Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelOur outstanding armed forces are in the middle east, protecting our people, our interests and our allies. The Royal Air Force has now conducted over 550 hours of defensive…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelMy hon. Friend is right: Iran’s widespread strikes have shown a total disregard for civilian life. Because I strengthened British defences in the region ahead of this conflict…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelThe right hon. Gentleman is right about the range of threats that the Iranian regime poses, especially, as we have seen, as it hits back after the first wave of strikes. Those…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelAs the Prime Minister said this morning, in fact—my hon. Friend is right—the strait of Hormuz is vital. It is vital to the international economy and to security. We are in…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelQuite simply, we will do so by making a major contribution, as we are, to discussions about any multinational plans that may be put in place to safeguard for the future the…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelI strengthened UK defences ahead of the conflict. Once the scale and nature of the indiscriminate and widespread Iranian response became clear and the circumstances were changing,…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: UK Armed Forces PersonnelAs I have said to the House more than once, and as the Chief of the Defence Staff said on the BBC the weekend before last, the day the deployment was put to Ministers as an…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsWith all eyes on the middle east, this House expects, and I am determined to ensure, that we will continue to confront the growing threats in the High North, to fulfil our…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI praise my hon. Friend’s chairmanship of the Committee. He is absolutely right: as the strategic defence review said last year, Russia poses an immediate and pressing threat to…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI hope the hon. Lady’s constituents and other Ukrainian families will be reassured by the response this afternoon in the House. Despite all eyes being on the middle east, we are…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsFirst, on behalf of the House may I congratulate my hon. Friend on receiving in Ukraine earlier this month the presidential Order of Merit for her work on this area? We are…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry did not just mention the record export deal that we managed to secure with Turkey—£8 billion-worth that will be…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe invested £8 billion more in defence in our first year than the Conservative Government did in their last year, with a total of £270 billion into defence in this Parliament…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am very happy to look at the hon. Lady’s Bill, but in recent weeks the Prime Minister has reasserted exactly the basis on which any UK military forces are committed into…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is right, and I welcome the visit that he paid to Ukraine. We are indeed doing what we can to help Ukraine defend its critical civilian infrastructure targeted by…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI will indeed. My hon. Friend speaks for the House, and it is a message that I made sure the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, heard directly from me on behalf of the UK people.16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe right hon. Gentleman is right about the rising demands on defence. That point was reflected in the Prime Minister’s speech to the Munich conference last month, in which he…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe decision to accept the fresh US request to use our bases in order to strike Iran’s missile location was clearly set out at the time. I welcome—the House welcomes—her visit to…16 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsOn the contrary, the strategic defence review placed greater emphasis on the need to step up our homeland security and defence. That includes the critical undersea infrastructure…16 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceBritish bases will be used by American aircraft for fully lawful and defensive purposes. That is spelled out in the agreement that we have with the US, and it is to destroy Iran’s…09 Mar 2026