Keith Simpson: In the last few weeks of the conflict in Sri Lanka, Members on both sides of the House were horrified at the civilian casualties, which were the result both of action by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam-use of children and the use of women as cover-and of indiscriminate fire by Sri Lankan Government forces. Have the Government been able to get any answer from the Sri Lankan Government on...
Keith Simpson: Mr. Taylor, we normally tend to meet at the parliamentary breakfast club, so it is a great pleasure to serve under you. I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) on introducing this important debate. He spoke with a great deal of knowledge and he was very thoughtful. Although he rightly concentrated on the financial and business side-not...
Keith Simpson: Lord Mandelson.
Keith Simpson: Many hon. Members think that the Foreign Secretary's comments about progress in Helmand province are optimistic. Recently, a lot more effort has been made in that area, but NGOs, hon. Members, and military and civilian experts believe that it is ludicrous that less than 10 per cent. of British aid to Afghanistan goes to Helmand province. I draw the Foreign Secretary's attention to an article...
Keith Simpson: Mid-Norfolk.
Keith Simpson: He was sacked anyway!
Keith Simpson: Many outside observers—and, indeed, people inside Afghanistan—have been very concerned not only about the level of violence, but about the level of corruption. Has the Foreign Office laid down its own set of criteria by which the election outcome can be judged? This matter is very important, because if there are any questions in people's minds that the new President has been elected, or...
Keith Simpson: This is the latest in a series of debates in the House about the worsening situation in Sri Lanka. I say straight away that what the Minister said about the fate of the refugees in the so-called no-fire zone beggars imagination. That so many people should be attempting to live in such a small area—let alone under fire—is absolutely horrific. We should bear that in mind. The Conservative...
Keith Simpson: All hon. Members must be responsible for their individual thoughts; I certainly do not support what was said at all. I say with great respect to the hon. Lady that, on the whole, there is amazing consensus on both sides of the House on this issue. Now is not the time to raise such issues; I have made the Conservative Front-Bench position perfectly clear in all the debates. Indeed, in a few...
Keith Simpson: It is not only morally wrong, but stupid. If one has surrounded an area, there is a fair chance that if one starts lobbing artillery shells around one will get overshooting and might kill and injure some of one's own troops. Without being facetious, it is, as Talleyrand might have said, more than a crime—it is a mistake. Sadly, it is one of many mistakes that the Sri Lankan Government have...
Keith Simpson: The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. I am pleased that the Minister stated formally at the Dispatch Box that the Government have support for potential war crimes investigations. The Sri Lankan Government will obviously have to live with that. I would add that members of the LTTE, who are using civilians in the war zone and executing people who want to leave, also face the prospect of...
Keith Simpson: I recognise that this is a matter of judgment for our Government, but I would like to think that, with the general election effectively over, there may be an opportunity for the British Government to make representations to the Indian Government, who, as my hon. Friend rightly said, may be able to have some influence on the situation. The Minister referred to the welcome news that, crab-like,...
Keith Simpson: I, too, congratulate you, Mr. Sheridan, on becoming a member of the Chairmen's Panel, and also on having your debut in a relatively quiet and civilised debate. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on introducing this debate with such panache and on the fact that he obviously was a good leader of the delegation. It is important to emphasise that it was...
Keith Simpson: I congratulate the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) on introducing this short debate. I also want to congratulate all members of the Government on the efforts that they have made over the past few months in a very difficult situation. All Members of the House cannot but be moved by the despair of the British Tamil community, highlighted by the demonstration outside...
Keith Simpson: I agree with my hon. Friend, and I am not trying to be a Jonah, but I believe, sadly, that there will be a lot more violence, and a lot more innocent people killed, before we reach that stage. I think that we are in for a long haul. I congratulate the Government and those of our colleagues who have worked so hard on the matter. We need to keep up the pressure on the Sri Lankan Government...
Keith Simpson: It is a great privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Bercow. I too congratulate the Chairman of the Select Committee and its members on their work. In particular, I congratulate them on their work on the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is rare that a Select Committee report shows an immediate cause and effect. A number of us fear that all too often, Select Committee reports come under...
Keith Simpson: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. When I said that it was a typically British compromise, I was perhaps trying to hide the blushes of the Secretary of State for Justice, but of course the hon. Gentleman would never hide his blushes. The hon. Gentleman's second point, about the different perms that we could have, is something that we need to consider. Indeed, we need to hear...
Keith Simpson: Mr. Speaker, I am sure the right hon. Gentleman's lawyers will be speaking to mine. May I draw the Minister out a little further in his comments about the UK special envoy? Will he explain to the House what reasons the Sri Lankan Government have given our Government for refusing to accept the right hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne)? Does he see any way in which, in the near...
Keith Simpson: You have brought joy to many colleagues, Madam Deputy Speaker. I should begin by saying that my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) sends his apologies. He is in Paris for meetings with the French Foreign Minister and members of President Sarkozy's team. This is a landmark— [ Interruption. ] I wish that the people in the cheap seats on the Labour Benches could...
Keith Simpson: We are indeed the Opposition, and we have had debates in Westminster Hall. I am talking about the fact that the Foreign Secretary has taken great pride in the importance of having a debate on Africa and about the emphasis placed on it by the current Prime Minister and the previous Prime Minister. I am merely pointing out the facts. I am looking forward to the contribution that the hon....