RELEASE OF ALAN JOHNSTON

Early day motion 1841, tabled 4 July 2007 by Richard Burden (Labour). Signed by 127 members.

That this House welcomes the release unharmed of Alan Johnston from captivity in Gaza; pays tribute to his integrity and courage, to the dignity shown by his parents throughout their ordeal, to Alan's friends and colleagues at the BBC for pursuing every avenue they could to secure Alan's release, to Foreign Office staff for their efforts, to the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who have expressed their support for Alan and to the Palestinians themselves; notes particularly that Alan Johnston himself has acknowledged the pivotal role played by Hamas in condemning the kidnapping and securing his release; believes that this shows why the international community's support for Mahmoud Abbas as the legitimate President of Palestine should not preclude contact with Hamas, why the Quartet should support the reconciliation between different Palestinian parties that will be crucial to a successful peace process between Israel and Palestine and why this is further evidence that peace results from discussions between enemies as well as friends.

Signatures by party: Labour 80, Liberal Democrat 28, Conservative 8, Scottish National Party 4, Plaid Cymru 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, DUP 1, Independent 1, Independent Labour 1.