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1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThis House will have plenty of opportunity to test and debate these issues, but the right hon. Gentleman might start by asking those of his right hon. Friends who were in…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseMy hon. Friend makes a powerful point very succinctly. I hope this House has heard it and I hope the Conservative party listens to it.22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThe hon. Gentleman might just like to remember this and make the comparison: the total cost over the 99 years of the deal we have struck to protect this space and British control…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseI do indeed. This is a base that has saved British lives for over 50 years. It has saved the lives of people at home in this country, because it has been the launchpad from which…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThat is total rubbish—not just the hon. Member’s figures, but his assertion. Our closest ally, which has taken the closest look at the deal we have negotiated, sees this as the…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseI do, indeed, and I have to say that I am relieved my hon. Friend has not asked me to name all 50-plus islands in the archipelago.22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThe judgments of any international tribunal or court do not necessarily just apply to the UK; they are taken by other agencies, other organisations and other nations. In…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseMy hon. Friend knows that I have had discussions with her and the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) about the capability of the House of Commons to…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseOf course we are not going to ask that. We deeply regret the way that the Chagossians were removed from the islands. We have expressed that sentiment as a new Government since…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseI can indeed, and my right hon. Friend is right: this deal will cost less than 0.2% of the defence budget. It compares very favourably with the €85 million that the French paid…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThere are a range of international legal challenges and rulings against us. The most proximate, and the most potentially serious, is the International Tribunal for the Law of the…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Our close allies take a close interest, and they can see that this treaty is the best way of securing—for the UK, for the US and for…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThe right hon. Gentleman was a formidable and very senior figure in the previous Government. He was in the post of Foreign Secretary during the period when there were negotiations…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseI entirely agree with my hon. Friend. He makes a powerful point in a judicious way. The shadow Defence Secretary could learn a bit from him.22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseThe answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is that from this point, this House has the full opportunity to scrutinise the deal. That is why my right hon. Friend the Foreign…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseI have known my hon. Friend for a long time, and he has been a loud and strong voice for Chagossians in this country. I hope he will recognise, first, that this has been a…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseYes, whose side are you on? [ Interruption. ] Frankly, if you do not back the deal, you do not back the base.22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseI regret the tone that the hon. Gentleman has struck this evening— [ Interruption. ] The Prime Minister was making a simple point: if the base goes, the countries that benefit—the…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseWith permission, Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on the Diego Garcia military base. For more than 50 years, the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia has been a…22 May 2025HANSARD Diego Garcia Military BaseQuite simply, if you do not back the deal, you cannot back the base. There is no viable alternative option than this deal. The senior military figure who was part of the treaty…22 May 2025