Contributions
589 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDefence ExportsI welcome the new nuclear alliance with Australia and the United States, but I wish we would use a bit more robust language and say why we are doing it. It is to stand up to…20 Sept 2021HANSARDDefence ExportsI asked for an urgent question on this matter.20 Sept 2021HANSARDDefence ExportsI will withdraw it.20 Sept 2021HANSARDAUKUSWe must work with but stand up to China. This is about a more co-ordinated, long-term strategy in challenging China’s increasing, hostile dominance in the South China sea. But as…16 Sept 2021HANSARDAjax Armoured Vehicle ProcurementI congratulate my hon. Friend on inheriting a dog’s dinner of a procurement problem when it comes to our British Army’s combat vehicle capability. He is trying to grasp this and…09 Sept 2021HANSARDAfghanistanVeterans and families, and indeed the wider public, are asking what it was all for. Afghanistan is back in the hands of a dictatorship, terrorism is once again allowed to thrive,…06 Sept 2021HANSARD AfghanistanDoes the Prime Minister agree that we are ceding back the country to the very insurgency that we went in to defeat in the first place, and that the reputation of the west for…18 Aug 2021HANSARD AfghanistanI do not often mention my brother Jonathan, who was killed by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Bali in 2002. That prompted my personal interest in Afghanistan, a distant country that I…18 Aug 2021HANSARD AfghanistanMy fear is that there will be an attack on the lines of 9/11 to bookend what happened 20 years ago, to show the futility of 20 years. We should never have left—I will come to that…18 Aug 2021HANSARD AfghanistanFirst, the Americans are not leaving Afghanistan. This is a complete myth. The CIA will remain there, as will special forces and the drone oversight. Why? Because they will be…18 Aug 2021HANSARDInternational Aid: Treasury UpdateThis is a vote about our soft power; a vote on the definition of global Britain; and a test of our political courage to see the bigger international picture and stay committed to…13 Jul 2021HANSARD AfghanistanDecisions do not come any bigger for a Prime Minister than to send our armed forces to war, but when an overseas operation lasts two decades, costs hundreds of British lives,…08 Jul 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am pleased to welcome reports in the weekend papers that suggest that the aid budget may return to 0.7%. The utility of hard power without soft power invariably leads to…05 Jul 2021HANSARDOfficial Development Assistance and the British CouncilMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I congratulate him on the work that he is doing. There is a great example of where British leadership can be seen on the…30 Jun 2021HANSARDOfficial Development Assistance and the British CouncilI absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and indeed I would go further and say that not only is that what we do, but it is required. I come to this debate today to add a defence…30 Jun 2021HANSARDOfficial Development Assistance and the British CouncilThe Government would have us believe that the backdrop to this debate is the impact of covid, with the knock-on financial pressures requiring departmental budgets to be cut or…30 Jun 2021HANSARDOfficial Development Assistance and the British CouncilMy right hon. Friend says that comments about Dover are not applicable to this debate, but I argue that they absolutely are. We do not explain to the British people how this money…30 Jun 2021HANSARDOfficial Development Assistance and the British CouncilMy biggest criticism about that is what is done in practice to the Department and the important voice at the Cabinet table and at the National Security Council. Now we have only…30 Jun 2021HANSARDUK Defence SpendingI partially agree with my Committee colleague. The point that is being made, though—the MOD and, indeed, the Ministers understand it—is that there is a very powerful case for…24 Jun 2021HANSARDUK Defence SpendingYes, the hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The burden placed on the existing armed forces when their numbers are reduced overstretches them. That means that the harmony…24 Jun 2021