Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22

I thank the right hon. Member for his intervention—I think he should have declared an interest. H...

But this has been happening for many years. These are political decisions that have been taken, a...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is vital to have a well-established industry to be a...

In fairness, I must draw the right hon. Gentleman’s attention back to the DSIS—the defence securi...

I would welcome a bit more detail from the Minister as to the nature and engagement of those disc...

It is worse than that. The Department used to hide behind European regulations, but now we are ou...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we look forward to the Minister trying to give an e...

The right hon. Gentleman is making a most interesting speech. He refers to countries that are thi...

The hon. Gentleman will see that come through in my speech.

I hope this will, if not elimin...

The right hon. Gentleman and I are both former Armed Forces Ministers. I have sat on the Defence ...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his interventions not just in the Chamber but in the Defence...

When I tabled a written question asking whether there needed to be such a review, I received a co...

I thank my hon. Friend for that. This very much shows that a week in politics can be a very long ...

Thank you for calling me early in this debate, Mr Deputy Speaker. I want to start by talking abou...

My hon. Friend is making a very good point. A smaller military would find it more difficult to go...

That is a really fair point. That was the whole point of enforcing things such as the Ranger batt...

indicated dissent .

Perhaps not for my right hon. Friend—I am sure he hit it every time—but I can only speak for myse...

My hon. Friend, who is my very good friend, has cast aspersions on how good I am with a light ant...

My right hon. Friend makes a really valid point. Of all the decisions that we make on defence, I ...

My hon. Friend is making an extremely powerful speech. He is absolutely right that people claim t...

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend.

I defer to my hon. Friend’s operational service in Afghanistan and the bravery shown by our troop...

My right hon. Friend is completely right. The whole end of Afghanistan should be a deep inflectio...

I am sure that this will come up in the debate, but it is also about retention. We do have a prob...

Yes, but I will finish here, as my final points are around the people. It really pains me deeply ...

I was not convinced that I should take part in this debate, because I am possibly the least exper...

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s comments about some of the decisions made by the previous ...

I am glad the Minister mentioned the affordability of the equipment programme. I think that plan ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Given that the right hon. Gentleman is a best pal of mine sometimes on the Public Accounts Commit...

The hon. Gentleman missed the best bit of the November report, which was that the cross-party Com...

I think the right hon. Gentleman will understand that there are far too many examples for me to q...

The Minister said the plan is in balance, but that is not what the NAO report says. It is only in...

I wish I had not let the right hon. Gentleman intervene, because he has just stolen my thunder, b...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I am sorry, but I really do need to make progress. I could talk until 7 o’clock, if the right hon...

Will the hon. Member give way?

The right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar) is not looking, so I give way to the hon. Member....

I have been carrying out a bit of an inquiry into Annington Homes, which owns a lot of the MOD es...

The hon. Member makes an important point, and she reminds us that if accommodation is lying empty...

Not for the first time and, I am sure, not for the last time, the House has cause to be grateful ...

rose —

I will allow the hon. Gentleman to intervene, because I know his party has a problem with this is...

I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we do not have a problem with the issue; we have a pro...

Yes, and I am also aware that as a result of Ukraine’s decision to give up those nuclear weapons,...

I thank my right hon. Friend—who is a good friend and is gallant, because he was a midshipman onc...

Order. Before the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) comes back, I think it is impo...

rose —

I will briefly give way, and then I will conclude.

There are one or two other lessons from the current conflict. One is the impact of mobile phone c...

I quite agree with both my right hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) and my hon. F...

My right hon. Friend, I and probably everybody present in the Chamber have been calling since we ...

I do agree with that point; using GDP percentages has always been only a very rough and ready gui...

I shall try to be helpful and keep my contribution relatively brief. Typically of such debates, i...

I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. Gentleman’s comments about the size of the British Army and ...

I would, of course, endorse what the hon. Gentleman has said, and having had two brothers-in-law ...

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate. As always in this debate, there are good things and bad ...

indicated assent .

I see my right hon. Friend is nodding, so perhaps he will not intervene on me, having made that p...

I had the privilege of visiting RAF Benson just a couple of weeks ago and I reiterate my hon. Fri...

I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks and support. I was going to mention some of that training—...

I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (John Spellar) for opening the debate. He is r...

Is my right hon. Friend not shocked that that Government did not learn lessons from the cuts in p...

My right hon. Friend is right, but these measures were not about that. They were about the Treasu...

It is quite clear that since we ran down our defence establishment following the cold war, events...

I want to start the wind-ups at 6.30 pm, and I have four speakers left. That means that I will ha...

I will try to be brief, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was struck by a letter in The Daily Telegraph a f...

indicated dissent.

The right hon. Gentleman is shaking his head. Fine, but I think there is real value in having the...

I would be inept if I did not praise our Ukrainian friends and allies who are fighting with such ...

When I joined my battalion in Bahrain in 1969, it was 750 strong. When I commanded it in 1991, it...

Absolutely, my right hon. Friend makes my point.

Before I sit down, may I just refer to my ...

It is a pleasure to rise to speak in this debate. I have been nearly five years in this place, an...

As we have heard time and again today, we need to spend more on defence. This really could not be...

May I quickly make the point that competition is still important, because experience has shown us...

The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point, but it is also important that that happens in ...

I call the SNP spokesperson.

6.30 pm

I wish to thank the right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar) for securing this debate. It is a...

I have been containing myself during the hon. Gentleman’s speech, because I know there are other ...

There is a lot of chest-beating about the nuclear deterrent, but much less discussion about the c...

They are all submarines!

That is not a surface ship. The UK’s breakneck pivot away from the European domain has been drama...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. There are breaking media reports of a Russian artiller...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order. As I am sure he realises, it is not a ma...

I thank the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) for raising that point of o...

I was in the House when the shadow Secretary of State made that announcement during the Defence S...

I think the hon. Gentleman has just written my speech for me. If he will allow me, I will develop...

As ever, I am listening closely to the hon. Gentleman’s remarks, and we believe the £4 billion fi...

I am very pleased and quite proud that the Minister has looked into that document so well—it show...

It has been a fascinating debate, ably kicked off by the Deputy Chairman of the Defence Committee...

We have seen in Mariupol today what the Russians are truly capable of. We must now deter further ...

I reassure my right hon. Friend that we are absolutely focused on making certain that we have pro...

I thank my very good friend the Minister for allowing me to intervene on him. The point is that t...

I recognise what my right hon. and gallant Friend says and his particular interest in the 2nd Bat...

With the leave of the House, tonight the Minister has heard a clear message. The peace not only o...

With the leave of the House, I will put the Questions on motions 3 to 6 together.