Starmer pledges help to get boy back to Belfast from Lebanon
Catherine Flanagan has been battling to get her son David back from Lebanon
- Published
The prime minister has said he will ensure meetings are set up with ministers to help get a three-year-old boy returned from Lebanon to his mother in Belfast.
Catherine Flanagan said she has been battling to get her son David back after he was taken by his father and his family.
On Wednesday, the issue was raised during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons by East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson.
“Lebanon is in crisis and my constituent Catherine Flanagan is in despair," Mr Robinson said.
"Her three-year-old son David Nahle has been out of her care for the last two years."
The High Court in Belfast ruled in 2023 that David must be returned to Northern Ireland.
He was to be handed over on or before 17:00 on 18 August 2023 at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, but that did not happen.
Mr Robinson said when Ms Flanagan initially "fled Lebanon" she had received "no help or assistance from the UK embassy".
"Can I ask the prime minister to engage in this issue and at the very least ask the foreign secretary to assist my constituent in her earnest desire to see her three-year-old son again?”
The issue was raised in the House of Commons by East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson
Sir Keir said: “Can I thank [Mr Robinson] for raising this case and for all that he’s doing on behalf of Catherine and David.
"I hope they get some comfort from knowing they’ve got an MP working so hard on their behalf.
“It is, I know, a complex, a difficult, situation, but of course I will make sure that the relevant meetings are set up with the relevant ministers to ensure that he gets the answers that he needs, on behalf of his constituents.”
In a statement afterwards, Mr Robinson said he welcomed the prime minister’s "commitment to ensure that Catherine will have the necessary meetings with relevant ministers".
"This must lead to a change in attitude within the Foreign Office, with every effort made to reunite this family.”
'Diplomatic solution'
In July, Ms Flanagan said she said she wanted support from the UK and Irish governments to help her.
“It is not a tenable situation, where a court in Belfast orders that a child, a baby, is to be returned to his mother and that mother doesn’t even know where the child is,” Ms Flanagan added.
“In a place like Lebanon currently, it is not safe."
She added: “I really need a diplomatic solution to this, I love David and his father loves David – there has to be a compromise.
“There has to be a child-centred, a David-centred solution to this.”
Earlier this year, BBC Spotlight travelled to Lebanon to interview David's father, Dr Mustapha Ali Nahle.
Dr Nahle said he would not be returning David to his mother, adding that he believes his son is safe.
"I am Lebanese, I live in Lebanon, I obey for Lebanese laws, that’s it."