Rebels fail to include genocide clause in trade Bill

THE GOVERNMENT suffered a significant backbench rebellion last night, but narrowly avoided defeat, after a Trade Minister admitted he had not read compromise proposals on stopping trade deals with countries committing genocide.

Ministers were seeking to reverse amendments to the Trade Bill made by the House of Lords, including a cross-party change which would force Ministers to withdraw from any free trade agreement with any country which the High Court rules is committing genocide.

But Conservative former Ministers Nus Ghani and Sir Iain Duncan Smith led the bid to support the Lords amendment.

They also tabled an amendment which they believed retained the thrust of proposals introduced by peers while easing Government concerns, including about the role of the courts in trade deals. But following the reversal of the Lords amendment, this amendment was not pushed to a vote.

Some 33 Conservative MPs rebelled against the Government to support the Lords amendment, including Yorkshire MPs David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden) and Imran Ahmad Khan (Wakefield).

However MPs voted to reverse the amendment by 319 votes to 308.

Mr Ahmad Khan said: “Rebellion against one’s own Government is tortuous but in this case I feel compelled, I have no doubt it is the right thing to do.

“The United Kingdom has a proud history as a staunch defender of human rights, champion of the oppressed, and celebrant of diversity and freedoms everywhere.

“The anti-genocide amendment is our chance to continue this proud tradition and help protect innocent lives from evildoers.”

Mr Ahmad Khan, who worked for the United Nations before becoming an MP, added: “I have spent many years in places scarred by war, slavery, and genocide. What I witnessed moulded me, I swore I would do all I could to inhibit suffering.”

Speaking before the vote, Ms Ghani asked: “We have tabled a compromise amendment which takes into account all the concerns the Government has presented on the Lord Alton amendment, and makes it very clear the separation of powers – Parliament opines, ministers decide.

“So what is the minister’s objection to the compromise amendment tabled by myself and my colleagues?”

But Trade Minister Greg Hands replied: “I’ll have to have a look at the amendment that she’s tabled.

“My role here is to speak about the amendment that is in front of us from the Lords in the name of Lord Alton.”

Sir Iain intervened: “Actually I gave that amendment to the Foreign Secretary and his team on Wednesday last week, it is on the order paper today. With respect, it’s not a case of will he have a look at it, he must have a view about it surely because it’s there.”

Mr Hands went on to argue that giving the High Court the right to call for a trade agreement to be automatically revoked if genocide is found to be taking place in a country would “not be the right way forward”.

On Lord Alton’s genocide amendment, Mr Hands told the Commons: “To accept this specific amendment would allow the High Court to frustrate, even revoke trade agreements entered into by the Government and approved after parliamentary scrutiny. This is a completely unprecedented and unacceptable erosion of the royal prerogative and not something the Government could support.”