Contributions
1,082 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPet Abduction BillWhile we earnestly await a statement from the Government on the Israeli strikes against Iran last night, I wanted to take the opportunity to pay full tribute to my hon. Friend the…19 Apr 2024HANSARDPet Abduction BillFurther to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I do not for one moment wish to push my luck, but under the circumstances I believe that a statement is very important. As…19 Apr 2024HANSARDPet Abduction BillIs my hon. Friend saying I am like him because he was tiger-like or because he was small?19 Apr 2024HANSARDPet Abduction BillOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As the House will be aware, very serious events have taken place overnight in the middle east, with Israel apparently striking targets…19 Apr 2024HANSARDBritish Citizenship (Northern Ireland) BillI place it on the record that I have the privilege to serve on the Defence Committee with the right hon. Member for Belfast East. I would like to take this opportunity to…17 Apr 2024HANSARDIran-Israel UpdateOn air defence, I wholly commend our RAF pilots and their superb Typhoon aircraft, but we have only 137 Typhoons. Because of budget pressures, the MOD plans to retire 30 of them…15 Apr 2024HANSARDArmed Forces ReadinessAs I used to do my right hon. Friend’s job, may I join the tributes to the outgoing, outstanding Armed Forces Minister? The “Ready for War?” report just referenced identified…25 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will keep this brief. For the record, the gentleman has traduced me. He has said directly the opposite of what I actually said, as…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentWill the hon. Member give way?21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentAccording to the MOD’s own figures in the latest supplementary estimates, the amount we are spending on what it calls the defence nuclear enterprise is now gusting towards 20%.…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentI hope this does not come across as nit-picking—it is important. The 10-year rule, which was a rolling 10 years, was not just a Treasury policy: it was the policy of the entire…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentHe was Chancellor.21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentOn ESG, there have been many references to the second world way today. Is it worth reminding the House and the country that, if we had not had a defence industry building…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentWe are giving £2.5 billion in the next financial year to Ukraine, and it is money well spent, but we cannot spend the same pound twice, so does the right hon. Gentleman agree that…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentThe Chair of the PAC is entirely right, although in the MOD context, if it is groundhog day, “groundhog” sounds like a vehicle that has slipped to the right. More recently, after…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentMay I begin by saying to the Minister for Defence Procurement, for whom I have great regard and who is trying to reform our broken procurement system, that everything I say in the…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentThe answer to my right hon. Friend’s question is yes. Could he explain to the House that one of the things that the Committee thought about very carefully was how candid we should…21 Mar 2024HANSARDArmed Forces Readiness and Defence EquipmentI agree with every word my right hon. Friend, the former eminent Chairman of the Defence Committee, just said. My one caveat is that the MOD’s excuse for these capability gaps is…21 Mar 2024HANSARDEngagementsPrime Minister, in the 1930s, one of your less illustrious predecessors, Neville Chamberlain, so denuded the British armed forces of funding, until it was too late, that we failed…13 Mar 2024HANSARDUK Armed ForcesAs a former Armed Forces Minister, I pay high tribute to His Majesty’s armed forces but not to His Majesty’s Treasury. The Red Book—the Budget Bible—shows clearly in tables 2.1…11 Mar 2024