Lords
Proceedings
9 July 2026
European Entry and Exit System
My Lords, having spent many years of my former life in the airline industry and then commuting to Brussels and Strasbourg, I must say in all sincerity that post Brexit the UK really did step up. As a country, we have not made life difficult for EU citizens to come here as tourists and in jobs that t…
Lords
Proceedings
8 July 2026
Rochdale Grooming Gang: Offender Deportation
My Lords, I wholly agree with the point that has been raised around this case. It truly is a despicable case. Yesterday in the Chamber, I raised comments regarding the Government’s position on early release. This is not in isolation. Thousands of victims—women and young girls—are now left in the mos…
Lords
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Drugging and Sexual Assault of Women
My Lords, I think the Minister, who I respect very much, may not be quite correct. One of his colleagues who is a Home Office Minister was interviewed on Sunday—I think it was by Laura Kuenssberg, or it was on GB News—and was asked directly whether rapists were going to be released early from prison…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, In November 2023, in a speech about the October 7 attacks in Israel, I spoke about the escalation of Islamic extremism throughout the West. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, along with many other terror organisations, during the last 40 years had spread like a cancer across the globe. It…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, In November 2023, in a speech about the October 7 attacks in Israel, I spoke about the escalation of Islamic extremism throughout the West. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, along with many other terror organisations, during the last 40 years had spread like a cancer across the globe. It…
Lords
Proceedings
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
My Lords, I first echo the comments made by my noble friend Lord True, who had some very searching questions. I thank the noble Baroness the Leader of the House for the Statement today. My question is one that I have raised twice before. There will be long and thorough discussions concerning the vet…
Lords
Proceedings
15 April 2026
Southport Inquiry
My Lords, this has been one of the most horrendous cases that we have witnessed. I believe that the public have lost confidence in so many authorities which should be looking after our children, and all of us, frankly. I recall the Victoria Climbié case and the many children over the years who were …
Lords
Debate
17 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
My Lords, following the comment from my noble friend, and as I mentioned before, the vetting process is not really the issue here. We have Members of this House who are former diplomats and ambassadors, and it is very rare in my recollection that we have had any issues with those who have taken up p…
Lords
Proceedings
11 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
My Lords, the United Kingdom was not expected to take part in the initial strikes on Iran, as far as I am aware, so why did the Government not authorise the use of Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in mid-February, as my noble friend pointed out, when our ally the USA requested the use of those bases? I…
Lords
Proceedings
4 March 2026
Security Update
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, made a very pertinent point about the amount of trade we do with China, which none of us in this House is naive about. Therefore, we have to take decisions in the round. Notwithstanding that, it is not that long ago that we realised how dependent and reliant we…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Ambassadors: Vetting Process
I will correct the noble Baroness; the Question today is specifically about vetting. I note that there is a sharp difference with the Prime Minister we have today, who takes responsibility for the decision he made. He has apologised for the decision that he made and is taking measures to put it righ…
Lords
Proceedings
5 February 2026
Iran
My Lords, I echo and support the comments made by my noble friend on the Front Bench. For clarification, approximately 35,000 unarmed civilians have been slaughtered already in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the figures for injuries run at about 350,000, so we are not talking about 3,000 victims …
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
Business Rates
My Lords, 3.5 million jobs are dependent on a successful hospitality industry in this country—that is obviously the entire supply chain. I spent a lot of my life in the airline industry, which is at one end of that. Notwithstanding that, when we look at tourism, which encompasses hotels, taxis, rest…
Lords
Proceedings
26 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
My Lords, in 2015, if I recall, we were in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and I think that Nick Clegg clearly agreed with George Osborne’s position on China. But I did agree with the noble Lord, Lord Fox, when he highlighted the numbers of staff who will be allocated to this embassy. I wonder …
Lords
Proceedings
20 January 2026
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
My Lords, there are many charity shops in the high streets across this country. They receive 80% mandatory relief and often up to 100% discretionary. Many of these charities are actually multimillion-pound businesses. Notwithstanding the pressures on the high street and the pressures on small busine…
Lords
Proceedings
7 January 2026
Middle East and North Africa
My Lords, on Iran, refusing to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is the regime’s primary tool of repression and terror, sends a dangerous signal of weakness. At this critical moment, more than 10 days into the uprising, there has been no public statement of support for the peopl…
Lords
Proceedings
6 January 2026
Venezuela
My Lords, the Maduro regime is responsible for permitting corrupt links with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was responsible, obviously, for funding proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah and, in turn, for the attacks on Israel on 7 October. Does the Minister agree with me that the actions taken by…
Lords
Proceedings
18 November 2025
Budget: Press Briefings
My Lords, following the Chancellor’s climb-down on increasing income tax, £27 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 on Friday. Does the Minister think that that was helpful?
Lords
Oral Questions
28 October 2025
Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring
We have to be careful in what we say about Petrofac. This is an international commercial matter and not related to UK policies or contracts. The company has faced significant challenges that go back several years. It received a significant financial penalty of £77 million, imposed in 2021 by the Ser…
Lords
Proceedings
27 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his comprehensive comments. I have a special interest, as I worked out of Heathrow for 25 years. So I was at the sharp end of delays, and we definitely needed further runway capacity.
It is ironic that Heathrow was built over six runways. Over the decades they bui…
Lords
Proceedings
15 October 2025
Manchester Terrorism Attack
First, I thank the Minister for the Statement, which was most helpful and comprehensive, and I echo the thanks to the emergency services on that day in Manchester, which was a most appalling event.
I shall raise two areas. Of course, we welcome anything that the Home Secretary can do to deal with t…
Lords
Committee Stage
15 October 2025
2 contributions
Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2025
My Lords, following on from my noble friend Lady Foster, I will touch on the second point she raised, because it is relevant. We have a situation where the CAA’s delegation and decision-making powers are being changed because of the nature of the arrangements with the European Union.
This whole set…
I am very happy that the noble Baroness leaves it with me. I will make sure that I write to her. I recognise the issue that we are dealing with—the incorrect fitment of correct components.
Lords
Proceedings
24 June 2025
Middle East
My Lords, for more than 30 years, the leaders of the Arab League and its friends, the EU and Europe as a whole have sat on their hands and looked on as this despotic Islamic Republic of Iran has acquired nuclear capability. Does the Minister support the military action taken by the USA in endeavouri…
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2025
Gibraltar
My Lords, I welcome this Statement and support very much my noble friend Lord Callanan’s comments and questions for clarification. I too have been visiting Gibraltar for many decades, in my initial job and when I was a Member of the European Parliament, so I am aware that, certainly post-Brexit, the…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 May 2025
Antisemitism on University Campuses
My Lords, a headline in today’s Times states that antisemitism on UK campuses is getting out of control. This is hardly news—it has been out of control for many years, it is just that events in Gaza have made what was already a bad situation even more toxic and often terrifying.
I speak with some e…