MPs debate the Middle East and North Africa
17 July 2014
On Thursday 17 July MPs debated the Middle East and North Africa, in Westminster Hall. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
The debate was opened by Alistair Burt, Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire. Shadow Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Minister, Ian Lucas, responded on behalf of the Opposition. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Tobias Ellwood, responded to the debate on behalf of the Government.
- Watch Parliament TV: MPs debate the Middle East and North Africa
- Read Commons Hansard: MPs debate the Middle East and North Africa
How the subject for debate was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representation from Alistair Burt at the Committee meeting on 8 July 2014.
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.