"So have the Govt done a really regrettable U-turn on human rights and trade agreements, or has the scenario in the Gulf improved so much that the Labour Govt do not think it is warranted?"

The Govt yesterday failed to confirm that a GCC trade deal would contain binding human rights provisions.

"Without proper scrutiny...we risk adding pressure to our already struggling farmers, stripping away safeguards on British citizens' data, and sidelining democratic scrutiny itself."

@richardfoordld.bsky.social introducing his Bill to guarantee a vote on any proposed US trade deal.

"The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to development has said that ISDSs are crippling for many countries in terms of the impact on development. They have been described as a form of modern-day colonialism."

- Baroness Bennett

"Does the Minister recognise that a fatal flaw of the ISDS secret court system is that it privileges big corporations over access and rights for citizens and workers?"

- Baroness O'Grady

"The Australian mega mining group BHP has found a workaround via a UK-registered spin-off company to sue Colombia over alleged unpaid royalties from a mine that the Constitutional Court ruled causes long-term health and environmental issues."

- Baroness Boycott

"The arguments against the ISDS do not come just from the ecological lobby; there is a democratic argument against them, and there is an argument that they give some foreign companies an unfair advantage over domestic ones."

- Lord Hannan

"As of last year, ISDS claims pending against Colombia exceeded $13 billion. As the penholder for the Colombian peace process at the Security Council, what is the impact of this on Colombia’s ability to resource the implementation of the peace accord?"

- Baroness Coussins

"Can the Minister tell your Lordships’ House whether she recognises the improper regulatory chill that these [ISDS] agreements can create for democratically elected Governments?"

- Lord Fox

Yesterday, the House of Lords debated Colombia's call to urgently renegotiate its ISDS relationship with the UK.

"ISDS provisions are undermining [Colombia's] sovereign democratic right to legislate to protect its indigenous community and environmental rights."

- Lord Browne