Contributions
909 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDArmed Forces Covenant and Veterans Annual ReportToday, I am pleased to lay before Parliament the Armed Forces Covenant and Veterans Annual Report 2021. The covid-19 pandemic has once again seen the armed forces step up to…15 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI am grateful for the constructive contributions from the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock), my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), the hon.…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI am very pleased that my hon. Friend has raised such an important question. We are hugely grateful for the amazing contribution that our foreign and Commonwealth servicepeople…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillMy hon. Friend makes the case for flexibility, and I am pleased to confirm that we retain that flexibility through the protocol we have legislated for. The bottom line is that the…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI would be delighted.13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillThe objection principally is about our need for an expeditionary system that should not be salami sliced. If we start to take components out of our service justice system, it…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI expect the data to justify our confidence in the service justice system. My hon. Friend knows that the Government believe very strongly that the SJS needs to retain the full…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s contribution; that is a very good case in point, and points to circumstances—although the numbers may be very small—in which the British…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI reassure my hon. Friend that we will keep this under review. We are prepared to be judged by our performance.13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1B.13 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillThe House knows that this Bill is vital: it renews the Armed Forces Act 2006, so that the armed forces can continue to operate and enforce a system of discipline, and it also…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesAs I mentioned, and I think the hon. Member for Barnsley East agrees, it might conceivably be advantageous to the victim for a case to be heard in the courts martial, due to…09 Dec 2021HANSARDDefence CommitteeI thank my hon. Friend for this extremely powerful and hugely important report. I look forward to continuing to discuss these issues later in Westminster Hall, but I want at the…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesI am pleased to respond to this debate and acknowledge the huge importance of the work carried out by my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Sarah Atherton). It was good to hear…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesI thank my right hon. and gallant Friend for that intervention. Of course, the jurisdiction is concurrent, so the choice of where these cases are best heard remains with the…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesI thank the hon. Member for her intervention. It is conceivable that a case being tried in the courts martial may actually be a better outcome for the welfare needs of a victim,…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesI would remind the charity that that is why we have concurrent jurisdiction and why it is entirely plausible. If cases would be better heard in the civilian context, they will be.…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesThat is a very good question. We need to be much more public about the outcomes of cases of this nature in order to give serving women confidence. The Secretary of State is very…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Women in the Armed ForcesLet me be very clear: I am not saying that these cases should be heard in the military system. I am saying that it is right that we have the flexibility of concurrent…09 Dec 2021HANSARD Armed Forces BillI do not doubt the commendable spirit behind the noble Lord’s intention, but this is a case of unnecessary law being bad law and a potential complicating factor. For that reason,…06 Dec 2021