Contributions
5,553 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAUKUSYes. I will indeed be seeing Mohamed bin Zayed very shortly—in fact, just after I leave the House today. I think I am right in saying—my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSThe right hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and we are currently developing partnerships around the world including in the Indo-Pacific region. For instance, we may wish to…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSYes, it certainly is. That is why I think the UK can be very proud of the massive commitments that we make—£10 billion this year alone in official development assistance spending.…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI thank my right hon. Friend very much. The increase that we have seen in our defence spending is unparalleled in modern times. It is the biggest uplift since the cold war—£24…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSYes, I think is the short answer to that superb question. [ Laughter. ] I really do not think I could have put it better myself.16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. AUKUS is a big, big leap forward in terms of trust—agreeing to share nuclear propulsion systems is a giant step—but what this means now is that…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI think most commonsensical people will welcome the arrival of jobs across the whole of the United Kingdom, particularly in Scotland. By the way, the Type 26 frigate programme,…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSYes, of course, although I remind the House that the carrier strike group is out there expressing British influence—hard power and soft power—8,000 miles away, which is something…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSWhat this does is allow the three countries that share very close perspectives on human rights, the rule of law, free trade and international shipping to come together and, above…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI can certainly assure my hon. Friend that this will be great for jobs across the United Kingdom, but as I said, there is an 18-month scoping programme to work out exactly how the…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI think it is very important that we continue to engage with our Chinese partners, but to engage very firmly on the points that we care about, whether it is human rights in Hong…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSYes, and the opportunities are boundless. We are building on firm foundations. It is 50 years since the five power defence arrangements, the oldest defence agreement in the…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI do not want to go into the details of the contracts, but the House will understand that what we are doing is seeking, with our American friends and our Australian friends, to…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSWe vindicate international law. One of the reasons we have sent the carrier strike group to that part of the world is to make that point.16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSWhat I can tell the House is that, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, the carrier strike group is now in that region, and it has been doing exercises with a total of 40 other…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSThe United Kingdom remains determined to defend international law, and that is the strong advice we would give to our friends across the world and the strong advice we would give…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI thank the right hon. Gentleman for what I think was a broad welcome of this AUKUS agreement. It is historic and it is good for the whole of the United Kingdom. There is no…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSI thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for welcoming the statement and AUKUS. I will answer some of the detailed points that he made. The right hon. and learned Gentleman…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSYes, that is exactly right, and I thank my hon. Friend. The UK leads the world in some of these technologies. The factories, plants, ports and docks that make this stuff are…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSThis is not zero-sum. I have spoken to the House already about the depth of our co-operation with the French—which has a nuclear dimension as well—whether it is in Estonia or in…16 Sept 2021