King’s Speech

Putin believes the West will tire of this war. Well, he can think again. The UK has been clear: we are in it for the long term. We were the first European country to send Ukraine lethal aid, the first to provide it with tanks and the first to provide it with long-range missiles. Last week, we reached the milestone of training more than 30,000 troops, with instructors from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden all participating in the effort—the perfect embodiment of the international community’s collective resolve. This year, we are on course to spend around £2.3 billion on military support for Ukraine. That is money for more training, more air defence and more artillery.

But defence is only one element in our whole-of-government approach to Ukraine. We have also delivered successive waves of the harshest sanctions Russia has ever faced, targeting more than 1,800 individuals and entities while freezing more than £18 billion-worth of Russian assets in the UK. Meanwhile, the UK has taken the lead in ensuring Ukraine is ready to start regeneration the day after conflict ends. Earlier in the year, with Ukraine, we hosted the Ukraine Recovery Conference, raising more than £60 billion towards meeting its reconstruction needs. As we look ahead to 2024, we will continue to do all we can to ensure Ukraine receives the assistance necessary to reassert its sovereignty, regain its territory and restore peace.

Meanwhile, the UK is also deeply engaged in the wider work of strengthening the Euro-Atlantic security. NATO remains the bedrock of our defence, and the refresh of both the integrated review and the defence Command Paper has further enshrined its centrality to our security. We have committed nearly the totality of our air and maritime assets to the NATO force model and, next year, the Army will provide the land component for the inaugural allied reaction force. Despite the convulsions of the geostrategic environment, one of the rare bright spots has been the way other nations have stepped up to support the alliance. At Vilnius, allies agreed the most radical overhaul of NATO’s deterrence and defence since the Cold War, a new generation of war-fighting planes, backed by more ready forces and a defence investment pledge which makes 2% of GDP a floor, not a ceiling.

NATO is now more resilient. Not one Russian boot has entered NATO territory. It is stronger too. Finland has already acceded to the alliance, with Sweden, we hope, soon to follow. We warmly welcome the steps that Turkey has taken to bring Sweden’s accession closer, as well as continuing to encourage Hungary to ratify without delay. In the meantime, we will support Sweden to conclude the process and remain ready to assist with rapid integration into NATO structures.

Since our adversaries are acting globally, from the Indo-Pacific to west Africa, from Latin America to the High North, we must compete globally too. As our Prime Minister said recently, Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security are indivisible. China in particular poses us an epoch-defining challenge. It is not only accelerating its military modernisation but using assertive and coercive behaviour to rewrite the international order that has provided stability and prosperity for generations. It is flexing its economic and military muscle to advance territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific. It is expanding its influence across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, including through the proliferation of weapons systems and, of course, it has formed a “no limits” partnership with Russia.

That said, we do not accept that China’s relationship with the UK or its international impact are set on a predetermined course. We compete with China where we need to and we hold it to account when we need to. At the same time, we have been working harder to shape an open international order that upholds stability, security and prosperity and which promotes sustainable development. We have sought to be more proactive and more persistently engaged in the Indo-Pacific than ever before. As part of our tilt towards the region, we have offshore patrol vessels permanently deployed to deliver humanitarian aid. Our regional British defence staff are expanding their influence and we have defence presence in Singapore to help build regional capacity. Our global combat air programme partnership with Japan and Italy, and the AUKUS programme with the United States and Australia, provide case studies for our new approach to global partnerships.

For the avoidance of doubt, these are not just about countering threats, or submarines and planes. They are about collaborative effort, about partnering for technology- transferring, skill-sharing information exchanges. They are national and generational enterprises. The allow us to sustain our capabilities over the long term and strengthen our supply chain resilience to help us prosper through the 2020s and the 2030s. In fact, this partnership principle runs like a golden thread through our approach to global affairs. You see it in how we are working with the G7 to enhance co-operation on supply chain resilience and in how we are working with Canada to guarantee supplies of critical materials. You see it in how we are enhancing energy security, whether renewing participation in the North Seas Energy Cooperation group, stepping up collaboration with the USA or building investment partnerships with Gulf states on renewables.

You also see it in our deep-seated commitment to doing global good. Over the past year, we have delivered rapid responses to those affected by natural disasters in Morocco and Libya—the fastest deployment of UK international search and rescue since 2001. We have announced more than £5 billion-worth of special drawing rights contributions to the International Monetary Fund’s trusts for low-income countries, alongside a World Bank commitment to lend an additional $50 billion over the next 10 years. The Foreign Secretary has stepped up his visits to a range of countries, including Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, to reinforce our commitment to building partnerships to tackle geopolitical challenges.

With COP 28 just around the corner, we are also reinforcing our commitment to tackling climate change by funding renewable energy transitions across Asia, investing £2 billion in the green climate fund and signing a UK-Brazil partnership on green and inclusive growth.

By helping others, we are also helping ourselves: UK leadership is opening up exciting opportunities for our people. We have brought in technology envoys to deepen our science and technology partnerships across the globe. We recently hosted the first international AI safety summit here in London to harness these paradigm-shifting technologies for the benefits of humanity. We continue to increase our prosperity by expanding our portfolio of trade deals. We have acceded to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership—CPTPP—a group of economies that accounted for £113 billion-worth of UK trade in 2022, and whose investment alone created more than 5,000 new UK jobs last year. We have launched the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, covering more than £21 billion in exports to the UK each year, and we have supported free trade agreement negotiations with India, Mexico and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

To keep delivering globally in a world of growing dangers, we must keep strengthening defence. Our defence Command Paper refresh set out our plans to invest hundreds of billions of pounds to recapitalise our capabilities across land, sea and air: there will be new hunter-killer submarines; next generation Dreadnoughts to carry our nuclear deterrent; new classes of frigates; Typhoon with system upgraded; plus the arrival of F35s, A400s, Challenger 3, Boxer and the next generation of Ajax. On the latter vehicle, there has been a turbulent process—which this House knows only too well—but I am pleased to say we have at last turned a corner. Ajax is now back in the hands of the Army, with training with the Household Cavalry resuming in June. Reliability growth trials are progressing well, with more than 18,000 kilometres driven, as they continue to stress-test the platform and components through a series of battlefield missions that represent years of activity. Beyond that, we are investing in infrastructure and technical support, dockyard infrastructure and technical workshops: the sort of out-of-the-limelight activity that often gets taken for granted but is critical during times of conflict.

Over the past weekend, we have been reminded of how much we owe to those countless generations who have served and sacrificed to keep our nations safe. Our people have always been our greatest asset and our finest capability, but our challenge over the coming years will be to keep recruiting and retaining world-class talent. Yet if we are to compete with civilian employers, we must do things differently: ignoring artificial barriers, ditching old rules while respecting the past, and moulding our offer around the person and not the other way round. That is why we have implemented all 67 recommendations in the Haythornthwaite review, which will transform the way we reward and incentivise our people. This includes the introduction of zig-zag careers, allowing our people freedom to move around between public and private sector to enhance their skills.

We have also begun the painful process of addressing the MoD’s past misdeeds. I know that for many LGBT veterans the publication of the Etherton review revived painful memories of the shameful ban. We have apologised for those historic wrongs so that LGBT veterans can once again take pride in their service. We are determined to make amends: restoring medals that were snatched away, awarding campaign and other medals that were withheld, while clarifying pension rights and the presentation of the veterans badge.

Finally, as we contemplate the chill of winter, our thoughts turn to accommodation and making sure that our people have the warm and inviting homes that they deserve. Our wider defence estate optimisation portfolio will provide new and refurbished military residential accommodation and housing for over 40,000 soldiers, sailors, aviators and their families. We are injecting a further £400 million into military housing over the next two years. That is money to refit kitchens and bathrooms, and upgrade boilers for more than 1,000 homes. It is money to protect more than 4,000 homes from damp and to ensure that the 1,000 currently unused homes are refurbished to increase the number available to services families.

With the onset of winter, we must also make sure that there are no repeats of last year’s experience, when some personnel were left hanging on the telephone for hours to try to get their heating fixed. I am glad to say that things are in a better shape on this front. Our accommodation contractors have increased resources by more than 40%. They have laid on additional out-of-hours staff and ensured better availability of parts, and they have upped our handling capacity, so that the average call is answered not within hours but within 29 seconds.

I began by saying that the world has changed beyond all recognition since the previous King’s Speech was delivered. The following is an extract from that speech in 1951:

“The measures to this end must include drastic action to reduce the growing inflation in our economy which threatens the maintenance of our defence programme and which, if unchecked, must cause a continuing rise in the cost of living”.

As Mark Twain is reputed to have said,

“History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes”.

There is another similarity with those distant days and it is this: our determination, in the face of growing danger, to continue standing up for what we believe in, supporting our allies and investing in our people, so that we can look forward with resolve and hope.

We have had much debate in the Chamber on the King’s Speech. Notwithstanding what I just said, there are clear differences with respect to our views on many policy areas to do with health, jobs, schools, the environment and, as we have seen today, the Rwanda judgment. These will continue to be debated, argued about and discussed. However, on defence and foreign policy we can all unite around one principle: that we are proud of our country and of our Armed Forces, past and present—as proud as we were just a few days ago, as the Minister said. To the few who may question the relevance of Remembrance Sunday, I record my own experience, as I am sure was the experience of many noble Lords. There were record numbers of people at the ceremony that I attended. What was particularly pleasing was the large number of young people who were there as well. What an inspiration that is for the future.

We are living in an age when the values of freedom, equality and democracy that the UK stands for are under threat. That is why it is right to support Israel, while respecting international law, in its fight against the terrorists of Hamas; why it is so important to continue to support the heroic efforts of Ukraine against Russian aggression; and why the recently signed AUKUS agreement is so important in recognising the threat from China that countries such as Australia and others in the region quite rightly feel. I suggest to the new Foreign Secretary that the China he dealt with a few years ago is a very different China from the one that we see today. It is, of course, important to remember that there are other areas across the globe where there is conflict.

The strength of our military, along with our friends and allies, coupled to an effective foreign policy, is vital if we are to deal with these challenges. We believe that we need a new Government, with a fresh, reinvigorated approach. It cannot be right that our Army has been so drastically cut in terms of numbers. Notwithstanding what the Minister said, it cannot be right that we have got to a state where some of our Armed Forces are living in damp and mouldy housing, with 4,000 not paying rent it is so bad. It cannot be right that there are so many problems in defence procurement, again notwithstanding what the Minister said about Ajax and the E7 Wedgetail surveillance planes. It cannot be right that one in five ships has been cut from our surface fleet since 2010 and that the RAF has had 200 planes taken out of service in the last five years. It cannot be right that we have seen the problems we have had with stockpiles of ammunition and other equipment that have been put under pressure with respect for our support for Ukraine and other areas. If elected, a Labour Government will undertake a defence review within their first 12 months to look at all this, to reinvigorate and realign our priorities. In our first 100 days, we will apply a NATO test to major defence programmes to ensure that our NATO commitments are met in full.

We need the UK to rediscover its confidence as a global player—not doing everything ourselves but working with our friends and allies across the globe. It is not only our hard power but the value of defence diplomacy that will do this, demonstrating our interest and presence in areas. We need to stand up for what we believe in and not be bullied, frightened or coerced into believing that what we say or do does not matter. It does, and we should be confident in that.

His Majesty’s Opposition’s commitment to NATO is unshakeable, and we wish to continue to secure Britain’s place in the alliance as the leading European nation to anticipate areas of future Russian aggression and respond as the Arctic opens up. Our relationship with the USA, whatever happens there, is crucial and vital for global security in Europe, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere. We are proud of that close military and political relationship, but also will work with other friends to deliver our common goals, both diplomatically and militarily.

Labour believes that Britain should be leading the debate about the future of international security, and would negotiate a new pact on security with our European partners, rooted in mutual respect, shared values and common interests. Labour will focus on new threats as well as traditional ones, defending our country from foreign interference.

Let me reiterate this for the avoidance of doubt: the renewal and maintenance of our UK nuclear deterrent is essential and provides protection for us, our NATO allies and global security. I was pleased to hear the Minister say that the renewal of the nuclear submarine fleet and the missile system is a top priority for the Government, and we support them in their efforts in this respect. It also reminds us again of our important global role and the fact that we are a P5 UN Security Council member. We believe in multilateralism and will use this position to renew our efforts to keep Britain safe and make the world more secure and peaceful, all of this done recognising that our record on international development gave hope to our allies and partners in the fight for a better world. We will recommit to the 0.7% aid target, to be delivered as soon as resources allow us to do so, knowing that tackling humanitarian crises, poverty, food insecurity and conflict help to deliver a safer, more secure world.

We also know the crucial importance of our Armed Forces personnel. They are respected worldwide and will be at the heart of our defence plans, notwithstanding the important work the Government are doing to deal with some of the problems there have been. We recognise that the majority of the Armed Forces want some of those issues dealt with and sorted out. We see spending on defence as a force for good and for job creation, and we will make this case to the British public. We will adopt a British-built-by-default approach to defence procurement, to boost manufacturing within the UK supply chain.

Of course, the news is dominated by the conflict in the Middle East. We have seen scenes on our streets relating to the conflict. We all utterly condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia—they have no part in our society. There is a need for a full and immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting across the whole of Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians and for Hamas terrorists to release the hostages. Urgent steps must be taken to continue the efforts to prevent wider regional escalation. We should all note the number of, for example, US military strikes in neighbouring states in recent days. All of us, through the available international bodies, need to redouble our efforts to achieve a two-state solution to bring peace and stability.

We want our country to be self-confident on the global stage, acting with integrity, courage and consistency, and delivering for the people of Britain while making our world safer. In an uncertain world, we must, with our allies, such as the USA and Japan, and through AUKUS and NATO, be a reliable partner and a resolute ally. We need to strike trade deals and build partnerships that deliver prosperity at home and abroad. It should ring loud and clear from your Lordships’ debate today that we will be steadfast champions of democracy and human rights. Our defence policy and our foreign policy are inextricably linked as we seek to build prosperity and fairness across the world.

Our focus is, rightly, elsewhere at present, but Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine should serve as a reminder to us all. There was a courageous response by the Ukrainian people and united support from across Europe. Indeed, as the Minister said, Putin’s calculation that the nations of Europe would split and not support Ukraine has thankfully been proved wrong by support from the USA and others across the world. Ukraine’s fight is our fight for freedom, democracy and democratic values. We must not and cannot take them for granted. Our resolve to give Ukraine the military and political support it needs to be successful must not and will not weaken.

I was personally reminded of all of these stark facts when, last week, as part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, I, with others, visited Southwick Park, where much of the D- Day planning took place and where the final decision to invade was made. I am named after my uncle. He was a member of the Devonshire Regiment and No. 3 Commando. He was killed on 6 June 1944 and is buried in a cemetery in Ranville. I was reminded that he fought, with many others, both before, then and since, for freedom and democracy. He no doubt hoped that, in giving his life, those values would become the accepted form of government not only in Europe but across the globe. However, conflicts have continued. In honouring their memory, and that of others, I recount their stories in today’s debate. The struggle for the values of democracy and human rights continue, and this country needs to be at the forefront of it.

Let it ring out from this Chamber today that, whoever the next Government are, we all reaffirm our commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The differences that we sometimes have speak to the ability for us to do that within this Chamber. We need to work with others to ensure that the freedoms of democracy and the human rights that we enjoy are felt and enjoyed by other countries across the world. Working with our friends and allies, we can strengthen the international institutions upon which we all depend, making that more than just empty rhetoric but a reality. If we do that, then the words we speak in this Chamber today will echo across our country and across the globe to deliver the sort of world that we all want.

I welcome the noble Earl, Lord Minto, to his place and look forward to the opportunity of raising questions about His Majesty’s Armed Forces and defence accommodation. I was very pleased to hear in his speech that now, apparently, the telephone is answered by Pinnacle in 29 seconds. What I would really like to know is this. If the telephone is answered in 29 seconds, how long does it take the hard-pressed service man or woman, or more likely their spouse, to actually get an answer to their problem? Has black mould been abolished from forces accommodation? Have we really seen a change in practice or simply a few tick-box KPIs? These are the sorts of questions that the noble Earl is probably going to be hearing over the next few months, between now and the general election.

I agree with the noble Earl and the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, that it is clearly important at the start of a parliamentary Session to make our commitment to His Majesty’s Armed Forces very clear; I reiterate from these Benches as well the importance of defence. Defence is one of those issues that is probably not top of ordinary citizens’ agenda. If a survey was done asking what the three most important issues are, people might talk about a cost of living crisis, energy bills or education for their children. In the United Kingdom they are probably not going to say defence of the realm, yet defence is the first duty of the state, and for good reason.

But it has been very clear in the last two to three years that people in this country are beginning to think more about defence, as questions of conflict are becoming much more relevant within the United Kingdom. It is no longer sufficient to assume that conflicts will be in far-away places of which we know little. In recent years—I start in 2011 because I shall come back to some thoughts about what happened in the coalition—there was the Libya action in 2011, which effectively left a failed state from which small boats might be setting off, with people who are desperate to come to Europe, maybe for a better life or to seek refuge. That crisis has left a situation that is being used and abused by people traffickers.

There is also the situation in Syria, which remains a problem and in which Russia played a part. We have heard about Russia in other parts of the world, but in the Middle East it has also played a role. The Russian annexation of Crimea started a series of actions that perhaps the United Kingdom and other European countries did not take sufficiently seriously in 2014. We did from 2022. It has been part of a major commitment and I pay tribute to His Majesty’s Government for their support for Ukraine, which has been absolutely right.

Here I have a set of defence questions. I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, for the purposes of the King’s Speech debate, because I realise that his portfolio is officially foreign affairs. We are making commitments to Ukraine; that is absolutely right. Can the Minister confirm that His Majesty’s Government have the resources necessary to keep their commitments going to training Ukrainian forces, supplying ammunition, and providing the resources that the Ukrainian President has repeatedly told us are needed? Ben Wallace, when he was Secretary of State for Defence—another great office of state that changed so very recently—made those commitments. Is the United Kingdom able to meet them at a time of rapid change in global security questions?

I said I was going to come back to the coalition, partly because, during that time, the then Prime Minister had a tendency to visit other countries. If there was an issue of conflict—an issue that required defence support —he was prone to saying, “We can help you. We can send some soldiers, sailors or aviators, or maybe some military intelligence”. The danger of doing that is overreach. It is a good thing to do, but do we have the resources to do it?

Why does that matter? Because the then Prime Minister who was so keen to support other countries is about to join your Lordships’ House as Foreign Secretary. Can the Minister reassure the House that, in their commitment to foreign policy, His Majesty’s Government will also take into consideration the needs of the Armed Forces, to ensure that we are not putting undue pressure on all our service personnel? We have already heard about the issues of support for the Armed Forces. Accommodation is part of that, but so is adequate opportunity to spend time with families, to ensure that people stay in the Armed Forces. The more operations we undertake, the more support we need to give the Armed Forces.

In his opening remarks, the Minister mentioned the Korean War. At the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Saturday evening, I think I heard a statement that 80,000 British service personnel served in Korea. That was at a time of conscription; now, we are looking at 73,000 British soldiers. Is that really enough? Are the Government being complacent with the number of Armed Forces personnel? Are we looking at increasing the number of reservists?

Finally, one crisis that is still unresolved is our duty to those people who served with His Majesty’s Armed Forces and taught the English language in Afghanistan—those people to whom we made commitments under the ARAP and the ACRS. There are still thousands of people in Pakistan, many of whom think they will not make it before their visas run out, as well as people who have not yet got out of Afghanistan. As a country, we still owe a duty to those people. What will His Majesty’s Government do to make sure that the vulnerable are able to come to the United Kingdom, as promised by His Majesty’s Government?

As we see our international obligations more as supporting other Governments, so we also have obligations to people who work with and for us, particularly for the British Council. If we do not provide the support that we have offered, in future people will be very reluctant to work with us. There are many things that His Majesty’s Government are getting right, but there are many questions still to be resolved.

Taiwan is under constant threat, including the undermining of democratic institutions and the economy. Although experts do not believe that invasion is likely in the immediate future, China, as Taiwan’s largest export market, pursues measures to undermine the Taiwanese economy, especially in agriculture. In addition, given that China remains dependent on Taiwan for a steady supply of advanced semiconductor chips, efforts to hijack that industry continue.

These policies alone should make it clear that China most certainly has a strategy, which is to overtake the USA as the predominant world power and secure its economic position in the long term. Its tactics include a variety of ways to undermine the rules-based international order.

What might be the points of leverage or influence? Contrary to conventional views, China is bothered by international criticism and goes to some lengths to conceal its less acceptable policies. However, atrocities such as the genocide of the Uighur population continue in part because the international reactions are often contradictory, or at least inconsistent.

While AUKUS, the Five Power Defence and the Indo-Pacific Quad—which the UK has not yet joined—are all necessary alliances, more direct action is also necessary. The fear that such strong representation might adversely affect trading volumes—China is the UK’s third-largest trading partner—is not borne out by the evidence. China understands and respects strong, even hostile, statements and action, provided that its interests are protected. The UK may have an added advantage in that the PRC supposedly believes that it has special influence on US policies.

Lastly, is the US policy of strategic ambiguity with reference to Taiwan a sufficient deterrent in the eyes of the PRC? The clue lies in the word “ambiguity”. The PRC cannot be certain that any move on Taiwan would provoke an unequivocal reaction from the USA, which enables it to continue testing the boundaries. The absence of effective sanctions at the trashing of the Sino-British joint declaration on Hong Kong following the implementation of the national security laws signals weakness on the part of the UK and others, which is exploited by the PRC, while the hesitancy to monitor the intentions of Chinese scientific and technical students at UK universities opens to way to outright theft of ideas and techniques.

The strategic direction of the UK, together with nation partners, could be defined as developing an international network to maintain and strengthen the democratic system and rules-based international order. The chief methods include making it abundantly clear that any encroachment on these values and processes will be met with severe international condemnation and sanctions. There should be no room for ambiguity.

There are egregious examples around the world in conflicts in Sudan, Ethiopia and Syria, in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in other places, where aggressors have not only acted with enormous brutality but, in some cases, managed to solicit sympathy from other states. This has been due to disinformation, self-interest and even venality. But it is also because those of us who argue for a rules-based system are seen as benefiting from a global trading system that treats many people unfairly.

We cannot isolate ourselves from this, because many of the communities around the world caught up in conflict are represented in significant numbers in this country. There is a task for us here to model the norms we promote internationally. This means that we should be scrupulous in our international dealings, including our support for the European Convention on Human Rights. We need to address deep-seated issues around climate change and development.

There is now an opportunity, in the light of the Supreme Court judgment on Rwanda today. As the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury has said, the Church of England continues to call for the 1951 refugee convention to be built on, through nations around the world working effectively together, so it can meet the challenges we face today, commending a 10-year strategy for tackling the refugee crisis, human trafficking and people smuggling.

But we also need to respect our own institutions. We should promote dialogue with communities here and abroad. In advance of the state visit of the President of South Korea, His Majesty the King visited New Malden the day after delivering the gracious Speech, engaging with the largest Korean community in Europe. On the evening of the gracious Speech, I commissioned Bishop Moses Yoo of the Anglican Church in Korea to be an assistant bishop in the diocese of Southwark, in order to minister to the large Korean community in south London. He was presented to the King the following day.

The focus being given to “global Britain” in our external relations is mirrored in the increasingly global identity of many of the communities of this land, not least the great metropolis of London, and Southwark, where my diocese is located. In his recognition of this, His Majesty the King is setting an example for us all to emulate in our multicultural local contexts. The fruit of this endeavour will be in building social cohesion that reflects the nation we have become.

I ask for a greater effort, in a larger and better-resourced Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to promote an unapologetic rules-based international order—one no longer on the back foot but gaining in strength.

“the most acute threat to the UK’s security”.

Russia’s malign influence is felt across eastern and south-eastern Europe and the western Balkans, extending upwards into the Arctic region and the High North. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an attempt to redraw the border of Europe by force, and the war crimes that it has committed there are a rejection of civilised values. If Russia is allowed to succeed, the principles on which we have built deterrence and collective security in Europe will be seriously, perhaps fatally, undermined.

Despite heavy losses, Russia’s leadership believes its will to fight will outlast the West’s commitment to Ukraine. We must prove it wrong. I was reassured by my noble friend’s commitment from the Dispatch Box, together with the forceful words of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker.

Russia’s influence is also felt in the High North. Later this month, your Lordships’ International Relations and Defence Committee, which I am privileged to chair, will publish a report into the UK’s policy towards the Arctic and the High North. The Arctic occupies a central place in Russian military doctrine and strategic planning, and is likely to see increased Russia-China co-operation in future. Russian grey-zone activities in the High North are on the rise. We have seen the sabotage of sub-sea data cables and gas pipelines. Pilots in Finland cannot rely on GPS to navigate because of persistent Russian GPS jamming. I am looking forward to sharing the wider findings of the committee’s report on the Arctic with this House and the Government soon. The need for western unity and international co-operation as a safeguard against Russia’s military aggression and its destabilising behaviour has never been greater.

Finally, like other noble Lords, and as the first Conservative Back-Bench speaker, I place on record my thanks to and admiration for my noble friends Lady Goldie, who stepped down yesterday as Defence Minister, and Lord Ahmad at the FCDO, who is, I am glad to say, carrying on. They have both served the country and this House superbly, and for some considerable time, which is why it is particularly disgraceful that they and 11 other Ministers in this House are not paid a salary. It is something that the Government could easily and speedily rectify if they wished to do so, and I believe it would command support across the House.

Time is short, and I, of all people, do not want to upset the Whips, so I very much look forward to hearing the views of so many experienced noble Lords in the remainder of this debate.

Our trip last week started in Nairobi, and I saw the direct impact of an approach to sustainable development that encourages local economies to grow and prosper and to provide sustainable jobs. The Insta factory in Nairobi is producing ready-to-use therapeutic food that is then sold commercially to the international agencies in order to feed those suffering from malnutrition around the world. It was a classic example of a local economic development serving a local need, producing ultimately sustainable development for that community and real opportunities for local people. I then saw the impact of the product the next day: in particular, a little boy called Marty who not only ripped open the packet of peanut paste and squeezed every drop he could out of it but then tore the packet open and licked the inside to get every last drop.

Marty is recovering from extreme malnutrition, as a result of that programme supported by UNICEF and others, and he is part of a wider ecosystem in Turkana county, supported by UK aid, which has, for example, reduced maternal mortality in only eight years from 1,594 deaths per 100,000 of the population to 362 in 2022. The direct impact of an integrated programme, mixing investment in water, in education, in health and in the local economy, supported by UK aid, shows just what can be done.

Unfortunately, UK aid has become increasingly unpredictable and unreliable over recent years. I do not want to open up the debate right now on the level of aid or the Government’s lack of a firm commitment to return to 0.7% of GNI, but the unpredictability and unreliability of our commitments must end with this gracious Speech and the next phase of this Government. For example, at the nutrition summit next week we need to see—along with the publication of a White Paper on the sustainable development goals, which are not even mentioned in the gracious Speech or the Prime Minister’s introduction to the attached notes—a firm commitment from the UK not only to engage and invest in international development but to become a reliable and predictable partner again. That would make the biggest difference. I hope we will see it today or on Monday.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s judgment this morning striking down the Government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, we will hear a lot of bombast about pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights, even though the Supreme Court highlighted other domestic, as well as international, legal impediments to exposing asylum seekers to the risk of refoulement. I note that a lot of whatever co-operation we have with the EU in areas such as law enforcement, internal security and business data transfers is predicated on our membership of the convention.

We are due to debate next week, on a regret Motion from my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones, new proposed data protection regulations. Using powers in the retained EU law Act, the Government propose to replace references to EU concepts of fundamental rights and freedoms with references to the ECHR. This is already a worrying loss of some rights, but the regulations would completely collapse if we pulled out of the ECHR. That would be a loss to business.

Turning to the Israel-Gaza situation, I attended at lunchtime a screening of the footage taken from the body cameras of Hamas terrorists—and from CCTV, victims’ phones and Intercept—who participated in the horrific outrages of 7 October. I did not want to attend but I felt I had to out of respect for the victims. Let us be clear: this was not a Hamas war on Israel; it was a massacre—a pogrom—of Jews. As the Hamas terrorists celebrated the number of Jews they were killing, whose bodies they burned and mutilated, they cried, “Praise Allah. Allah is great”. This is desecration of the great religion of Islam.

While most people attending the pro-Palestinian marches in London have not expressed hatred towards Israel and/or Jews, some have. The steep rise in incidents of anti-Semitism has been appalling, and for our Jewish fellow citizens to feel frightened or uncomfortable coming into central London, or wearing visibly Jewish dress, such as the kippah, is deeply shaming. I also deplore any incidents of Islamophobia. I of course understand the calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, but I would like to know how, in that case, Hamas is going to be removed from Gaza and its military capacity eradicated, as not only Israel wants. I note the US confirmation that Hamas is using the Al-Shifa hospital as an operational base.

Lastly, on a question asked many times, can the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, in replying, tell us why on earth the Government will not proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps?