I've discovered that a driving holiday in rural central France with intermittent internet access is not the best way to hear that Parliament has been imminently recalled, or the best place from which to act on the information. Result? The logistics of getting back in time have beaten me and I'll still be on the road back to the UK when Parliament meets tomorrow. As my name won't be recorded by...
Today the House of Commons Committee on Arms Exports, that I am a member of, publishes a report concluding that the UK’s human rights policy is being fundamentally undermined by the scale and nature of arms exports licences being approved by the Government. It also finds that the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestine Territories is of severe concern.
For the last two years I have been raising concerns about Formula 1's decision to go ahead with the Bahrain Grand Prix at a time when there are such profound issues with the country's human rights record, and when the race has been a focus for discontent. I was therefore surprised to read two articles on the UK Embassy in Bahrain’s website giving a very one sided and – I thought – questionable...
This week is the tenth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. It may always be remembered as the defining chapter of Tony Blair’s era as Prime Minister. Having been an MP throughout those years I know that the 1997-2010 Labour governments were about so much more. The new hospitals, refurbished schools and National Minimum Wage all bear witness to this. So too does Britain’s leadership in the...
As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the war in Iraq there is inevitably a great deal of interest, once again, in the issue. I was one of the 139 Labour MPs who opposed the war and voted against the government in the House of Commons on 18th March 2003. The issue had dominated much of the debate – both inside Parliament and across the country – for the months leading up to that...
This week the United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote on upgrading the recognition of Palestine at the UN. Today I have written an article for the Huffington Post calling on the UK government to support Palestine at the UN without preconditions. “Proper recognition of Palestine by the UN General Assembly is not the same as peace in the Middle East, but it is a step on the road...
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.