Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords—
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, first, I warmly endorse the remarks made by the noble Lord, Lord Wright of Richmond. Both he and I are former ambassadors in Damascus. We have first-hand knowledge of that country and its regime. We have been long concerned about the Government’s policy towards Syria and we think it is time for it to be reviewed. That said, does the Minister agree that the focus of the debate has...
Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to prioritise Christian refugees from Syria in their plans to resettle further refugees in the United Kingdom.
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, I am grateful for that Answer from the Minister. Is he aware of an article in the Sunday press by the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Carey of Clifton? He reported that Christians have been targeted by ISIL for crucifixion, beheading and rape. Even now, they are not to be found in the UN camps because they have been attacked by Islamists and have had to find refuge in private...
Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the scope for those currently claiming asylum in other European Union member states subsequently to move on to the United Kingdom.
Lord Green of Deddington: I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. Will he confirm that EU directives require that protection be granted not just for those in fear of persecution but also where there is a, “serious … threat … of indiscriminate violence”, to a civilian due to “armed conflict”? Does he therefore agree that member states will be obliged to grant protection to most of those now fleeing from the...
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, as a former chairman of Medical Aid for Palestinians, I cannot let this debate pass without expressing my strong concern about the appalling humanitarian conditions in the West Bank and even more so in Gaza. They seem to have been tolerated—even ignored—for far too long by much of the international community. Today, however, I want to focus on Syria, a country whose affairs I...
Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 14 July (HL1075), whether a non-EU citizen in possession of (1) a temporary, and (2) a permanent, residence permit issued by the government of Germany may enter the United Kingdom without a visa.
Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their decision to accept additional refugees from Syria, whether they have taken into account reports that many Christian refugees have sought refuge in private homes and churches rather than in UN refugee camps; and whether in their discussions with UNHCR they will make representations to ensure that there is no indirect discrimination...
Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the United Kingdom is bound by European Union or international law to provide an opportunity for appeal to those whose asylum applications are rejected at first hearing.
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, I pay warm tribute to my noble friend Lady Cox for her skill, tenacity and courage in bringing this Bill before the House, and I congratulate her on the very powerful case that she made in opening this debate. The provisions of the Bill are based on three essential propositions: that there can be only one law in our society; that religious freedom shall be protected for all...
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is high time that we paid as much attention to demand for housing in London and Britain as to supply? Can she say when the Government will publish an estimate of the increase in households without immigration—something that has not been done for five years?
Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total budget in each of the last five available financial years for (1) the Ministry of Defence, and (2) the Department for International Development.
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the most effective thing that the British Government can do is to help those Syrians in refugee camps around Syria? Much as we would like to have many thousands of refugees here, that is peanuts compared with the number actually suffering. To pick up the point he made earlier about the politics of this, we must work for some kind of solution in Syria....
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, I suggest that there are two rather key points that the noble Lord has not addressed. One is that no other country in the European Union grants a vote in a referendum to foreign citizens, even EU citizens. The fact that most other referenda are on rather smaller issues strengthens the case against giving a vote to EU citizens in Britain on an issue of major importance. Secondly, on...
Lord Green of Deddington: No, I have finished.
Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, in that case, how is it that no other European country allows foreign citizens to vote in their referenda?
Lord Green of Deddington: The noble Lord will be aware that I have an amendment in the next group that would deal with his problem.
