Stephen Barclay

Why is Britain arming countries that support terror in the Middle East?

From our UK edition

Why is the UK still supplying arms to those who helped fund the so-called Islamic State, and what leverage does it bring? In the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons following the Nato summit over the weekend, he spoke of seeking a broad base of support through the UN. Yet there was no mention of military action—as opposed to diplomatic assistance—from Gulf States. Islamic State has been bankrolled by wealthy Gulf individuals from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, and their Governments have failed to act to prevent it. In March 2014, Nouri al-Maliki, the outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister, accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of being ‘at war with Iraq’. Six names were added the latest UN sanctions list, issued on the 14th August.

Labour just don’t get it – the NHS is about patients not process

From our UK edition

Sometimes the small points say a great deal.  Yesterday Steve Rotherham, the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, tabled a written parliamentary question about emails I obtained from the Care Quality Commission under Freedom of Information about patient safety concerns at Basildon. Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will carry out an internal investigation into which officials in his Department released confidential emails to the hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire. [170605] Norman Lamb: The Department understands that this parliamentary question relates to the release of emails sent or received by the then chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) during the month of January 2010.