Lords
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Military Conflicts: International Law
How many NATO counterparts with whom the Minister has discussed this, particularly the Americans, have agreed with his summation of political problems?
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
Defence Investment Plan
My Lords, may I say that this is a disappointment, to put it mildly? I am on the same side as the Minister on this. This, I assume, was what led John Healey to resign—I suspect that it was the same document. Given that, does he think that any other Minister should resign, given the appalling lack of…
Lords
Proceedings
24 June 2026
Hares: Close Season
My Lords, I have kept two hares in my time: one 50 years ago, and one about 10 years ago. They were absolutely delightful. I would not dream of hurting hares, and I would not dream of shooting one. However, this is quite difficult, because the close season for hares gives them quite a long time. The…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Higher Earners: Emigration
My Lords, the point is that £100,000 is not a huge amount of money. I am glad that the Labour Peers want to pay, but it is very important to encourage people to stay here to keep their money in the country. If they are taxed beyond belief, they will leave. That is not just any old Conservative Peer …
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, while of course I welcome the King’s gracious Speech, the lack of some attention to the needs of this country is staggering. I could speak about HS2, which the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, allegedly has marked on his heart. I do not think that is true, but there we go.
I will speak on welfare…
Lords
Proceedings
28 April 2026
UK Biobank Data
My Lords, I am extremely interested in what the Minister said about leaks and UK Biobank. With his undoubted knowledge of these things, can he go back to whether there is any possibility that Covid came from activity in China, as has been suggested by an author who is here? Secondly, does he think t…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Strait of Hormuz: Mine Clearance
The noble Lord has made his point about the Navy and the words he used will have been heard by everyone. The point that I am making in response is that, as we move forward, the question will be about not only the number of ships but the types of capabilities that we have to deal with the threats tha…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy
The noble Lord will know that we do have quite a presence in the Gulf, not of ships but of other defence capacity which can play some part as far as the Strait of Hormuz is concerned. He will also know that the US has already indicated that it does not wish to have the UK and other NATO countries’ a…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
Taiwan
As I said, the Government will always put national security first. We are taking seriously any risks to Taiwan and to the status quo. However, I do not think the noble Lord would expect me to comment specifically on China and its attitudes; that is a matter for the Chinese Government. As I have said…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 February 2026
2 contributions
New Homes Target
It is the turn of the Lib Dem Benches.
My Lords—
Lords
Oral Questions
22 January 2026
2 contributions
Diego Garcia: Comments by the President of the United States
My Lords, the Diego Garcia military base is essential to the security of the UK and our allies and to keeping British people safe. As we have repeatedly made clear, the agreement we have is vital for protecting our national security, guaranteeing the long-term future of a vital base for the UK and U…
No. The noble Lord is completely wrong in his assertion about the motivation for doing this deal. This is about keeping this country and its citizens safe. That will always be the first priority of this Government. It is unedifying to see His Majesty’s Opposition take any opportunity to jump on a ba…
Lords
Committee Stage
26 November 2025
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I rise briefly to support my noble friend Lord Kamall on the Front Bench. I have not taken part in these debates before, but I have to say that I find it quite disturbing that we should be making laws because perhaps we do not like walking down a street where people are puffing vapes. I do…
Lords
Proceedings
25 November 2025
Russian Ship “Yantar”
My Lords, I understand the difficulty of the Minister; I am not trying to stir things up, I assure him. But supposing a laser had brought down the aircraft by disabling the pilot, what would we consider that? Would we consider it an act of war?
Lords
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
Ministry of Defence Procurement: UK-manufactured Products
We have recently recruited a new National Armaments Director and reforms are taking place in the Ministry of Defence. I ask this of the noble Lord and the House: why is it that in wartime we have an urgent operational requirement that cuts through bureaucracy and red tape, allowing us to deliver the…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 November 2025
Covid-19 Pandemic: Commemoration
It is important to recognise that a whole inquiry and its machinery are looking at the effectiveness of particular measures. The next module publication will be within a couple of weeks. The work we are announcing our response to today is around commemoration. From a personal perspective, however, I…
Lords
Proceedings
5 November 2025
“Soldier F” Trial Verdict
My Lords, given what the Minister has just said, can she explain how many prosecutions of former public servants—Army and police —might be happening? We know of some that are pending. How many prosecutions are pending for former terrorists—enemies of the state—who were shooting British people, both …
Lords
Oral Questions
23 October 2025
2 contributions
Chinese Embassy
My Lords, I understand the noble Lord connecting the two things, but Ministers will take all material planning considerations into account when the final decision is made. Planning Ministers must take decisions following the quasi-judicial process that applies to planning, meaning that they must tak…
I am not going to give the noble Lord that assurance from the Dispatch Box. The matter is, as I said, being considered properly on planning grounds. We do not recognise the statement that he made as coming from Chinese officials. The first duty of government is to ensure our safety and security, of …
Lords
Proceedings
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement
My Lords, in the Commons yesterday the issue of the influence of China in general was raised. Can the noble Lord please explain this to us? We have heard the Prime Minister being taped saying that he would call in the embassy application, which he did. Then, according to a senior Chinese official, h…
That is not what I asked.
Lords
Proceedings
20 October 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles
My Lords, I compliment the Minister on her deep feeling about what was said. I will comment on veterans. This Parliament, people sitting on these Benches and down there, sent young men, such as myself, to Northern Ireland into the face of danger. Many of them were killed. Not all of them behaved per…
Lords
Debate
19 September 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, I declare my roles in palliative medicine, caring for thousands of dying patients over decades, and in Living and Dying Well.
The Bill as written does not improve patient choice or control. True choice would ensure patients can get the care they need. Control will rest with the doctors wh…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Global Plastic Pollution Treaty
The important thing is to make sure that we look at the pollution that plastic causes and the types of plastic that are most polluting. That is fundamentally what the debate is about.
Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2025
2 contributions
Peers’ Entrance Security Door
My Lords, it is unacceptable that the Peers’ Entrance does not operate as it should. The commission has directed urgent work to resolve this. The commission agreed an exception to release the costs of the work at Peers’ Entrance, particularly as much of the cost relates to building and infrastructur…
My Lords, this is a very serious matter. As I have said before, the backdrop to this is that the Murphy review, as validated by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, found that the West Front and this part of the Palace had considerable vulnerabilities. The director of security a…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2025
2 contributions
UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago
I refer the noble Lord back to Hansard for the Statement from James Cleverly, and I am afraid that he should withdraw his comment that I was incorrect. I quoted the Written Ministerial Statement from the Foreign Secretary.
My Lords, I apologise for not rising to speak in the right place on the list.
Diego Garcia is exceptionally important to western security and the UK, and the US are right to want to continue to have access to it, but the importance of that base rests on the ability of those Governments to operate w…