we of course condemn the attack on Iraqi
military bases hosting coalition forces
Iran should not repeat these reckless
and dangerous attacks but resist pursue
urgent de-escalation Mr Speaker I know
that the thoughts of the house are also
with our friends in Australia as they
tackle the bush fires as they are with
the families of those killed in the
Ukrainian air crash mr. speaker this
morning I had meetings with ministerial
colleagues and others in addition to my
duties in this house I shall have
further such meetings later today mr.
speaker motor neurone disease is a
terrible terminal illness with 1/3 of
people dying within a year and more than
half within two years of diagnosis the
last thing terminally ill people and
their family should be worrying about
are their finances the scrapped six
months campaign by the motor neurone
disease Association which is based in my
constituency of Northampton South has
managed to bring the important issue of
payments to those with terminal
illnesses to the fore and I welcome the
Department of Work and Pensions review
of the special rules for terminal
illness announced last July but can I
ask the prime minister to join me in
pressing the DWP to complete its review
and to scrap six months well mr. speaker
I'd like to pay tribute to my honourable
friend and the work he's doing for those
suffering from from motor neurone
disease which is indeed a a terrible
illness and we're doing everything we
can to ensure that the welfare system
works for sufferers of that illness and
that's why the developed of working
pensions is is indeed looking at how
they can change the way we help people
nearing the end of their life with the
most severe conditions including motor
neurone disease and I'm sure that my own
foreign secretary State the DWP will be
only too happy to meet my horrible
friend at an early
meeting anybody's earliest convenience
maybe the opposition Jeremy Corbyn Thank
You mr. speaker
mr. Speaker I would like to start by
paying tribute to Andrew Miller the
former member for Ellesmere portent
nestin who sadly died on Christmas Eve
he sadly lost in to this house he spent
over 20 years here was an expert on
science and technology made an enormous
contribution to this house our thoughts
are with his family and his friends and
he's deeply lost mourned on this on this
side of the house for the great
contribution that he made I also joined
the prime minister in sending sympathies
and support to friends in Australia
where the fires have claimed over 20
people along with the loss of human life
for hundreds of millions of animals have
also been destroyed as a result of this
this is a warning of what global warming
does to all of us and we've got to take
this very very seriously the threat of
climate change and I joined the prime
minister also in thoughts going to the
friends and family of those who died
sadly in the Ukrainian plane that
crashed in Tehran last night mr. speaker
following last night's attack on the
United States bases in Iraq can the
Prime Minister confirm that he opposes
any further retaliation or escalation in
violence in a situation where the region
is in real risk of going into a
full-scale war well mr. speaker of
course I can confirm that and I can
point out to the agenda that the United
Kingdom's be working solidly since the
crisis began to bring together in
particular our European allies in
their response and the house would have
noted the the e3 declaration that was
issued by France Germany and the United
Kingdom in which we drew particular
attention to the baleful role played in
the region for a very long time by Qasem
Soleimani and that was a collective
European view but a view that doesn't up
but yet appeared to be shared by the
write on whatever I've been interested
in all his commentary and that he hasn't
yet raised that matter jariabek oh I
think you're following the government's
support to the United States over the
assassination of general Soleimani is
the Prime Minister confident that United
Kingdom troops and civilians are not at
further risk in the region and beyond
mr. speaker I can of course confirm and
that's an important question that the as
far as we can tell there were no
casualties
last night sustained by the US and no
British personnel were injured in the in
the attacks and we are doing everything
we can of course to protect UK interests
in the region with HMS defended HMS
Montrose operating in an enhanced state
of readiness to protect shipping in the
Gulf and as the house heard yesterday
from my rideable friend the second state
for defense we've relocated a
non-essential personnel from Baghdad to
Taji and we will do everything that we
can to prevent an escalation Jericho the
government has said that it's
sympathetic to the assassination of
general Soleimani what evidence has the
Prime Minister got to suggest that this
attack on him and his death was not an
illegal act by the United States
well mr. speaker all clearly the the
strict issue of legality is not for the
UK to determine since it was not our
operation but I think that most
reasonable people would accept that the
United States has a right to protect its
bases and I would remind the house
that's the individual concerns
Cassin a sulemani was not only is was
not any responsible for many years
amongst other things
arming the Houthis with missiles with
which they attacked innocent civilians
arming hizbollah with missiles which
again they used to attack innocent
civilians sustaining the assad regime in
syria one of the most brutal and
barbaric regime to the world and of
course supplying improvised explosive
devices to terrorists who are I'm afraid
killed and maimed British troops and
that man had the blood of British troops
on his hands mr. speaker if we stand by
international law as I'm sure the
government does and would want to then
surely killing somebody in a foreign
territory is an illegal act and should
be condemned as such if we believe in
international law that should be the
solution to the problems in the world
and as a permanent and as a permanent
member of the United Nations Security
Council can as a permanent member of the
UN Security Council could the government
say what representations have been made
to ensure that the Iranian officials
that want to attend the Security Council
in order to try to bring about a
resolution to the very dangerous
situation in the region will be allowed
to attend and in the event of the US
administration blocking them what
representations will he personally make
to President Trump to make sure the UN
can operate in the way that it should
and must be able to operate
as I think the right honourable gem is
probably well aware that the United
States has a duty under international
law to allow people to visit the UN and
that is indeed the position that the UK
supports terekhov Iraqi parliament
passed a resolution calling for foreign
troops to leave their country can the
Prime Minister confirm that the British
government will respect any decision
made by a sovereign Parliament in
government in Iraq that may make such a
request in the future and will respect
and will respect the sovereignty of Iraq
as a nation can imagine I've spoken
extensively to our friends around the
world including our friends in Baghdad
and promised sir I don't Mickey who of
course is like many people in Iraq has
come to rely and depend on the support
of coalition forces not least from the
UK and as he will know there is a very
significant NATO mission in Iraq at the
moment helping in the fight against -
and I think it is his viruses which of
this government I think you should be
the wish of this house that we should do
everything that we can to support the
security and integrity
korban my question was if the government
will respect the sovereignty of Iraq its
Parliament and its government and the
Prime Minister did not answer that
question the United States actions have
undoubtedly escalated the risk of a
dangerous conflict and in an already
destabilized region putting civilians UK
troops and nationals at risk and leaving
the Iran nuclear deal in danger of being
dead in the water this government's
response is not putting the interest of
this country first but instead seems
more interested in prioritizing the
Prime Minister's relationship with
President Trump over the security of the
region and of this country isn't the
truth isn't the truth mr. speaker that
this Prime Minister is unable to stand
up to President Trump because he's
hitched his wagon to a trade deal with
the United States and that prioritizes
everything else that he ought to be
considering Mr Speaker I was kind of
waiting for the little green men
that the trade deal this is absolute
fiction our part so what i will say is
that the UK will continue to work for
de-escalation in the region I think
we're having a great deal of success in
bringing together a European response
and in bridging that of the European
response without of course of our
American friends and working both with
the Iranians and with the Iraqis to dial
this thing done but he should be an
absolutely no doubt and this is a of
course the leader of the Opposition
who's famously received 10,000 pounds
from the Iranian Press TV that we are
determined to guarantee with over
everything that we can the safety and
security of the people of Iraq where
whereas he of course would disband NATO
and it is this government that will
continue to stick up stick up for the
people across the Middle East who have
suffered who have suffered at the hands
of Qasem Soleimani and the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard God sports that he
has led and whose terrorism he's
promoted I am very surprised at the end
of these exchanges that he has yet to
condemn the activities
[Applause]