Contributions
1,811 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI am not certain whether the SNP’s record on national security really gives the hon. Member the platform that he is pretending to have on this one. I recognise, however, that he…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI think it is quite normal for any new Government to look again at a deal signed by their immediate predecessor— [ Interruption. ] The reason I say that is that when they look at…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this urgent question. The Secretary of State has asked me to respond on behalf of the Department. On 3 October, the UK and Mauritius…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipAs someone who has been in the Falklands recently, let me say that whipping up uncertainty about their future is not helpful for the security of the Falkland Islanders. Let us be…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI thank the right hon. Gentleman for his serious question and the way in which he presented it. It is important that we have certainty about the security of the future…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI thank the former Minister for his question. As he served in the Department that I now serve in, he will know that it is normal to reveal the operating costs for overseas bases,…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipWe think that this is a good deal. When the details come out, others will be able to make their judgment, but I think they will conclude that it is a good deal. It secures the…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI thank the hon. Gentleman for his serious question. This deal not only settles some of the outer islands for the Chagossian communities but allows visits to Diego Garcia for the…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The continuing operation of Diego Garcia is in the interests of UK and US national security, and this deal secures that operation. I…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions and his strong focus on this matter. I think he has a bit of amnesia from when the Government he was a part of started these…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI am confident that this is a good deal. The Mauritian Government will look at the deal that has been signed and see that it is a good one. Our US friends know that it is a good…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipAs the first Minister from the new Government to visit the Falklands, I was able to say clearly that the Falkland Islands are British for as long as they would like to be. The…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipAll the representatives of the US security apparatus who have seen the detail of the deal back it. It secures the future of the base and it allays US fears around the future of…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipThat is an important question, and one that I responded to a few answers ago. Let me reassure the hon. Gentleman that safeguards in the treaty will detail that no foreign security…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipThe Foreign Office Minister beside me, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, has met a range of representatives from the Chagossian community and will continue…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipThere are specific arrangements in the treaty that prevent any foreign power from putting security apparatus or security forces on any of the outgoing islands. The right hon.…02 Dec 2024HANSARDContingent Liability Continuation: UkraineI wish to inform the House that I am today laying a departmental minute to advise of an extension to an existing contingent liability associated with the provision of support to…29 Nov 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Recruitment and RetentionI had such high hopes for the right hon. Gentleman as my shadow. Let me be very clear: the Government are renewing the contract between the nation and those who serve—a contract…18 Nov 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Recruitment and RetentionI welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s passion for recruitment. The recruitment target was missed in every single year of the last Conservative Government. It will take us time to…18 Nov 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Recruitment and RetentionI am delighted to join my hon. Friend in welcoming the announcement by the Ministry of Defence that more than 700 applications have been reconsidered following the removal of 100…18 Nov 2024