July 2025

Parliamentary appearance by Kim Leadbeater

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this debate on an issue that we simply cannot ignore or put in the “too difficult” pile. This is a tragedy on so many levels—morally, politically, strategically, but above all personally for the people of the west bank. I went to the west bank with Caabu and Medical Aid for Palestinians in February 2023. Unlike some colleagues, I did not have a back

10. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU trade agreement announced on 19 May 2025 on the economy in Northern Ireland.

Parliamentary appearance by Becky Gittins

I am pleased to say that the proposed SPS agreement has been welcomed by the Welsh farming community, including those in my constituency of Clwyd East. That is alongside the Ulster Farmers Union, the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI, the Horticultural Trades Association, supermarkets including Asda, M&S and Iceland, and many others. Does the Secretary of State agree with me and with them that an SPS agreement would bring huge benefits for Wales, Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK?

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and will tell some of those stories now. I spent time with some of the kindest, most resilient people I have met. Even back then it was deemed too dangerous for us to go to Gaza, but in the west bank we spent time with many amazing people under the most difficult of circumstances. If things were bad then, and if the prospect of the desperately needed two-state solution seemed then like a distant hope, now—following the unforgivable, murderous attack by Ham