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'Andy Burnham facing immediate crises as PM - we must do the right thing'

'International crises have a way of dragging our Prime Ministers out of the country altogether', the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Dame Emily Thornberry writes

[Andy Burnham has expressed hopes to be less in London]

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Andy Burnham has expressed hopes to be less in London(Image: Getty Images)

The next Prime Minister understandably wants to spend more time out of London, but international crises have a way of dragging our PMs out of the country altogether.

Whether its Kiev or Qeshm Island, the inbox at No. 10 is going to be full of urgent meeting requests from the world over, and its going to need organising.

First, the war in Europe. Ukraines long-range strikes on oil refineries are causing chaos in Moscow with petrol being rationed. Even Trump admits Zelenskyy is doing pretty well.

Our landmark 100-year Partnership with Ukraine is more than military collaboration, its a friendship borne out of respect for their unimaginable bravery in the face of an illegal and barbaric invasion. We show up for Ukraine whenever they ask because the UK is a loyal friend and a serious player on the world stage. Russia, take note.

[Emily Thornberry claimed international events force PMs to leave the country]

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Emily Thornberry claimed international events force PMs to leave the country(Image: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

Next, theres the European Union. The long-awaited second EU-UK Summit was supposed to be on 22 July but has been delayed. We need to get a new date in the diary as soon as possible, and we need to be really clear on what we want.

Top of the list has to be an agreement on food standards, so our cheddar cheese can get to the continent and through the red tape before it becomes stilton! We also must link up our energy systems to make them more efficient and come to an agreement on taxing goods created at a high carbon cost. And we must make it easier for youngsters to travel in Europe.

We should point out once more that since the UK is playing a leading role in defending Europe, our defence industry should be in SAFE (which makes it easier for EU countries to buy our equipment). We also should push to make sure Ukraine is able to buy our stuff through the EUs 90 billion Support Loan.

Organising the Middle East part of the inbox is easier said than done. The most urgent thing is what to do about Israels illegal E1 settlement. Netanyahus far-right government has reacted to our recognising Palestine by trying to build Israeli homes through the middle of it.

There must be consequences. We should join the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Belgium, and many others to finally ban trade in goods and services with all settlements illegally built in Palestine.

The International Court of Justice has been clear that we should abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning Occupied Palestinian Territory. The UK has been thinking about how we should respond to the judgement for over 700 days. Enough. Lets do the right thing.

'In awe of how Lebanon keeps going'

I have returned from Lebanon with the Foreign Affairs Committee a beautiful country full of contradictions.

Walking along the Corniche in Beirut, with Israeli spy drones overhead, skyscrapers are being rebuilt even as the strikes continue.

Whilst the UK passionately debates how many refugees we can help, in Lebanon there are over 1m Syrians, as well as hundreds of thousands from Palestine. They have been there for years.

And now, with fighting in southern Lebanon, over 1m of the 5.5m-strong country have had to flee north. It was explained to me that, in the past few months, Lebanon has experienced the equivalent of 10m people moving from the north of England into the Home Counties. I am in awe of the way Lebanon is able to keep going.

'Speaker could sing Wonderwall'

Its not often you see parliamentarians united over anything, so I must say I was impressed to see Norwegian MPs doing the Viking row in their parliament to show support for their national team.

Ordinarily, Mr Speaker would not appreciate MPs doing something similar; according to Erskine May, were not allowed to sing.

But if we beat Mexico, you never know, he might lead us in a rousing rendition of Wonderwall.

'Fighting off the slug apocalypse'

Spare a thought for us city gardeners with our flower-pot gardens. Having survived the winter frost and a particularly wet spring, we spent early June fighting off the slug apocalypse, only to now find ourselves out watering our delphiniums twice a day.

And they said gardening was supposed to be relaxing!

[Emily Thornberry]

Emily Thornberry

Emily Thornberry is the Chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee

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