Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsMay I, from the Opposition Benches, strongly endorse the concern and condemnation the Defence Secretary has expressed over the actions of the Belarus authorities? May I also say…24 May 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillYes indeed. My right hon. Friend has worked as hard as anyone in this House on this Bill and I am really grateful to him for that. He has been part of what the Opposition,…27 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillBefore turning to the amendments before us today, I want to place on record my thanks to all those who have worked so hard and so collaboratively on the Bill throughout its…27 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillMy right hon. Friend is right. I have described it as the big gap in this legislation. It is a big flaw in the Bill. We may not succeed this time around, but we will certainly…27 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillMy right hon. Friend is right. Last week when we debated the first set of Lords amendments, I described the Minister’s predecessor, the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny…27 Apr 2021HANSARDCarrier Strike Group DeploymentI thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for the advance copy, and I add Labour’s condolences to the friends, family and comrades of the Indonesian submariners who…26 Apr 2021HANSARD Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Historical Inequalities ReportI thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for the advance copy of it. I thank the commission for its advance briefing, which a number of hon. Members received before…22 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI am so grateful that I gave way again to the right hon. Gentleman. He rightly believed that I thought his challenge was intended to trick me. I thought he was arguing—this was…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillAnd bishops.21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillIndeed, my right hon. Friend makes an important point. I have touched already on the risk that this will undermine Britain’s international reputation for fully upholding and…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI believe that if the right hon. Gentleman consults Lords Hansard , he will see that Lord Mackay was speaking to another amendment. I am talking about the four main amendments…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillMy right hon. Friend is right to say that there is a gaping hole. This is the gaping hole in this Bill, and it could be fixed. It could be fixed in the way that was proposed and…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillThe right hon. and gallant Gentleman has experience of conflict. I do not know whether a legal mind, which mine certainly is not, would regard that as wilful killing, but as such,…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillThis debate gets richer with every intervention I take, which probably suggests that I should stop talking and allow others to contribute. If the hon. Gentleman feels he is only…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillI congratulate and warmly welcome the Minister for Defence People and Veterans to this, his first—and, I am sure, not the last—Front-Bench role. It is at this point that, as the…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillMy right hon. Friend says that he cannot see why the Government are pursuing this, but the director general of the Royal British Legion could. When he spoke to the Public Bill…21 Apr 2021HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) BillIndeed. Madam Deputy Speaker, I am not going to get tempted on to the Armed Forces Bill any further in case you call me to order. Let me address my remarks to this Bill and these…21 Apr 2021HANSARD AfghanistanThe House will appreciate the Minister wanting to respond to this question himself. He saw two tours in Afghanistan and I know that more than 50 from his regiment were among the…20 Apr 2021HANSARD Strength of the UK’s Armed ForcesI would, but my right hon. Friend has just done so for me; I am pleased that it is on the record.14 Apr 2021HANSARD Strength of the UK’s Armed ForcesMy right hon. Friend is right, of course. There has been an £8 billion real-terms cut to the defence budget since 2010. That is part of the reason that we have seen 45,000…14 Apr 2021