Contributions
1,690 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)Yes. I will come back to the new clauses later. Some serious accusations were made in the IHAT and Northmoor investigations. They took so long because some were very complicated,…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I accept your ruling, Mr Stringer. New clause 8 is around investigation.14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)Thank you for that clarification, Mr Stringer. With new clauses 8, 6 and 7 we come to the issue of investigation. We will discuss new clauses 6 and 7 later. The new clauses put…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)Are we dealing with the group together, including my new clause 8?14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)The hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West raised the issue of evidence, but the most moving statement last week was from Major Bob Campbell, who went through hell for 17 years.…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I say again what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. On clause 1, we heard last week that one problem the Bill does not address relates to…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I see the logic of how the Bill is structured, and I accept that somebody sitting in Waddington is not going to be attacked by an enemy, but if the purpose of the Bill is to give…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I agree. Again, some people writing or talking about this area are saying that somehow the human being has nothing to do with it. The hon. Gentleman is correct in that even if we…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I will come to that in a minute; it is an important point on the legal protection that is there for the people involved. Things do go wrong. It is fine for people to look back and…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)I thank my hon. Friend for introducing this amendment, which I assume is a probing one in order to have the debate. But, Mr Stringer, it was remiss of me not to say what a…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)The hon. Friend refers to unmanned aerial vehicles, but is it not the case that in future we will also have unmanned sea vehicles and, increasingly, autonomous tank-type vehicles…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Fifth sitting)Does my hon. Friend agree that UAVs are an integral part of the new battlespace and that, while some people argue that they are outside any rules of engagement, they are in fact…14 Oct 2020HANSARDLocal Contact TracingThe only thing I agreed with in the coalition Government’s reform of the health service was the devolution of public health to local councils. As my hon. Friend the Member for…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)No, it has not.14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)At present, the service justice system understands the context and the public interest test is already there—whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. The service justice…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)What my hon. Friend proposes in no way changes the Bill in effect; it strengthens the Bill. Does he agree that it is a simple thing which might assuage a lot of the critics of the…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)That is important. It is about taking responsibility of the chain of command. I remember when we first introduced the Service Complaints Commissioner for the Armed Forces, there…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)The amendments we are debating relate to clause 3. I will first refer to amendment 3, which stands in my name. At the outset, I make clear that these are probing amendments; I am…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 1, in clause 3, page 2, line 20, leave out “(so far as they tend to reduce the person’s culpability or otherwise tend against prosecution)”. This amendment…14 Oct 2020HANSARDOverseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill (Sixth sitting)Will the Minister give way on that point?14 Oct 2020