Contributions
400 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersI thank my noble friend for that confirmation and entirely agree with it. It is worth saying that HMS “Prince of Wales” will reach Steadfast Defender before the commencement of…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersI thank my noble friend for that. I certainly will; the question of procurement is a deep and difficult one to get your hands around, but it is certainly something we should all…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersMy Lords, my understanding is that that is the case. Clearly, these matters are looked at seriously throughout these exercises, and obviously one hopes that the reliability of…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersMy Lords, the Royal Navy continues to meet its operational commitments, both at home and abroad. Having two aircraft carriers means that HMS “Prince of Wales” has quickly prepared…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersI thank the noble Lord, and I concur that the Royal Navy has worked extremely fast to be able to move the “Prince of Wales” out in place of the “Queen Elizabeth” after only eight…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersI am sure that all noble Lords will find that particular gentleman’s comments extraordinary. I assure all noble Lords that the Ministry of Defence is looking into all…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersMy Lords, the answer to that question is that there is planned maintenance and a certain amount of ships are out of service at any one time. However, force protection is…12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersMy Lords, from what I know about that, I agree entirely with what the noble and gallant Lord has just said.12 Feb 2024HANSARDRoyal Navy: Aircraft CarriersI am very happy to commit.12 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateThe noble Baroness is right. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, has made a very good point about the reduction in aid generally, and the Government have responded to that in…05 Feb 2024HANSARDAfghan Relocations: Special ForcesI thank my noble friend for that question. I will ask my colleagues in the Foreign Office and find out.05 Feb 2024HANSARDAfghan Relocations: Special ForcesMy Lords, I recall a very similar question the last time we raised this, and I think I said at the time that there is flexibility and that it is important that we get it right.…05 Feb 2024HANSARDAfghan Relocations: Special ForcesMy Lords, that is something I am not 100% clear on. I will not say one way or the other, but I will find out and write.05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateI thank the noble and gallant Lord. My understanding is that, under Article 51 of the charter of the United Nations, the force out there is completely entitled to defend itself.…05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateI thank my noble friend for that comment. I am sure that he will understand that there are certain things I cannot say. One of the points made about the RAF flying from Akrotiri…05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateYour Lordships will be fully aware of the view that the Government take of these types of organisations. The noble Lord is correct: the US has designated the Houthis as a…05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateThe noble Lord is talking about a sort of sea-change in the level of activity. I certainly do not think that the Government believe that we have got to that position yet. As far…05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateI thank my noble friend. I shall certainly take away the points that he makes. Precision-driven strikes to disrupt and deter is one thing. To move to something more sustained is a…05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateI thank the noble Baroness for her views. On the question of hyperbole, personally, I try never to use hyperbole. There is nowhere that you can go from hyperbole, so I tried to…05 Feb 2024HANSARDRed Sea UpdateMy Lords, on the question of rust, I imagine that the noble Viscount is talking about aircraft carriers. I am not certain that one should necessarily believe all the headlines…05 Feb 2024