Contributions
1,611 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRussian Shadow FleetMy Lords, I begin by expressing my huge admiration for all those personnel involved in the seizure of the “Smyrtos” at the weekend, from the Royal Marine commandos and officers of…16 Jun 2026 · 4d agoHANSARDDefence Investment PlanMy Lords, the Chief of the Defence Staff has today given the International Relations and Defence Committee of this House stark evidence of what funding is needed and why we need…16 Jun 2026 · 4d agoHANSARDDefence Investment PlanMy Lords, I am sure I speak for the majority of Members of this House when I say that at this time of turbulence, it is reassuring to see such a respected Minister as the noble…15 Jun 2026 · 5d agoHANSARDMindanao EarthquakeMay I try and come to the aid of the Minister? When I was a Defence Minister and visited the Philippines, I was the first Defence Minister to go there for 40 years, and it was my…10 Jun 2026HANSARDUK Defence CapabilityMy Lords, wounds imposed by one’s friends are always more painful to bear than those imposed by one’s adversaries, so I shall try not to compound the Minister’s agony. The Chief…08 Jun 2026HANSARDKing’s SpeechMy Lords, this has been a predictably good debate, with some excellent points punching through strongly. As my noble friend Lord Callanan indicated, I will focus on defence, but,…21 May 2026HANSARDCivil Preparedness for WarMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond. This is a timely debate. Sadly, the impossibly short speaking time precludes a normal wind-up, so I hope that noble…20 Apr 2026HANSARDStrategic Defence Review: FundingMy Lords, the Government have been under sustained attack over many months for inadequacy of defence spend, opacity as to what they are going to do about it and lethargy engulfing…16 Apr 2026HANSARDAtlantic Undersea Cables: Russian Subsurface OperationsMy Lords, the professionalism of the RAF and our Poseidon P-8 pilots operating out of Lossiemouth in monitoring the recent activities of that Russian attack submarine and the…14 Apr 2026HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillMy Lords, if anyone was left with any lingering doubt about the naivete of losing sovereignty over this base, recent events have emblazoned that folly for all to see. The noble…14 Apr 2026HANSARDStrait of Hormuz: Mine ClearanceMy Lords, when President Trump triggered the war in the Middle East, the sole naval response by the UK, to protect significant British interests in the region, was to belatedly…13 Apr 2026HANSARDUK Homeland DefenceMy Lords, this conflict has laid bare the acute geopolitical threat that we face and the embarrassing sparseness of readily deployable UK military assets. The first is…23 Mar 2026HANSARDStrait of HormuzMy 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…18 Mar 2026HANSARDUK Public Servants: International SecondmentsMy Lords, is the Minister completely satisfied about the complexity and glacial progress which confronts civil servants who wish to make a complaint about another civil servant?…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceMy Lords, I thank the Minister for the briefing on the current conflict that he made available to my noble friend Lord Minto. I also thank all our Armed Forces personnel who are…11 Mar 2026HANSARDIran and the Middle EastMy Lords, sadly, it was universally acknowledged that this conflict was more likely to occur than less likely, with predictable consequences for British interests in the region.…09 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Commissioner (Family Definition, and Consequential and Transitional Provision etc.) Regulations 2026My Lords, I shall be brief. I thank the Minister for setting out the purpose of these regulations, defining “relevant family members” under the Armed Forces Commissioner Act. That…02 Mar 2026HANSARDDiego Garcia and British Indian Ocean TerritoryMy Lords, given what the Minister has just said about “our dearest friends and allies”, would the single most sensible gesture to our dearest friends and ally not now be to put…26 Feb 2026HANSARDBritish Military Equipment: Chinese ComponentsTo ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which British military equipment contains components made in China or is reliant on rare earth…25 Feb 2026HANSARDBritish Military Equipment: Chinese ComponentsMy Lords, the chilling reality is that we are living in an age of cyber and data espionage and sabotage, whether from the use of CIMs, cellular IoT modules in everyday domestic…25 Feb 2026