Campaigning for Meriam Ibrahim and freedom for Christians to practice their faith abroad

I have this week written to the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, to raise the concerns of many, including myself, with the case of Meriam Ibrahim. A copy of my question is set out below, but there is no doubt that Christians continue to be persecuted merely for pursuing their faith in countries where there is no such tolerance. This has been a problem in states like Syria for some time but is widespread in other places. I have previously raised the issue in parliament in relation to the Middle East, but it is clear that this terrible case in Sudan has really highlighted the iniquity of the Sudanese approach and the problem generally. My written question to the FCO is as follows:
“To ask the Secretary of State what he is doing to raise the plight of persecuted Christians abroad, and in particular the case of Meriam Ibrahim with the Sudanese Government, so that Christians can continue to practice their faith without prejudice or persecution?”
I and others will be raising the case with William Hague when parliament returns. 
I am a huge supporter of amnesty international and their site on this issue is here: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/sudan-execution-apostasy-pregnant-woman-mother-meriam-yahya-ibrahim-Christian
Slightly more detail is found in the bbc report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27586067

William Hague in Northumberland sets out his foreign policy vision

Kiev, Westminster, Paris, Newcastle, Northumberland and Yorkshire was the diary for the Foreign Secretary last week, who kindly drove north from Yorkshire on Thursday night to honour a long standing engagement to meet and talk through some of the decisions he faces. Dozens of locals came to listen to William, and our local North East MEP, Martin Callanan, as they discussed everything from the Ukraine to the Scottish Referendum, with side journeys to discuss the problems of the EU, Syria, North Korea, and much more. The Foreign Secretary talked and took questions for over 2 hours, without a pause or a note.

On Ukraine he was very clear that diplomacy is key to a de-escalation of the situation, and he has clearly been leading the way on this issue - having met with the Russian Foreign Minister last Wednesday. The UK supports the powerful case for the deployment of UN and OSCE monitors to Crimea and other areas of concern in Ukraine, given the grave risk of clashes and escalation on the ground. There is a desire to get the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to use the UN’s authority to bring about direct contact between Russia and Ukraine, and to facilitate the peaceful resolution of this issue.

But it was not just Ukraine the great man spoke of. He made the point that as Foreign Secretary he has visited 80 countries on the UK's behalf over the last 3 3/4 years, and opened a large number of new embassies and consulates. On the Euroland problems the Foreign Secretary was very robust. He repeated his assertion that not only would the UK never join the Euro but that entering the single currency was "like going into a burning with no exits."

In addition, the FS explained the work done with Iran and Iraq as both these countries begin to engage more constructively with the west, and the attempts to assist Lebanon and Jordan with the refugee crisis they face. He also described travelling to South Korea's border with North Korea, and the difficulties of keeping the peace on both sides of the most militarised border in the world. I could tell the tales of his encounters with everyone from Screaming Lord Sutch to Angelina Jolie, and going to the London Olympic Judo finals with President Putin, but the reality is that that 95% of the debate on thursday evening was serious, and rightly so.

We kept coming back to the Ukraine situation and I, for one, am very glad that William Hague is batting for Britain as we try and find a diplomatic solution to what is a very serious problem for all of us in western Europe and in the UK. 

If you want more detail on this conflict and how the UK is trying to resolve this please read William's statement to the House of Commons from last week: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uks-response-to-the-situation-in-ukraine

Tynemouth Action Day 2

Once again on the campaign trail first in Hexham and then helping the Mayoralty candidate Linda Arkley in North Tyneside. William Hague was in the constituency working hard. Would be amazing if we were in charge of local government in the north east. Spent the evening campaigning and having dinner with the girls from Conservative Future and fellow candidates Wendy Morton and Anne Marie Trevelyan.
All this and Newcastle United won 3-1!