Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMiddle EastI welcome the shadow Secretary of State’s initial comments about the loss of French and US personnel, and I recognise and respect those. He asked me, first, about the comments…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastThe Mother of the House speaks with long and deep experience of these matters. I would just say to her that the Prime Minister himself has said that while we are taking “the…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastYes to the first question; no to the second.23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastThe country’s best interests are served by our actions both before and since the start of this period of the war—actions taken to defend our personnel, our bases, our allies and…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastI do indeed. My hon. Friend speaks with the authority of his service experience and his service on the Defence Committee. He reminds the House, as I did at the end of my…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastHaving been a Defence Minister and having served for some time on the Defence Committee, my hon. Friend is more knowledgeable than perhaps anyone else in the House about defence…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastI am a somewhat simple man, and I am not clear what cultural capability really means. If the hon. Gentleman would like to write to me with his proposition, I would be happy to…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastI respect the right hon. Gentleman, and the straight answer to his question is yes, I can. The deal that we have in place, which is awaiting ratification, would give us…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastThe permissions that we have granted in response to specific US requests are for operations restricted to defensive legal purposes that strike at the capabilities that are doing…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastWe are working flat out to finalise the plan, but it has not held up important decisions that we have made. Since the election, we have been able to let over 1,200 major…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastLet me say again that while we are taking the necessary action to defend our interests and our allies, as the Prime Minister has made clear to the House and in public, we will not…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastThe right hon. Gentleman is an old hand in this House. He has also, I think, served in a number of security posts in government. He would be the last person to expect me to…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastMy hon. Friend makes the clearest and strongest possible case for an early end to this conflict and for how imperative it is to embrace this opportunity that President Trump has…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastStatements such as this are exactly the opportunity for Members of the House to express their views and put their questions, but I say to the hon. Lady that she is simply wrong:…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastAs the statement that the UK helped co-ordinate and signed at the end of last week set out, and as I have said to the House today, we are ready to play a leading role in efforts,…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastI am disappointed that the hon. Gentleman degrades the contribution that the UK is making to the collective defence of allies in the region, and that he fails to recognise that…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastI cannot give the right hon. Gentleman a timescale. What I can say to him is that we are bending all our efforts in defence and more widely to contribute to the development of all…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastThe permissions for the use of UK bases by the US are defensive. They do not include the striking of Iranian power plants, which is the clarification that my right hon. Friend…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastWe will, as we always have done, defend British personnel and British bases. I know that my hon. Friend and his Rochdale constituents will be proud of the fact that RAF pilots…23 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastI am not sure that I follow the hon. Lady; I certainly do not accept what I understand to be her point. When I was in Cyprus a couple of weeks ago, I met the Defence Minister, as…23 Mar 2026