Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceI have the fullest confidence. These arrangements for access, basing and overflight are well established. The relations between the US and the UK are very close. We have operated…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceMy hon. Friend makes important points. I welcome his support for the first concern of this Government, which is the protection of British personnel and British citizens in the…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceThe right hon. Gentleman is another former Defence Minister from the previous Government, so he knows all about the decisions that left our Navy in the state it is in now. He will…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceI can indeed. My hon. Friend is right to underline the statement and the commitment the Chancellor made this afternoon to this House. He is also right to point out that while the…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceI will indeed. My hon. Friend is right: the Community Security Trust does extraordinary work in very difficult times and is responding to deep unease, deep concern and, in some…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceAs I said to the House in my statement, all the decisions we have taken and all actions in the face of the current conflict have been defensive in nature and legally well based.…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceThere are certain things that I will not and cannot disclose publicly. The operations of our submarines fall into that category. My hon. Friend is a long-standing member of the…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceThe UK Government are urging Iran to de-escalate. We are deeply concerned about regional stability. Part of the reason for our co-ordinated defensive actions—the contribution we…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceMy hon. Friend will have heard me set out in my statement, and in response to other questions, the principles on which the decisions that we have taken are based. They will…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceLet me start by recognising the fact that the shadow Defence Secretary supports the steps we have taken to put UK defence capabilities in the middle eastern region, and that he…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceWith permission, I wish to make a statement to update the House on the middle east. As I trust the House will understand, there is a lot on which to update it. Let me start by…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceThe first duty of any Government is to defend the country, pursue our national interest and support our armed forces. On this occasion, we had expected and look for better from…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceI thank the right hon. Gentleman. I am grateful to him for paying such close attention to my statement; Iran has now fired 500 ballistic and cruise missiles, and over 2,000…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceWe are taking this one step at a time, but I appreciate the right hon. Gentleman’s suggestion and the tone in which he offers his thoughts. Like me, he will welcome President…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceI am grateful for my hon. Friend’s support for the action we have taken—the deployments I have decided to commit to the region. He asks what we are doing to make good 14 years of…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceMy hon. Friend is entirely right. When I had the honour of spending part of Thursday with our personnel on our base in Akrotiri, it was not just the teams and the pilots flying…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceMy hon. Friend is right to pay tribute to the Iranian community in his home city of Edinburgh; I echo his comments. He is also right, of course, that in 14 years the Conservatives…09 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 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceWe have taken that video down through an abundance of caution. The last thing that I and the British Government would want to do is put Ukrainians at risk; we would not allow that…09 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: DefenceI am not going to announce the deployments of British forces in advance. The hon. Member is right to point to the balance of threats and responsibilities that we have to manage.…09 Mar 2026