Recently I met the International Criminal Court’s Vice-President, Rosario Salvatore Aitala (middle), as part of my work with the UK delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. We discussed how the UK can continue to support the Court’s vital work, uphold the rules-based international system and advance accountability. Nine of the ICC’s 18 judges are facing sanctions announced by the Trump administration, including asset freezes and visa restrictions. The sanctions follow the ICC’s decision in November 2024 to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, among other steps. I am glad that the UK, alongside Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands, on Friday reaffirmed our continued and unwavering support for the ICC’s independence, impartiality and integrity, and have strongly disagreed with the proposed US sanctions announced last week. Sanctions are already having a significant impact not only on the Court’s work, but on its dedicated staff and their families. These measures will make things much worse for them, if implemented. The ICC has a vital role to play in bringing those accused of the most serious international crimes to justice and supporting victims and we must continue to support it. #icc #ruleoflaw #internationaljustice

🚨 URGENT: Help reunite a Ukrainian family in England. Roman arrived Feb 2025 - expecting his wife & 17yo son to follow. The route closed and now they remain in Kiev. Roman is here, ready to welcome them. They need a sponsor or host to help them reach England legally. If you can help or know someone who can, email: 📧 [email protected] More info here: facebook.com/GoFolkestone/po… #Ukraine #RefugeeSponsorship #HelpAFamily

Recently, I held a listening event to hear the views of constituents and healthcare professionals about the state of our local NHS services and what improvements can be made. The Kent & Medway Integrated Care Board have launched a Commissioning Intentions consultation, which is why it was critical for me to hear your views. Your thoughts and ideas directly informed my consultation response. Below you can read my letter to the ICB, which I believe is reflective of our discussions. While the strategic intentions regarding a focus on prevention are welcome, it is clear that trust must be restored in our local healthcare system through a sustained effort to address underserved communities, increase access to GPs, integrate linked up digital systems, ensure there are safe staffing levels within the maternity department at William Harvey, as well as expand community-based mental health support. We’ve made a great start with the Neighbourhood Health Teams which provide much needed care to individuals with chronic conditions. I hope this consultation will help the ICB prioritise, so the people of #Folkestone, #Hythe and #RomneyMarsh can get the world-class care they deserve. Thanks all those who attended! #NHS

Exciting to see that Virgin Trains has been granted track access by the ORR, enabling it to run as many as 20 daily return services using the HS1 line between St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel. I know that Virgin has plans to run services between St Pancras and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. We also in this conversation can’t forget about Ashford - Ashford International needs to be an international station again. Virgin was right to recognise that there is significant public interest in the reintroduction of international services at Ashford and Ebbsfleet - but they want the international parts of the stations to be reopened first. I look forward to working with my Kent Labour MP colleagues to continue our campaign to reopen Ashford International when Parliament returns.

It was great to join Hands off our Marsh in Old Romney for their community walk around part of the area proposed for the South Kent Energy Park. A big thank you to Kim Gowing for organising the walk. There was a very strong turnout and it was a brilliant opportunity for us as a community to discuss the proposal. I am concerned about the cumulative impact of the proposed solar farms on the Marsh’s high quality farmland, the local tourism and hospitality sector, the wildlife, the drainage system, the visual and noise pollution, as well as the fire safety issues with battery storage systems. I have held meetings with all of the solar companies and I have spoken out about this issue in Parliament. I will be organising a meeting between my office and all of the companies, so we can discuss the cumulative impact of the proposals. I want renewable energy development, but we must protect our rural economy and our rural heritage. Covering up to 10% of the Marsh in solar panels is not proportionate, especially as it is already home to major infrastructure, such as Dungeness nuclear power station and Lydd Airport.

Truth. Justice. Kindness. Peace. Unity. The five words that Joe Bennett’s mother, Lindsay Foreman, told him to reflect on each day. Joe spoke very powerfully on Sky News this morning. It’s positive news that Craig and Lindsay have ended their near-three month hunger strike. They met for three hours yesterday, ate and spoke to their lawyer. Now, we need the regular phone calls between the Foremans and their family to resume. Some hope for sure, but a lot more work to do, so we can bring Craig and Lindsay home.

£11 per hour is not why Coastguard Rescue Officers volunteer. They volunteer because they are extraordinarily courageous and selfless people - they are true public servants. I was proud to stand up for the brilliant CROs in my constituency, and those across Kent in last week’s Westminster Hall debate. @amcarmichaelMP is doing great work on this issue and congrats on securing the Urgent Question on Wednesday. The Minister was right to press pause on the CRO engagement, but let’s see the impact assessment published, the risk assessment produced, let’s take the whistleblowing reports seriously and disclose all the MCA survey data. We’ve got to get this right for the CROs, whose dedication and bravery will never cease to inspire me.

Thank you to all the MPs, Peers and staff who attended our Free the Foremans from Iran campaign drop-in on Wednesday - this is a cross-party campaign! What Craig and Lindsay urgently need is an independent medical assessment, medical items delivered and regular communication between them and their families restored. The U.K. Government must declare their detention as arbitrary, give Craig and Lindsay diplomatic protection and bring their case before the International Court of Justice.

Last night I explained to Channel 4 News why I believe the PM now needs to set out a timetable for a leadership election. channel4.com/news/public-has…