Jim Murphy

Olympics

The Olympic medals table makes great viewing.  Team GB are third - thanks to the brilliance of so many UK sportsmen and women.  I stayed up and watched the womens marathon til after 3am and, while much of the drama was about Paula Radcliffe's run and Liz Yelling's fall, the real story was the FCO's Mara Yamauchi coming in a record 6th, equalling the best performance by a British woman.

But interestingly the table looks great from other countries too.In the US the table has been redefined and the US are top ahead of China by organising it according to total medals won rather than the number of golds. Given this would drop us to fourth, behind Russia, I'm not persuaded! Spare a thought too for the Slovenians who could also be top - if it were organised in medals won per capita.

It's also great to be ahead of France, Germany, Italy and every other European country! Barring a surge by one of these, we may well be number one in Europe.If so, I can genuinely look forward to the next time I meet ministers in Brussels.I will miss the games. Roll on 2012 and London.

Posted at 15:17 20 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[3]

Georgia Latest

I agree with Robert who commented on this blog on 17 August - he's right to question whether punishing "ordinary folk" in Russia through imposing visa restrictions is really an effective and logical response to Russia's deplorable actions in the last 2 weeks. The UK's visa policy is always to focus this kind of action on the people responsible rather than the general public - that's why we targetted tightened visa restrictions at Russian officials only in our disagreement over Litvinenko, and why we did not change our visa policy towards ordinary Russians then and why we won't change it now. But we do need to send clear messages to Russia about their behaviour.  As the Foreign Secretary said today in his article in the Times we can't disengage.  The right response is hard-headed engagement to make sure that Russia understands the consequences of its actions. As Russia has breached international norms, the international community needs to respond as one.  The UK has been intensively engaged in international negotiations, including through the EU, G7 OSCE, NATO and the UN, to ensure an appropriate, unified response.

I regret to say that even now the situation on the ground throughout Georgia remains fluid and fragile. Although the ceasefire is largely continuing to hold there are some reports of continuing violence and this must stop immediately. And there are still Russian forces well beyond Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We welcomed the Russian statement that withdrawal was beginning but there is no sign whatsoever of this happening on the ground. We now we need to see evidence on the ground that Russia is living up to the commitments it has made.

The Foreign Secretary has been in Brussels again today, this time for a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of NATO countries.  Some of you will have seen that he has been making these points strongly.  The UK continues to offer Georgia both practical and political support in the short term - for example through sending immediate humanitarian aid - and longer term as they continue with their reform processes. The Foreign Secretary is right now flying to Tbilisi to discuss with partners there what we can do to help, and to see the situation on the ground for himself.

Posted at 16:57 19 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[7]

Georgia Discussion in Brussels

I'm in Brussels discussing the situation in Georgia.  The 27 countries of the European Union were united in their grave concern about the recent developments.  Military actions are not a solution.  The war has led to heavy loss of life and inflicted widespread humanitarian suffering.

Foreign Ministers welcomed the EU mediation efforts and urged the parties to the conflict to respect the commitments they had made, starting with an effective ceasefire.  They reaffirmed that the European Union will work to support the observation mission on the ground, which is led by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and provide essential aid for the humanitarian situation.

The crucial thing now is to make sure that the ceasefire holds and the humanitarian suffering is addressed.  Then we need meaningful talks about the future and strong international supervision of the process.

Posted at 19:05 13 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[4]

Brits Abroad

News earlier this week about the number of UK holiday makers in Spain who are arrested each year.  I was on holiday in Costa Brava, an area of Spain that is remarkably British.  In fact there seem to be more Irish bars than there are in Ireland.  And I have to admit I didn't see any trouble at all.

But the figures are worrying.  British tourists abroad sometimes forget that if they break the laws of the country they are in they will face justice in the same way that a foreign tourist visiting the UK is subject to our laws when they are here.  Meg Munn is the Minister responsible for Consular Services in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  On Tuesday, she commented on the report and reminded Brits of some of the simple steps they can take to avoid problems when travelling overseas.  You can read these and get travel advice on our website .

Posted at 18:56 13 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[3]

Events in Georgia

The events in Georgia over the last 5 days have shocked me, people throughout the UK and the international community. Russia's use of force in a sovereign and democratic country is unacceptable and unjustifiable. The situation has been moving too fast to even blog about at times, and I have kept in touch daily with our Ambassador in Tbilisi to follow Russia's movements and motives, Georgia's response and the impact on the people in Georgia, including the 350 or so UK citizens who have been caught up in the violence. The  Prime Minister,  Foreign Secretary and I have  all  been involved in efforts with partners in the EU, NATO, G7, OSCE and UN to put pressure on Russia to end its actions, and David Miliband and I will both be in Brussels tomorrow at an emergency meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation and way forward.
 
Today, President Medvedev has said that Russia's forces will end their operations. We wait to see the evidence of this. I visited Georgia in May and met President Saakashvili and saw for myself the fragile situation on the ground - this has now been shattered. It is for Georgia and the international community to work together, building on the efforts of France and the OSCE, to return to the path towards peace in the region.

Posted at 18:26 12 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[13]