Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Palantir: Public Service Contracts
My Lords, given the Government’s decision to partner with Palantir as part of their defence modernisation programme and the role that advanced data and AI capabilities will play in future warfare, does the Minister agree that such technologies are critical to delivering the strategic defence review,…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Middle East: Iran Conflict
My Lords, it is to be welcomed that the Strait of Hormuz is to be opened, but will the Minister confirm that this deal does not cover Iran’s ballistic missiles programme, nor its sponsorship of regional terrorist proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, nor the terrorism it organises across the Middle E…
Lords
Proceedings
14 April 2026
Middle East
My Lords, what assessment have the Government made of the impact of Hamas refusing to disarm, which was a key plank of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza? Is there not a risk of linking Lebanon to the wider ceasefire, because Lebanon has effectively been invaded by Iran in the form of the terrorist Hez…
Lords
Proceedings
16 March 2026
Arrangement of Business
I am sure the whole House will want to echo the comments just made about our colleague who has been taken ill. However, we have had just 20 minutes’ debate on a significant change that the Government are introducing. It will be introduced with no proper debate. We have had 11 questions—that is all w…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
2 contributions
Iran and the Middle East
My Lords—
I take that as a fair challenge. I am very well aware of the noble Lord’s views on this topic, and we have discussed them on many occasions—but the point that still stands as regards the United Kingdom’s position on this is that we must have clarity in international law, which we do for the actions …
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Jobs Market
I completely agree with the noble Lord’s assessment about the importance of tackling youth unemployment. Indeed, we have set a bold new target of two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning, whether academic, technical or through an apprenticeship, by age 25. Indeed, as the Hou…
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
Erasmus+ Eligibility: Asylum Seekers
This is a number one priority. In my work in the Department for Work and Pensions, the Secretary of State has been completely clear about the focus that we need to place on youth unemployment, on our youth guarantee and on appropriately spending the £1.5 billion that we received from the Budget in o…
Lords
Proceedings
26 January 2026
Holocaust Memorial Day
My Lords, it is a somewhat daunting privilege to follow another passionate and erudite speech from the noble Lord, Lord Austin. I too congratulate the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry on an outstanding maiden speech—the huge impact that she will make in this House is clear. I thank the …
Lords
Oral Questions
8 January 2026
2 contributions
Israel: Trade
My Lords, I draw attention to my role as the UK’s trade envoy to Israel.
I start by welcoming the Minister and thank all noble Lords—especially the noble Baroness—who are here to discuss the contribution that trade with Israel makes to the UK, the businesses it supports, the jobs it creates and how…
I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Austin, on securing this debate and his excellent opening speech. I thank His Excellency Simon Walters, our man in Tel Aviv, and the Israeli embassy in London for its assistance in my comments.
As has been said, trade with Israel is strong, and the UK is the net …
Lords
Proceedings
19 November 2025
Gaza and Sudan
My Lords, as has been said, this is the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, with half a million children already dead from starvation, 10 million more starving and millions more internally displaced or leaving the country as refugees. Tragically, the number starving actually is more than Afghan…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 November 2025
2 contributions
Trials: Timeliness
My Lords, as of June 2025, the average time from charge to the main hearing in the Crown Court, whether that is a guilty plea or a contested trial, for all Crown Court cases is 241 days. That is 14 fewer days than in the corresponding quarter last year, a drop of 5%, so there is some improvement, bu…
I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this important issue. Palestine Action has conducted an escalating campaign involving alleged criminal damage to Britain’s national security infrastructure, intimidation and violence. This Government unreservedly condemn any crimes of this kind. That said,…
Lords
Oral Questions
30 October 2025
2 contributions
El Fasher
My Lords, on Monday, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement calling on the RSF to protect civilians and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access into El Fasher. As she made clear, the RSF leadership are accountable for these crimes. UK Special Representative Richard Crowder and his team in Addis h…
I thank my friend the noble Lord for that question and for his constant advocacy of this important subject. He has brought it to our notice before, and I agree entirely with his view that we have not spent enough time on it in the past. Let me set out where we are now. As he rightly says, we are the…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Youth Unemployment
I thank my noble friend for that. I do not have at my fingertips the numbers of apprentices employed in each of the government departments. He makes an important point about the role of the public sector, procurement and ensuring that we are linking government spending with the development of skills…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 September 2025
Gaza: UN Commission of Inquiry Report
As I have said, it is not for any politician or indeed the Government to determine whether or not genocide has been happening. It is for a competent court, and we will respect the decision of any competent court. Putting that to one side, it is absolutely right that we in this Chamber, others in pos…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 September 2025
2 contributions
Gaza City
My Lords—
That is not an unconstructive approach. Of course, there is going to have to be dialogue and a process that is agreed by all parties involved. We are not currently in a place where that is happening. I hope sincerely that over the next few weeks or months we can at least get to a point where the hos…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 September 2025
2 contributions
UK Defence and Aerospace Facilities: Protests
My Lords, the Ministry of Defence tracks risks to the defence sector as part of its routine monitoring of supply chain resilience. Some UK defence companies have faced costs and disruption due to criminal damage and staff intimidation by groups such as Palestine Action. We are working with the polic…
The noble Lord makes a really important point. Let us use this opportunity to state that it is totally unacceptable for people to act as they have. There is legitimate protest, which this country is proud to facilitate, but we will not allow our bases to be broken into, people to be intimidated and …
Lords
Proceedings
1 September 2025
Middle East
My Lords, I welcome what the Minister said about Sudan, because over the last two years, Israel and Gaza have been mentioned in Parliament 10 times more than Sudan, where famine has killed more than 500,000 children. Israel, unbelievably, has even been discussed more than twice as much as Russia and…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 July 2025
Syria: Druze Community
One of Syria’s strengths is the richness and diversity of its population. I think the best thing that we can all do is to strengthen the Government of Syria and support them in their efforts to maintain peace. We are concerned at the actions of Israel, and we are not persuaded that they are conduciv…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 July 2025
Commission on Antisemitism Report
I know that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is looking very closely at all issues. I am sure she will have taken comments yesterday into consideration as she considers how to address these issues. The noble Lord is quite right that, as we saw an increas…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
3 July 2025
4 contributions
Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025
Is the noble Baroness prepared to answer questions about—
I have great regard for the noble Lord, but will he answer a simple question in a simple way? Does he accept that the actions of Palestine Action as described by the Minister are criminal actions that fall within the definition of terrorism and therefore are available, if the Director of Public Pros…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2025
Conflict in the Middle East
The unilateral, one-sided sanctions announced last week suggest that the Government’s view is that incitement and extremism are only a problem on the Israeli side. This is obvious nonsense, when people such as Mahmoud al-Habbash, who is a Palestinian Authority supreme Sharia judge and the President’…
Lords
Oral Questions
30 April 2025
3 contributions
Homelessness: Young Adults
In begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests.
My Lords, we inherited the worst housing crisis in generations. Levels of homelessness are nothing short of a national disgrace. Our Government recognise that homelessness can have a devastating effect on those involved, including young people. We have allocated £633 million to councils directly for…
+1 more contribution in this session