David Smith MP: 'If we can help anyone who is persecuted for their religion or belief then we should'

It’s a fair question, and my priority is always the constituency: I love North Northumberland, and I’m proud to raise a voice for it in London; and I’m also privileged to have the opportunity to tackle the issues that have no constituency.

This includes the cause of freedom, both at home and abroad, by making sure the Government is keeping our country safe and that it is protecting the freedoms of the innocent around the world.

In December Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, appointed me as the UK’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief. This is not a ministerial role, and I remain a backbench MP, but it’s nevertheless a position through which I can influence the Government’s response to international abuses of religious freedom.

Every day hundreds of millions of believers face punishing persecution for what they believe, often experiencing imprisonment, torture, and even execution because their belief system goes against the grain.

I know every Northumbrian will be horrified by the story of Bishop Wilfred in northern Nigeria, whom I met in March: on Christmas Day last year 47 Christians in Wilfred’s diocese were killed in militant attacks, with another 6,800 believers displaced. In that part of the world, Christmas is becoming a target for jihadists.

We are blessed to live in a country that is tolerant and in which all people can practice their beliefs without fear: no-one goes to their place of worship in Northumberland under the threat of attack.

But as the late American President Jimmy Carter said: ‘because we are free, we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere’. And so, if we can help anyone who is persecuted for their religion or belief then we should.

However, freedom must be actively defended. My grandpa fought in the terrible battle at Monte Cassino, Italy, in World War Two, and RAF Boulmer is a reminder to me that our service personnel deserve the best equipment and the best training to deter threats.

This is why I joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, a year-long course providing MPs with the chance to experience life in the armed forces and see firsthand the need to support our military.

The Labour Government is raising defence spending by £6 billion per annum by 2027, because we must be ready to defend our freedoms by force if necessary.

I have other Parliamentary responsibilities too, including scrutinising Northern Ireland affairs. What unites them all can be summed up in one of my core responsibilities as an MP: to apply North Northumberland’s values of freedom, fair play, and hard work to the bigger picture, and to serve our nation as a whole.