On January 25, 2024, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, led a parliamentary delegation on a two-day working trip to the United Kingdom. In London, she held talks with the Speaker of the British House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, about support for defiant Ukraine. She then discussed Czech-British relations with the Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord McFall of Alcluith. The delegation also had on its agenda, among other things, the resumption of the activities of the Friends of the Czech Republic group in the British Parliament, a meeting with the “Winton children” and a debate with Czech university students.
The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, visited the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the head of a parliamentary delegation. In the House of Commons, she first negotiated with her British counterpart, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
“Our countries have long-term very similar views on several foreign policy topics. It concerns both the situation in Ukraine, and the role of Russia, but also the area of cybercrime and hybrid threats, or the observance of basic human rights and freedoms in the world. Our common values brought us even closer together when a brutal war instigated by the dictator Putin returned to Europe almost two years ago. It is our common interest and fundamental civilizational obligation not to let Putin win in Ukraine,” said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, after the meeting.
The parliamentary delegation consisting of the chairman of the inter-parliamentary group of friends of the Czech Republic – Great Britain Ondřej Lochman and member of the same group Aleš Juchelka also met with the chairman of the House of Lords Lord McFall of Alcluith. They also took part in the official launch of the renewed activity of the group of friends of the Czech Republic in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
“I very much welcome the revival of this group given the intensity of our mutual cooperation, the shared values of parliamentary democracy, and the historically strong ties between our countries and legislatures. Our strong bilateral ties at as many levels as possible are indispensable and irreplaceable in the post-Brexit era,” added the speaker of the House of Representatives, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
The work program also included a stop at the former headquarters of Czechoslovak military intelligence in Porchester Gate or a meeting with the “Winton children” Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines and Lord Alfred Dubs. They, along with almost seven hundred other girls and boys, were rescued from occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939 by the English humanist Sir Nicholas Winton.
Last but not least, there was also a debate with Czech university students and teachers working at prestigious British universities.
“Czech-British relations are excellent. Not only at the political level but also in the area of investments and mutual trade, where the mutual balance reaches pre-covid values again. Our cooperation also flourishes in the field of science and research or cultural life. No less important is that mutual interpersonal contacts also thrive. Approximately 80,000 Czech citizens live in the United Kingdom, and approximately 9,000 citizens of the United Kingdom live in the Czech Republic. This is an extremely promising investment for the development of our relations in the future as well,” concluded chairwoman Markéta Pekarová Adamová.