the Daesh-inspired extremism. Does he agree with me that the first duty of the state is to protect its citizens, and the legislation that has been put through this Parliament on counter-terrorism has been designed with that in mind, irrespective of creed, colour or background? What I have seen with the Prevent and...