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1,831 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUkraine: NegotiationsMy Lords, before I answer the Question, let me quickly pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Collins for all the work he did with the Foreign Office and wish him well in the future.…09 Sept 2025HANSARDUkraine: NegotiationsThe noble Lord makes an extremely important point about the need for air defences and their crucial nature. The UK, with our friends and our allies, including the Americans, who…09 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsThe noble Lord provides my answer in the point he makes in the question. Of course, that is the right thing to do. Through the appropriate legal processes established in this…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsThat is an example of what I have been saying: the noble Baroness, in terms of freedom of speech, has been able to get up and say something in this Parliament about Palestine—this…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsWe have sought to explain that. We have said that the security in place at that time at Brize Norton was not good enough. The noble Earl will have seen that since that incident we…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsThe noble Lord makes a really important point. Let us use this opportunity to state that it is totally unacceptable for people to act as they have. There is legitimate protest,…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsMy Lords, the Ministry of Defence tracks risks to the defence sector as part of its routine monitoring of supply chain resilience. Some UK defence companies have faced costs and…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsI know that the British media are always concerned with accuracy, so let me start my remarks by saying that, whatever I say now, we have no intention of restoring the death…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsThe noble Baroness makes a good point and, by asking the question, she starts to raise the conversation that we need to have as politicians about having more confidence to speak…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsI know the point that the noble Lord is making, but the general point is that nobody should face intimidation for going to work. That is a completely unacceptable way of behaving.…04 Sept 2025HANSARDUK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: ProtestsObviously, the deployment of police resources is a matter of operational independence for the police, but my noble friend makes the important point that, whether it is a large…04 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationI thank my noble friend Lady Ritchie for her point. Last week, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said—I quote directly—: “Let’s be clear: the ECHR underpins key…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationI agree with that. The memorandum of understanding between the UK Government and the Department of Defence in Ireland, in which a whole range of co-operative measures about how we…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationI thank the noble Baroness for her question. I start by saying as a Defence Minister how proud we all have been of the contribution of the British Armed Forces to what took place…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationThe noble Baroness will know that there has been a memorandum of understanding between Ireland and the United Kingdom since 2015. Michael Fallon and Simon Coveney signed an…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationWe are witnessing the recognition on the part of Ireland that the changed environment in which it finds itself requires attention. These are decisions for the Irish Government.…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationKeir Starmer and the Taoiseach agreed, just a few months ago in Liverpool, that there should be a new memorandum of understanding, one pillar of which should be defence and…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationThe noble Lord knows the arrangement with respect to Northern Ireland and its place within the United Kingdom. On his broader point about the importance of the Armed Forces, I was…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationI agree very much with the noble Baroness on the importance of Northern Ireland, with respect to not only its geography but the skills and commitment contributed by the people of…03 Sept 2025HANSARDRepublic of Ireland: Defence Co-operationMy Lords, in 2025 there have been a number of discussions between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on defence. The Permanent Secretary visited Ireland in January;…03 Sept 2025