Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
Russia: Level of Threat to UK
The Prime Minister agreed that he would use all his might to tackle the shadow fleet tankers that were coming through British territorial waters. Since then, one has been taken, and just under 200 shadow fleet tankers have passed through our waters with nothing happening. Are the Government serious …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
Is it not the reality that the plan the Defence Secretary has put forward barely scrapes into 2.7%? It is not 3%. It leaves us £9.3 billion short, every single year of the process. If he is not going to achieve 3% by 2030, how in heaven’s name will he ever achieve the NATO minimum by 2035? It is not…
Commons
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Sudan
It seems that whoever comes into government, the Foreign Office’s weak policy on the UAE persists. I remind the hon. Gentleman that the UAE has incarcerated a British citizen for more than 19 years—illegally, according to the UN. The UAE provides the rebels with significant amounts of arms and weapo…
Commons
Debate
16 June 2026
2 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill
The hon. Lady was very prescient then, and it has got worse since. There was lots of talk under the previous Administration about Downing Street cars being searched for IOTs. We know about the huge imports from bad actors, such as China and other countries—that is really what we should be worried ab…
It is always a great honour to follow the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West (Dame Chi Onwurah), who talks common sense most of the time she gets up, which may be one of the reasons why she is still on the Back Benches. If we listened more to those who know something about things, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 June 2026
Child Sexual Offender Data
I want to make a small point following the strong and powerful point made by the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) about the gang-related stuff. The petition that the public signed does not selectively go for gangs only. It refers to all offenders, including gangs. Surely the key is to get …
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
4 contributions
Defence Readiness
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Having served in Northern Ireland, I have spoken to many veterans I was there with and others who were there before, and there is a scintilla of a real question mark about how they will be treated. The vexatious nature of these complaints will, of course…
It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi). He will recall that I voted for him to hold his position, and I will come for payback later on. It is also very good to see my area neighbour, the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), in the Chamber. I will liste…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
4 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over)
In the limited time I have, I say to the Secretary of State that this Bill was bad, and it is now a mess. He comes in front of the House to ask for a carry-over when he knows that carry-over motions are only ever to be used for Bills that are pretty well set, but have run out of time to progress. Su…
It is astonishing. My right hon. Friend is exactly right. I served early on in Northern Ireland, and I lost a very good friend—I apologise for repeating his name—in Robert Nairac. We have never got to the bottom of what happened to him.
I thought that the speech from the hon. Member for Foyle (Colu…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
3 contributions
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
Did my right hon. Friend not find it astonishing that in the testimony today the ex-leader of the Foreign Office said that he was made to understand that before they had completed their clearances, Mandelson already had STRAP clearance, which gave him access to the most secure and most dangerous inf…
Everybody has said pretty much everything, but I am going to say some of it again, as is my wont in this Chamber.
First, I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, who laid out a powerful case against the Government, particularly against the Prime Minister and his excuses in …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
Iran: Human Rights
Lindsay and Craig Foreman are incarcerated in Iran in brutal circumstances, and are being tortured in many ways. They are not my constituents, but their family approached me. May I be clear to the Government, and have them be clear to us in their response? Are the Government saying publicly that the…
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
Can I return to the nub of what this is about? The Prime Minister knew, as we all knew, of the representations about who should be the ambassador—in this case, a man who had been sacked twice out of Cabinet but, more than that, a man whose clear links with Chinese companies and whose meetings with X…
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
SEND Provision and Reform
Parents in my constituency who have been in the SEND system are really fearful that we will have the White Paper and more change will be proposed, when the key element of delivery is local councils. The problem is that the situation is so patchy. Some councils are absolutely appalling—one in my area…
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
The test of bad legislation is always whether it contains carte blanche Henry VIII powers—in this case in a thin and flimsy Bill—that grant the Government the right to do anything they like with the legislation, even after it has passed. That made it a dog of a Bill, but now the Government have paus…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Road Safety
Yesterday, sadly, a young boy going to school on Snakes Lane East in my constituency was knocked down. He is receiving excellent treatment, and my thoughts are with his family, but this underlines a problem that we have in my constituency: Broadmead Road bridge, which crosses the central line, has b…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
25 March 2026
Engagements
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is responsible for the rise of antisemitism worldwide and here in the United Kingdom; for inciting extreme Islamist attacks; for attacking dissident Iranians and British citizens; and for fomenting all sorts of hate marches. I have a very simple question. We are…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
4 contributions
Defence
The Minister is making a powerful case. A man with his record and history coming to this place is to be congratulated, and I am enthused to see him in his place today, as I think we all are.
We have talked about the non-appearance of the defence investment plan, but there is another review that has…
rose —
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
Middle East
We can debate what the armed forces think or do not think, but I always think it best to leave them out of these debates. However, there is an issue here at home, and defence of the realm is defence at home first and foremost. We know that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened us on t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
3 contributions
Freedom of Religion or Belief in China
The agreement the Catholic Church signed allowed the Government to approve the bishops and the structure. One of the criticisms that many have made, myself included, is that in getting that agreement the Catholic Church in a way turned its back on all the other Christians in China. It got something—…
I owe you an apology, Ms Jardine, for arriving late to the debate. I am grateful for your chairmanship, and grateful to be allowed in, having been delayed. I congratulate the hon. Member for St Helens South and Whiston (Ms Rimmer) for securing the debate, and for being stalwart in all these issues a…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Youth Unemployment
I have known the Secretary of State for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for him and for the position that he is in. The key thing here, as I observe it, is that one of the big problems is the competition between younger people with no experience and older people. He is focusing on younger p…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz
Surely the problem we have is that the Government, having decided not to be involved in this, and then literally a day later deciding that they would be involved by granting America the use of our bases, have brought us into a war. Like it or not, that is where we are. I do not understand what “the …
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
16 March 2026
Ukraine Air Defence: UK Support
In the last few weeks, the Prime Minister has been very clear about what he considers our role to be, under international law, if we believe that allies are being attacked. Does he see Ukraine as having exactly the same status as an ally? Does he believe that we are, of necessity, directly involved,…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
Topical Questions
Small-volume business manufacturers in the automotive sector are having a terrible time at the moment. They rely on exports, and exports to the US are critical. Although I welcome the agreement the Government struck, costs are still four times what they were before President Trump introduced his tar…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
Nobody supports the armed forces more than I do. The Secretary of State has my full support and respect, as he knows, but I want to ask a simple question. There seems to be some confusion among Government Back Benchers, who think the Government have somehow kept them out of this war. The Government …
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
3 March 2026
Hong Kong: Human Rights Situation
The hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) has just raised a case that I am aware of. I do not want to steal her thunder on that, but I will say that there is a real issue with what is happening in Hong Kong. China has trashed the Sino-British agreement. Hong Kong no longer …
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
4 contributions
Small Charity Sector
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the small charity sector.
It is a great privilege to serve under your stewardship, Sir Roger. I am astonished and happy to see that so many Members take the small charity sector seriously, because it is a serious issue. As you will specifically know, S…
I will indeed.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
May I take the Prime Minister back to his earlier position? I do not think his own MPs quite realise what he has said. He said that his reason originally for not allowing RAF Fairford, for example—or even Diego Garcia—to be used was that it would constitute, for him, a breach of international law, b…