With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on Syria.
Over less than a fortnight, there has been an extraordinary change.
What began as an opposition offensive in north-western Syria…
…quickly became a headlong retreat by pro-Assad forces,…
…and, over the weekend, the fall of his murderous regime.
On 30th November, the regime withdrew from Aleppo.
On 5th December, Hama.
On 6th December, Daraa and Homs.
And on the 7th December, Damascus.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as this Government came into office, some in international community and some in this House asked whether we would reengage with Assad.
His Russian and Iranian allies have long championed him.
Last year, he returned to the Arab League.
And increasingly, other governments were also starting to step up their presence in Damascus.
Madam Deputy Speaker, this Government choose not to reengage.
We said no.
Because Assad is a monster.
We said no.
Because Assad was a dictator whose sole interest was his wealth and his power.
And we said no because Assad is a criminal who defied all laws and norms to use chemical weapons against the Syrian people.
We said no.
Because Assad is a butcher with the blood of countless innocents on his hands.
And we said no.
Because Assad was a drug dealer – funding his regime through captagon and illicit finance.
And we said no because he was never ever going to change.
There were those who used to call Assad the lion of Damascus.
Now we see the reality: Assad is the rat of Damascus.
Fleeing to Moscow with his tail between his legs.
How fitting he should end up there.
We see streets of Syrians cheering his demise.
Tearing down his statutes.
Re-uniting with loved ones who had been disappeared.
We have long hoped to see him gone.
And welcome the opportunity this brings for the people of Syria.
Asad’s demise is not just a humiliation for him and his henchman.
It is a humiliation for Russia and Iran.
Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance is crumbling before our eyes.
Vladimir Putin’s attempted to prop up Asad for more than a decade…
…and all he has got for it is a fallen dictator filing for asylum in Moscow.
He says he wants to return Russia to its imperial glory.
But after more than a thousand days, he has not subjugated Ukraine.
Putin’s fake empire stops short just a few miles outside of Donetsk.
I have no fear of it, only disgust.
Of course, Madam Deputy Speaker, our revulsion of Assad, his henchmen, and those who propped him up, must not blind us to the risks of this moment.
Assad’s demise brings no guarantee of peace.
This is a moment of danger as well as opportunity for Syrians and for the region.
The humanitarian situation in Syria is dire,…
…with almost seventeen million people in need.
Millions are refugees, largely still in neighbouring Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan.
Seeing so many start to return to Syria is a positive sign for their hopes for a better future now that Assad is gone.
But a lot depends on what happens now: this flow into Syria could quickly become a flow back out.
And potentially increase the numbers using dangerous, illegal migration routes to continental Europe and the United Kingdom.
Syria has also proven a hotbed of extremism.
The House will know the group whose offensive first pushed back the regime is Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – or HTS as it’s now being called…
…are also a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK as an alias of Al-Qaida.
That should rightly make us cautious.
Thus far, HTS has offered reassurances to minorities in Aleppo, Hama and Damascus.
They have also committed to cooperating with the international community over monitoring chemical weapons.
We will judge HTS by their actions,…
…monitoring closely how they and other parties to this conflict treat all civilians in areas they control.
The UK and our allies have spent over a decade combating terrorism in Syria.
Daesh remains one of the most significant terrorist threats to the UK, our allies and our interests overseas.
We take seriously our duty as government to protect the public from this and other terrorist threats.
Amid this uncertainty, the Government has three priorities.
First and foremost: protecting all civilians, including of course minorities.
For more than a decade, Syria has been racked by terrible sectarian violence.
We continue to do what we can to provide humanitarian support wherever we can.
The UK has spent over four billion pounds on the Syrian crisis to date.
UK-funded Mobile Medical Units already provide emergency services across northern Syria.
Last week, we gave a further 300,000 pounds to the White Helmets.
And today, the Prime Minister has announced an additional eleven million pounds of humanitarian support for Syrians.
Second, securing an inclusive, negotiated political settlement,…
…as I discussed with UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, yesterday.
This is how the Syrian people can begin to chart a path to a united and peaceful Syria.
And finally, preventing escalation into the wider region.
For more than a year, the Middle East has been in the grips of a series of interlocking conflicts,…
…which threatened to become an ever more catastrophic war.
And in Syria itself, Russia and Iran have kept Assad’s regime on life-support.
If we are to achieve a better future for Syrians,…
…we should let Syrians themselves determine their future.
Madam Deputy Speaker, we must learn from this crisis another lesson too.
Illicit finance was a fundamental part of Assad’s playbook,…
…as it is part of Putin’s playbook, and the playbook of dictators and criminals around the world.
This hurts ordinary people in our own country and people in Syria.
It drives up crime and it drives up house prices here in the UK.
And that is why today I am announcing 36 million pounds in new funding for the National Crime Agency on anti-corruption.
A new anti-corruption champion in Margaret Hodge.
And new sanctions on those using the illicit gold trade.
And previous governments have neglected this fight.
For this government, it is mission critical.
Madam Deputy Speaker, with events moving so quickly,…
…the Government has been taking every available opportunity to underline our priorities.
Today, my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister is in the region, visiting the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Just over the weekend, I have discussed the situation with my Turkish, my Israeli, my Emirati and my Jordanian counterparts,…
…as well as the UN Envoy.
My Honourable Friend, Minister Falconer, also has just come back from the region,…
…attending both the Doha Forum and the Manama Dialogue.
Whatever the coming days bring,…
…I can reassure the House that our intense diplomatic engagement will continue.
Madam Deputy Speaker, Assad’s victims can be found all over the world.
Many have found sanctuary here in the UK over the years,…
…including filmmaker Waad al-Kateab.
As she said, “there’s now hope [for Syrians] to get [their] country back”.
The UK stands by Syrians like Waad,…
…by Assad’s victims across the world.
In the face of uncertainty and new dangers,…
…we will secure the UK against terrorism and illegal migration,…
…while helping Syrians to achieve a better future
I commend this statement to the House.