Responding to the defeat of the Genocide Amendment by the Government, Liberal Democrats Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran MP said “Today the Government used outrageous procedural manoeuvres to avoid any straight vote on the Genocide Amendment and avoid defeat, in a flagrant attempt to deny MPs from having their democratic say. If they were confident in their arguments, why do that? They are running scared of the Commons. By allowing parliamentary committees to rule on genocide, the Government has contradicted its own policy that genocide is a matter for the courts. Both relevant committees have already rejected these proposals.
“The Uyghur people have been betrayed and denied their day in court. The Government has turned a blind eye and has chosen to not put human rights first, despite clear cross-party support. Now is not the time for parliamentary games. Now is the time to stand up together against genocide and do the right thing when it comes to our trade policy. We will continue this fight in the House of Lords.
“The Liberal Democrats will always fight to protect human rights around the world, and we’ll continue to push this government to do everything it can to end the genocide being committed against the Uyghurs and other persecuted peoples.”