Contributions
324 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I beg to move amendment 23, in clause 1, page 2, line 1, at end insert— “(ba) operating weapon-bearing UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) or RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems)…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)I agree; it is often ordinary squaddies or ratings who find themselves in these circumstances simply because they were following orders. If we are talking about training, we do…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)I alluded earlier to our good friend Lord Touhig, who advised me to always be careful of taking interventions, because they can ruin the end of your speech. I feel that that has…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. A long-standing member of the Defence Committee, he has developed a reputation as an expert in the field of defence. He is right…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)My right hon. Friend is rightly seen as an expert on defence matters, having been in this House for a number of years. I wonder whether we could have the benefit of his…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)I fully appreciate what the Minister says about being bound by criminal law in England and Wales. However, having gone through the process himself, is he confident that when…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)This was a probing amendment. I am happy to withdraw it, but I hope that the Minister will revisit the matter as soon as we know more from research about the effects of…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)My right hon. Friend has touched on this before. The issue is not prosecutions but the actual investigations. The question to ask is, how do we square proper and prompt…14 Oct 2020HANSARD China’s Policy on its Uyghur PopulationI beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 300146 relating to China’s policy on its Uyghur population. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray.…12 Oct 2020HANSARD China’s Policy on its Uyghur PopulationThis is one of the rare occasions when I am proud to be a Member of this House. Today, I feel as though we have spoken with one voice—a powerful and passionate voice. I hope it is…12 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q There has been a lot of talk this afternoon about the danger that armed service personnel and veterans could find themselves being prosecuted in the International Criminal…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Could I just— Clive Baldwin: Sorry, it is extremely complex.06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q Who does the six-year time limit benefit, then, in your view, Ms Spurrier? Martha Spurrier: If the six-year time limit came in, it would benefit the Ministry of Defence and the…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Mr Baldwin, do you have a view on that? Clive Baldwin: I have nothing to add to what Martha said.06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q I have a very thick accent, as you can tell. Would you say it is fair to say that a civilian has more rights, because of the six-year time limit, than a member of the forces in…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q Would it be fair to say a civilian has more rights than a veteran or service personnel if they want to bring civil cases against the Ministry of Defence? Martha Spurrier: Sorry,…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q This morning we heard that there were deep concerns about the six-year limit for bringing civil cases against the Ministry of Defence. How do you see the problems we heard…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q Mr Mundell has indulged me somewhat—I think over-indulged me—so this will be my final question. Clause 12 of the Bill seeks to amend the Human Rights Act 1998 to require the…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q There are two questions that come up there: first, in the light of what you just said, how could the Bill be improved? Secondly, as the likelihood of a prosecution is, as you…06 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Second sitting)Q The huge issue for veterans groups is that repeat investigations are placing a huge strain on our service personnel. I think that is really the intention of the Bill—to remove…06 Oct 2020