Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The facts of the Bill are that it places torture and other war crimes on a different level to crimes of sexual violence. That is not embarrassing;…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillWill the hon. Gentleman accept that this is a distinction not just between the armed forces serving overseas and civilians, but between armed forces serving overseas and armed…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillNo, I will not at this point. Ministers must think again. No wonder the former Chief of the Defence Staff, Lord Guthrie, says that the Bill as it stands would be a stain on…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillI am grateful to my hon. Friend for a very succinct and spot-on point, and I look forward to the contribution that I hope my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley Central (Dan…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillNo, I am very clear that we want to and must protect our British troops against vexatious claims and repeat investigations. Important parts of the Bill are wrong; we can get them…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillI sincerely trust that the Government will rethink and will be prepared to rewrite parts of the Bill. If they do so, I think they will find broad consensus for some of the changes…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillI will come on to that matter in a moment, because the Bill does nothing for those troops who have served, as the hon. Gentleman describes, on the frontline overseas. It does…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillI will give way one more time, but then I will make some progress.23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for conceding that I am making some valid points. His point is certainly valid, and it will be a point of central argument, probably in the…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillI start by also paying tribute to the role, dedication and work of our armed forces. They face exceptional risks, give exceptional service and require exceptional skills. As we…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillThe changes will give protections that are fit for the future. They will give protections that are required, and they will avoid parts of the Bill that at the moment put at a…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Overseas Operations (Service Personnel And Veterans) BillThat is not worthy of the office of the Secretary of State for Defence. We are dealing with matters of torture, war crimes, MOD negligence, compensation for injured troops and…23 Sept 2020HANSARDArmed Forces Capability: Future Security ThreatsOf course, the Labour Government invested in defence at a higher rate each year than that of the previous 10 years, but the Secretary of State is right about the big aims and…21 Sept 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe House is grateful to the Secretary of State for his impromptu statement. I wonder whether he could place the terms of reference for the Tom Kelly review in the House of…21 Sept 2020HANSARDArmed Forces Capability: Future Security ThreatsMay I start by paying tribute to the forces men and women who are working to help the country through the covid crisis? We may soon need to turn to them again, in the face of this…21 Sept 2020HANSARD Counter-Daesh UpdateI thank the Secretary of State for making this statement and for advance sight of it. I hope that this marks the return to Ministers fulfilling the Government’s commitment to…22 Jul 2020HANSARDBritish Overseas Troops: Civil Liability ClaimsThis urgent question, with the summer recess next week, is the only way of getting Ministers to set the record straight and reassure veterans who have won claims against the MOD…16 Jul 2020HANSARDBritish Overseas Troops: Civil Liability Claims(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to update the House on the overseas operations Bill’s impact on the rights of British troops serving overseas to bring…16 Jul 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsMay I join the Secretary of State in paying full tribute to the military’s essential and continuing role in helping the country through this covid crisis? In the same spirit, he…06 Jul 2020HANSARDVeterans: Vexatious ClaimsOf course I have read the legislation, and the word “diagnosis” does not appear in it. The Minister is right about baseless and repeated claims; we want to stop those as well, but…06 Jul 2020