Contributions
1,690 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)New clause 9 is a probing amendment. The important point is that I think the Minister has missed the point again—the comparison is that prisoners are going to have more rights…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)An issue I have always felt very passionate about is the representation of families at coroners’ inquiries. Does it also cover that? Many service men and women, and many families,…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)The Minister calls it a legal aid system, but does it mirror that system? Unfortunately, over the last few years the cutbacks in the legal aid system have made it difficult for…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)My hon. Friend makes a very good point. When I was a Minister, the average reading age of some of the infantry when they were recruited was 11 years of age. All credit to the Army…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)Would that not be achieved by including in this Bill the suggestions that I made in my new clauses—suggestions that are completely missing from the Bill—about making sure there is…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)The hon. Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke makes a very good point, because these things are covered by the rules of engagement and the training that takes place. However, they…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)Just because someone joins the armed forces, it does not mean that their mental health history is scrubbed at the recruitment door. My hon. Friend is right. A lot of things are…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)The problem my hon. Friend underlines is the same problem I think the Minister will confirm we have today. Some people claim that 25% of the prison population is veterans, which…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)Before 2010—I instigated the review—they had no figures at all about the numbers. The important thing is that the number is small. Most of the people who go through military life…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)It is 3%.22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)I agree with that. The Armed Forces Act 2006 tried to simplify the legal system, but the issue, again, is time delays. If we look at the ombudsman’s report each year, some of the…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)I am not in favour of a trade union for the armed forces—let me make that very clear—but there needs to be some type of representative body for members of our armed forces. The…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)I rise to speak to new clause 9, which is in my name. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South made an important point. We ask our servicemen and women to do dangerous,…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Tenth sitting)I do, and having dealt with the Northern Ireland Secretary, I wish him luck, because he is going to come up against huge problems with that. Is the Minister saying that whatever…22 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Seventh sitting)Yes, and the lawyers will use it to protect the MOD. Like I say, if the Minister and I had to judge, we both would say “Yes, give the benefit of the doubt to the veteran.” I…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)As I said earlier in an intervention on my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon, the nuclear test veterans case is a good example. There was a limitations hearing in which the MOD…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Another issue concerns human rights cases. The impression being given is that they are always brought by people against the MOD and include litigants and people in foreign…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Does my hon. Friend agree that what the Minister is saying cannot be the case? He cannot give any guarantee that such cases will not be resisted by the MOD. He cannot direct the…20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)I rise to support my hon. Friend and to speak to my amendments 92 and 93, which I understand fall in this group of amendments—20 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Eighth sitting)Will the Minister give way?20 Oct 2020