Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
Uniformed youth groups: Promoting Skills and Resilience in Young People
The noble Baroness makes a valuable point, as previous speakers have done, in relation to the vital role of volunteers. You cannot have these uniformed youth groups without volunteers. Most of the funding that is outlined within the national youth strategy is focused on England, but I will take back…
Lords
Debate
13 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I rise to speak to this group, in particular to Amendment 372 from the Government, and Amendment 380, to which I have added my name. Before I speak to those, on Amendment 371B from the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, and the noble Lord, Lord Hain, I have listened very carefully to the differe…
Lords
Debate
12 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, I wish to address just one point made by the noble Lord, Lord Beamish. He said that the previous Government would inevitably have done a deal. Plainly, this is not so. As my right honourable friend Tom Tugendhat made clear in the debates on this Bill in the other place, both he and I, when…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 January 2026
AI Systems: Risks
My Lords, I also thank my noble friend Lord Fairfax of Cameron for securing this hugely important debate. Like other noble Lords, I very much acknowledge the transformative potential of AI, not least in areas such as medicine.
However, there are dangers. We would be mad to ignore them because many …
Lords
Proceedings
7 January 2026
Middle East and North Africa
My Lords, I welcome the Minister back to her usual position this week—I know it has been a long week, and it is only Wednesday—and I very much welcome the update on a wide range of issues. I want to ask her a question on Iran. I recognise that she, speaking on behalf of the Government, wants to be c…
Lords
Debate
6 January 2026
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Armed Forces Recruitment and Retention
My Lords, as the Minister will know, the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner was a creation of New Decade, New Approach , which brought the Government of Northern Ireland back together in 2020. Given that, will he listen to the very strong opinion of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner tha…
Lords
Debate
5 January 2026
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, my Amendment 32 would require a referendum of the Chagossian people, which we have heard about already, before any transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory could take place. I thank those noble Lords who have added their names to the amendment. I also thank the noble L…
On what the noble Lord has said, surely limited self-determination is better than no self-determination, which is what is being put forward by the Government. Surely he must be concerned by the United Nations recent report in December last year in relation to the issues that have been stated there.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
18 December 2025
Preschool Children: Digital Technology
This is an issue that we touched on with respect to educational technology in particular during the course of the Bill. There are wider developments in how we can regulate the use of AI with respect to individuals’ data that are being taken forward, particularly by the Information Commissioner’s Off…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 December 2025
Children: Social Media
The noble Baroness raises the importance of keeping up to speed with technological developments and looking at their potential impact. Many AI services are already regulated under the Online Safety Act, including chatbots, and so would fall under the purview of the current regime. If there is a risk…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Mobile Phone and Broadband Prices
That experience indeed shows that good connectivity can provide opportunities for young people to participate in the economy and society. It is our aspiration that all people should have those opportunities.
Lords
Debate
25 November 2025
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, in this group I will speak to my Amendments 20A, 50A and 81A. I also strongly support Amendment 55 in the name of my noble friend Lord Weir of Ballyholme. As the Minister knows, I have asked several questions about the trust fund, which, as I understand it, will be totally in the control o…
I very much appreciate the Minister’s commitment to do that, because this is such a hurtful thing. Sometimes, those of an Irish republican disposition will say that I am not British but just Irish, so it is something I feel very strongly about. The Chagossians are entitled to have their identity con…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Child Grooming Victims: Compensation Awards
I thank the noble Baroness very much for that. Obviously, that is something that will be very useful to look into once the inquiry is set up.
Lords
Debate
18 November 2025
9 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
The noble Lord referred to £40 million. I assume he is referring to the trust fund that is going to be set up.
However, as he is fully aware, that is totally in the hands of the Mauritian Government. No Chagossian from here can access that money. Is that not something that should be considered?
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
18 November 2025
5 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, I first declare my interest as a Friend of the British Overseas Territories. I support the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, in his efforts to bring clarity to the Bill, at the very beginning of the Bill.
I particularly endorse the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, in relation to his amen…
My Lords, I want to speak briefly on this group. I support a number of the amendments in it, in particular those that call for a referendum for the citizens of the British Indian Ocean Territory—that comes as no surprise, I am sure, given my Second Reading speech—Amendment 37 in the name of the nobl…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
13 November 2025
Economic and Taxation Policies: Jobs, Growth and Prosperity
My Lords, if you want a bigger slice of cake, the best thing to do is bake a bigger cake, then everyone gets a bigger slice. That, as my noble friend Lord Elliott knows very well, is how Mrs Thatcher tried to give a whole generation of young people, including me, the hope of a better life. Her famou…
Lords
Proceedings
5 November 2025
“Soldier F” Trial Verdict
My Lords, the Secretary of State in the other place told us that the Irish Government have moved to a place where they would give their “fullest co-operation”. When will we see the Irish Government move to that place? Where is the evidence for that? Some of us would like to have seen any co-operatio…
Lords
Debate
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
My Lords, it is a great privilege to follow the powerful speech by my noble friend Lady Foster of Aghadrumsee. I am tempted just to say “ditto” and sit down, but that is not the practice in this place, so I will focus on some aspects that differ from the focus that she gave. The importance she attac…
I agree, and I will say a little about engagement. It is an important point, and it deserves a proper response. If there is more that we can do, we would be very open to discussions about how it could be done in the right way that does not derail the process that we are trying to undertake about bri…
Lords
Oral Questions
30 October 2025
El Fasher
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I am happy to confirm that we will continue to press for a ceasefire, support the Quad and, through our role at the UN, promote the priorities that I have set out. I should say that the reports of mass atrocities caused by the RSF in El Fasher are deeply…
Lords
Proceedings
27 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of InterTrade UK. I welcome the intent behind this Statement eventually to proceed with the third runway for Heathrow. Connectivity is so important, particularly for those of us who cannot take the train to London and need that connectivity through our hub ai…
Lords
Oral Questions
27 October 2025
Undersea Cables: National Security Threat
I confirm that the MoD has had discussions with Ireland, rather than me personally. Northern Ireland is an integral part of the UK while the people of Northern Ireland want that. The noble Baroness’s point with respect to the importance of protecting that, and the important part that it plays for th…
Lords
Debate
19 September 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, as somebody once said at this stage in the debate, “Everything that can be said has already been said”, and then added, “But not by everyone”. I am the everyone, if you like, but I hope I will add something of interest.
The noble Lord, Lord Deben, said that this has never been tried befor…
Lords
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Defence Industrial Strategy
My Lords, I warmly welcome this Statement, with its intent to create British jobs across the UK and make defence an engine for economic growth. I especially like—this will come as no surprise to the Minister—the reference to a union dividend. I want to probe the Minister a little on how SMEs across …
Lords
Oral Questions
4 September 2025
European Framework Programme 10
I wrote to vice-chancellors to encourage them to make sure they apply to get into all of the scheme, and that had an effect on applications. I am doing the same with trade bodies and other parts of industry to get them linked. The general point about links between academia and industry is crucial; w…
Lords
Oral Questions
3 September 2025
Republic of Ireland: Defence Co-operation
I agree very much with the noble Baroness on the importance of Northern Ireland, with respect to not only its geography but the skills and commitment contributed by the people of Northern Ireland to industrial development. This is from not only the big companies we talk about, such as Thales, and th…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 July 2025
Casement Park: Spending Review
The noble Baroness will be aware that the Arts Council has pulled funding from the festival. The Government believe in the power of sport to bring people together and our focus is on supporting activities that unite communities across Northern Ireland, not those that divide it. On the glorification …