Iran’s reckless actions in the Strait of Hormuz are having damaging consequences for the global economy and putting the lives of those aboard civilian vessels in danger. As the Prime Minister said, we are working with our allies and partners on a viable collective plan to return freedom of navigation to the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts. That is not a simple task, but the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened to ensure stability in the market.
I thank my noble friend for that Answer. The House knows how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz poses a real risk to the world economy, not only because one-fifth of global oil supplies cannot be moved but because of the growing risk of fertiliser shortages and the effects on food supply and food and energy prices. Does my noble friend agree that this difficult and complex problem is going to require us to work with our strategic partners in the region and to make use of innovative technology, such as drones, to keep the waterway open and enable trade to resume? Does she also agree with the words of the Prime Minister earlier today:
“The best way forward is a negotiated settlement”,
I agree with my noble friend and I thank him for putting it that way. All these situations ultimately end in resolution through dialogue and negotiation, but this is an urgent situation and the United Kingdom will work very closely with our allies and partners across Europe, the GCC and elsewhere to support the resolution of this.
My Lords, those of us who were privileged to hear President Zelensky yesterday were not only inspired by his courage but immensely impressed by Ukraine’s resilience and the development of digital technology which has put IT and inexpensive drones at the forefront of warfare. How do the United Kingdom Government propose to utilise and capitalise on that innovation? May I make a helpful suggestion to the Minister: why do we not get President Zelensky to write our defence investment plan?
It was fantastic to see President Zelensky welcomed so warmly here in London in a cross-party way, and I pay tribute to the noble Baroness and her colleagues for their steadfast support for Ukraine, both in office and since. She is right to remind us of the tremendous innovation that has come about as a result of the dreadful war in Ukraine. There have been some remarkable developments. I do not know how directly applicable they would be to the current situation, but I am sure that my colleagues in the Ministry of Defence will be looking very closely at this.
My Lords, when will the Minister and her Government end this air of detachment in relation to Iran? Some of us have just come from a presentation of a most comprehensive report by the historian, the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, setting out the horrors of October 7. Hamas carried that out; Iran funded, and still funds, Hamas, which has decided that when it can, it will do the same massacre again. It involved British citizens, who have complained that the Government did nothing to help them at all, at the time or after. This is a case of anticipatory self-defence. We have a moral duty to understand what is going on in Iran and the threat it poses to this country.
I do not accept the premise that the noble Baroness began with, which was about detachment. The positions that we have taken are ones in which we feel there is consistency with international law. Before you involve yourself in a conflict of this nature, history—and history from not even that long ago—teaches us that you must have a clear plan and support your allies and partners. That is how we will proceed. I agree with her on the abhorrent nature of the Iranian regime and its activities in the region that have cost the lives of many people we care about deeply, and its activities on the streets of the United Kingdom.
My Lords, I agree with the Minister that the UK needs to work together with our allies to help to reopen the strait. However, France currently has 10 warships in the Middle East. We have none, although, to be fair, HMS “Dragon” is apparently on her way there. In an act of great strategic foresight, the Government withdrew our last minesweeper, HMS “Middleton”, from Bahrain eight weeks ago. Does the Minister agree with her noble friend Lord West of Spithead that this decision was a “terrible error”?
I have heard a lot from people who think that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is a straightforward, simple act and that uniquely they know the necessary things we should be deploying. I say gently that this a hell of a lot more complicated than that. I have been listening to the last few Questions and noble Lords opposite seem to have come in today with really high ambitions for this Government on high streets, defence and all sorts of things. After 14 years of neglect, they really think we can turn it round after two years. I say gently to the noble Lord that he bequeathed us the smallest Armed Forces since the time of Napoleon, and we are delivering the biggest increase in defence spending since the Cold War.
My Lords, there are ships still getting through the Strait of Hormuz, but they are of course friends of Iran, which possibly includes China and Russia. I would argue that Russia’s shadow fleet no longer is a shadow fleet if sanctions have been lifted by the United States. It surely comes down to the fact that we will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless we end the conflict and negotiate a settlement. It is not safe for the Americans to put their ships in. They certainly should not expect us to put ours in.
We need to resolve this with great care, co-ordination and collaboration with our allies and partners. It is complicated. As the noble Lord said, it is directly related to the conflict in Iran. We are where we are and we will do everything that we can, alongside others, to ensure that ships can travel safely through the strait.
My Lords, I support the Government’s position on this whole matter. Everybody in this House opposes the barbarous regime in Iran, I imagine. They certainly should do. Trying to engineer regime change by bombing remotely is unlikely to succeed, especially in this situation, but there is a case for self-defence, as the Minister has indicated. Does she agree that collective self-defence is exercised under Article 51 of the UN charter? How is that squared with allowing US bombers to use UK bases?
My noble friend is right about UN Article 51. That has been used for our activities in the region, not just most recently, but against the Houthis, the Iranian proxies in Yemen. To be clear, the use of our bases in Fairford and Diego Garcia that he refers to are about defensive action. We have been very clear about that and that is consistent with our use of Article 51.