Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
Is the problem here not our military capability—we still have the second most capable navy in NATO—but the political will? Why is it that HMS Duncan, the sister ship of HMS Dragon, is alongside in Portsmouth, having spent the summer in a maintenance period? She has been up and ready to go for weeks.…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
We learn from the press, if not from the Minister, that up to £40,000 of taxpayers’ money will be used to reward illegal activity. Does that not make a mockery of the law? Would it not be far better to withdraw from the European convention on human rights, so that we can deport people who have no ba…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
The Minister spoke of “severe consequences”. Will he outline what those severe consequences might be? Does he understand that Beijing is unlikely to take that terribly seriously, given what has happened in the recent past? Will the severe consequences include putting on hold plans for the Chinese su…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 March 2026
Spring Forecast
The spring statement began well by outlining the desperate international situation and by praising our armed forces, but does the Chancellor agree that her remarks would have been all the more credible had she announced that the dither and delay that has plagued defence spending over the past 18 mon…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
North Middlesex Hospital Accident and Emergency Services: Cancer Patients
I will call Kate Osamor to move the motion and then call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may speak only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. As is the convention for 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Membe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
2 contributions
Community Cohesion
Order. We have three colleagues wishing to speak. I will call the Front-Bench spokespeople at 10.28 am, so that means short speeches, please.
Order. On that point, I call the Minister, because we are short of time.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
The Prime Minister happily says that he has learned the lessons of Iraq, a misadventure that his party is responsible for. Does he agree that the lesson of Iraq is not to use lethal force unless there is good evidence to do so and, in particular, unless there is a threat to the interests of this cou…
Commons
Debate
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Ukraine
On the subject of tech, the Defence Secretary may be aware of NP Aerospace of Coventry, which, among other things, manufactures body armour. The Secretary of State will be aware that the Ministry of Defence is at the moment purchasing body armour that is fitted to the female form—not for the British…
It appears that we are being teed up for some sort of deployment to Ukraine at some point in the future. Does my right hon. Friend recall that in a similar debate on 3 March 2025, the Prime Minister said that he was working with the US to provide
“security guarantees that are worthy of the name—tha…
Commons
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory
How much political capital are this Government prepared to burn through with a highly transactional White House in order to secure more helpful language on the Chagos islands?
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
In April 2024, a much-needed SEND school at Bitham Park in Westbury in my constituency was given the green light by Wiltshire council and the Department for Education, with a planned in-service date for later this year. The Labour Government put that plan on pause. Is it the Secretary of State’s int…
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address
Regular updates are all well and good, and they are appreciated, but they are a classic Whitehall strategy for disguising managed delay. When we get the first tranche of documents, will the Minister ensure that it is substantial and deals with the two key issues: first, what the Prime Minister knew …
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Ministry of Defence: Palantir Contracts
Does the Minister appreciate how appallingly bad it looks for the Prime Minister of this country and the then ambassador in Washington, the disgraced Peter Mandelson, to have met Alex Karp, the chief executive of Palantir, in February last year without any written record of the meeting being made? I…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Inner-London Local Authorities: Funding
I will allow Munira Wilson to intervene—at a stretch, because she arrived late to the debate.
Order.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 February 2026
Standards in Public Life
The Minister has managed to throw out more chaff than a B-52. He mentioned security vetting. Does he mean developed vetting, of the sort applied to very senior officials, including military individuals, before they are appointed to extremely sensitive positions, or does he have something else in min…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 February 2026
Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
The Trump Administration are not known for their record on human rights, yet the United States has been perfectly prepared to sanction Chinese Communist party officials who have been abusive, whereas the United Kingdom has sanctioned no one. Why is that, and when will the judges and prosecutors invo…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
6 contributions
Lord Mandelson
Will my hon. Friend give way?
The Prime Minister’s judgment is most certainly in the frame. What about his candour? Does my hon. Friend remember that on 16 September, the Prime Minister himself introduced the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which at its heart has a duty of candour? Did we see candour displayed at Prime Mini…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Iran
The IRGC navy is busy practising the rapid deployment of sea mines, presumably with a view to closing the strait of Hormuz, as it did between 1980 and 1988. What assessment have the Government made of the threat that that poses to our critical national interests? Has he considered the prepositioning…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
To be fair to Peter Mandelson, I think the crustacean in John Prescott’s jam jar was a crab, not a scorpion.
In our system, it is very unusual to appoint ambassadors and high commissioners from outside the ranks of the civil service, and for pretty good reason. When they are appointed from outside …
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
The Prime Minister’s friend, Baroness Helena Kennedy, a sanctioned person, clearly believes that the juice was not worth the squeeze or, indeed, the price of the plane tickets, because she has described the returns the Prime Minister has secured as “meagre”. She is right, is she not?
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
6 contributions
British Indian Ocean Territory
Will the Minister give way?
What a pleasure it is to be called so soon, Madam Deputy Speaker; I am very grateful.
My goodness me! I do feel sorry for the Minister, being wheeled out to defend the indefensible. I have to say, the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the hon. Member for Cardiff South…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
The Secretary of State refers to the local connection test. Will he acknowledge that the removal of that test was initiated by the previous Government? That is not the impression he gave in his initial remarks, although it is certainly the case. Secondly, is it his intention to allocate service hous…
The truth is that there was a level of serendipity in this matter of which the current Government are the beneficiary, and that is the High Court decision on Annington Homes. My hon. Friend is being characteristically modest, because I clearly remember that he initiated this work while he was at the…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
There are a lot of things to welcome in this statement, but police licence to practise is probably not one of them. I say this because other trades and professions that have licencing, annual appraisal, or periodic revalidation have found that it simply becomes a time-sapping industry. I am sure tha…
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
May I first express my respect for the Minister’s ability to consistently defend the indefensible? An absolute masterclass! Is it not the case that the President of the United States now has our Prime Minister completely over a barrel after his incautious and unhelpful remarks over Greenland? Would …
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
3 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
It is worth bringing to the House’s attention again the fact that the legacy Act, whatever its legality or otherwise, was predicated on our membership of the European convention on human rights. Does the Secretary of State agree, and will he reflect on the fact, that there was an appeal against the …
On a serious point—
+1 more contribution in this session