Parliament TV
In a statement on Thursday, Foreign Office Minister Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP paid tribute to the “extraordinary and noble decision of the Dee family to donate Lucy’s organs, saving five lives so far and possibly more”. Mr Mitchell continued: “That act of compassion and generosity in a moment of tragedy stands in vivid contrast to the senseless and abhorrent violence that robbed a family of its mother and two sisters”. He emphasised: “The UK will never waver from supporting Israel’s legitimate right to self-defence”.
CFI Officer Matthew Offord MP expressed his personal condolences to the Dee family “for the wicked murder of Lucy, Maia and Rina”, adding that the family had strong ties to the MP’s constituency, with Rabbi Leo Dee previously working at Hendon United Synagogue.
Conservative MP Greg Smith underlined: “Fuelling this conflict is undoubtedly Iran. It has been promoting violent uprisings in Israel and the West Bank and welcoming new terror networks, such as the Lions’ Den, as well as orchestrating rocket attacks across three of Israel’s borders”. He urged the UK Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in its entirety and send “a strong message out that the British Government are against state-sponsored terrorism”.
In a debate later that day, CFI Vice-Chairman John Howell OBE MP and CFI Officer Matthew Offord MP highlighted their concerns about Palestinian human rights being violated by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
In his remarks, the MP for Henley said that “Tel Aviv Pride, as the House will have seen, is the largest LGBT pride festival in the Middle East and Asia. Israel welcomes people no matter how they choose to identify. It is not the same in Gaza, where people in LGBT communities fear for their lives, and where same-sex couples are so afraid that they will be condemned that they do not bring themselves forward”.
The MP for Hendon echoed his comments, adding that “gender-based violence and honour killings are encouraged in the West Bank and Gaza. Women are not treated as equals; they do not have the same rights or protections as men”.
