Mr Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con): I am lucky enough to be the chairman of the all-party group on Azerbaijan, and I was also on the trip that the previous two speakers attended in recent weeks. In addition, in recent months I have been board adviser to the European Azerbaijan Society. We had a tremendous trip to Baku, Nagorno...

Mr. Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con): I am glad to be able to introduce this important debate, because in the face of difficult economic times, a hitherto united front in favour of the Government's international development programmes is perhaps beginning to crack-not, I hasten to add, in Parliament, but among the public at large. As all politicians look towards cutting the vast budget deficit that we have run up in the past couple of years, some of our constituents-I suspect that this applies as much to Harrow, West as it does to the Cities of London and Westminster-are beginning to ask why we are reducing significantly assistance to British citizens when we continue to channel taxpayers' money into international development.

Mark made the following interventions in a Westminster Hall debate on Russia. He is answered by Greg Hands MP who tabled the debate: Mr. Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con): I had hoped to make a speech, but unfortunately I have another engagement. Whichever of the two approaches is...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) on securing this important debate. I am surprised to be making a full speech because I had assumed that there would be time only for a short intervention. I did not realise that so...

 Mr. Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) on securing this important debate, not least because he has had the courage to say something a little unorthodox. It would be all too easy simply to go along with t...