Lords
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Broadcasting: Recent Developments
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, for securing this important debate. I want to draw your Lordships’ attention to an important decision now affecting broadcasting generally and the stakeholder forum that has been established by DCMS regarding the future of the UK’s digital terrestrial t…
Lords
Proceedings
6 January 2026
Venezuela
My Lords, will the Minister accept the commendation of a quotation from a previous Secretary General of the United Nations in a different context, where he observed that that military operation was not in accordance with the provisions of the UN charter?
I have two questions for the Minister. First…
Lords
Debate
5 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, I wish briefly to speak to Amendment 40 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Callanan. I am struck by the fact that, in all his interventions so far in these debates—at Second Reading, in Committee and, now, on Report—he has never referred at all to the report of the International Agreement…
Lords
Proceedings
16 December 2025
US National Security Strategy
My Lords, does the Minister admit that there is a really rather sharp discrepancy between the lack of virtually any mention in the national security strategy of relations with Russia, and what was said by the head of MI6 and the Chief of the Defence Staff here yesterday, with which I strongly concur…
Lords
Oral Questions
25 November 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Democratic Resilience
We talk to our allies in Europe about EUFOR, which is vital in maintaining peace and stability. We work with it, examining how we can support it further and make sure that we maintain our closeness to it, because it is vital to keeping the peace that we have been able to stick to for 30 years now.
Lords
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
President Trump: Nuclear Weapons Statement
The noble Lord makes a good point. With all the questions and my comments so far, it is extremely important that we do not let rhetoric cause a problem. The question that the noble Lord has posed is important. As I have said in my answers so far, it is important that we talk about the success of the…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 November 2025
Ukraine: UK-USA Discussions
I agree with that. The politics of the UN are complex, as the noble Lord well knows, but it is clear to see at the moment that in regard to Ukraine the Security Council will not be the route through to a solution, which is why we have the coalition of the willing and other networks being established…
Lords
Debate
18 November 2025
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Before the noble Lord sits down, I wonder if he could correct some remarks he has been making about people he has given a Chinese name to. I am not quite sure why he thinks that that is so telling. The arguments advanced were drawn from the testimony of Sir Christopher Greenwood, a former British me…
Lords
Debate
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, I declare my interest as a member of Friends of the British Overseas Territories, and as an adviser. It is with great sadness that I rise to speak to the Bill. Earlier today I spent some time with my friends from the Chagos Islands, and they have often felt ignored by many Governments of d…
I hesitate to correct the noble Lord. I think what I said in response to the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, was that the sovereign base areas in Cyprus and this arrangement are not the same. The point that the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, made was, in fact, about expeditiously communicat…
Lords
Oral Questions
29 October 2025
Corruption: Low and Middle-income Countries
As the noble Lord will appreciate, we speak to our friends in the United States about a range of issues all the time, and illicit finance is certainly one of those issues.
Lords
Proceedings
27 October 2025
Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund
My Lords, does the Minister agree that this exchange of questions demonstrates a certain absence of knowledge about how much damage was done by the terms in which Brexit was embedded, which has resulted, as she says, in a sharp drop in our exports? Would the Government find it useful to put into the…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
West Papua: Deforestation
I thank the noble Lord for his question. I have already commented on palm oil, but I will comment specifically on palm oil products and other forest products entering the UK. We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest-risk commodities is not driving deforestati…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 September 2025
2 contributions
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
My Lords—
My Lords, these issues are, as ever, discussed at the CPTPP ministerial meetings. We have assured all those partners that we will maintain our existing agricultural standards, as I have confirmed.
Lords
Proceedings
18 July 2025
Strategic Defence Review 2025
My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord McCabe on his excellent maiden speech today, and I welcome my noble friend Lord Hennessy here. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Robertson on his leadership of the strategic defence review, arguably the most consequential reassessment of our national s…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 July 2025
Syria: Druze Community
I agree with the noble Lord’s point of view. Do we have enough presence on the ground? My very sincere hope is that our presence there can grow, and I know that is what the noble Lord wishes to see. We want Syria and the UK to have the strongest possible relationship, because that is in the interest…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2025
3 contributions
UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago
Hear, hear.
I will finish the point and give way. This Government are trying to dress up a political decision as a legal decision. Now, of course, I am happy to give way.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
30 June 2025
Deep Sea Mining in International Waters
I thank the noble Lord for his question. I do think that we are working on a cross-party basis. These are long-term issues about the protection of the environment and of ecosystems that we know very little about and on which we might rely. The noble Lord is absolutely right, and I am confident that …
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2025
Gibraltar
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s Statement very warmly, and I declare an interest: I was involved, as a senior official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in getting the Franco-imposed controls on the borders, which did such damage to Gibraltar, lifted well before Spain joined the European …
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2025
Conflict in the Middle East
My Lords, I thank the Minister for the Government’s Statement, which struck exactly the right note. I have two questions I would like to put to him. The first relates to the provisions of the United Nations charter on the use of force. Does he agree that the only possible cover, under the UN charter…
Lords
Proceedings
13 May 2025
Trade Negotiations
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that account of the agreement with India and the deal with the United States. She said what the processes will be for the India deal with respect to this House—that the CRAG arrangements will be triggered—but she has not said anything about the deal with the United…
Lords
Proceedings
7 May 2025
Middle East Update
My Lords, does the Minister recognise that the June conference that the French seem to be planning to convene, along with the Saudis, offers an opportunity to move forward on the two-state solution? Does he agree that our position would be much more credible if it were that, should the two-state sol…
Lords
Debate
1 May 2025
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I start by congratulating my noble friend Lord Mohammed of Tinsley and the noble Lord, Lord Biggar, on their maiden speeches. I also of course welcome them to the House. Today is an important day and this is an important opportunity to make the lives and well-being of our children and youn…