80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan

Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green Excerpts

Friday 9th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green (CB)]

My Lords, it is a genuine honour and privilege to speak today because, as the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, referred to, had Hitler won I doubt very much that I would be here. Over the last five years up until the end of March this year, I have worked with different parts of our Armed Forces and the Royal British Legion on matters relating to leadership and culture. As someone who is in the employ of these organisations and as a former reservist, and perhaps overly cautious about the code of conduct—one never wants to be told off by the noble Baroness, Lady Manningham-Buller—I have avoided speaking on matters relating to the military. But, as my financial interest has now ended, I feel able to speak more freely about the extraordinary institutions that strive to keep us safe. I hope that is acceptable.

I want to take a moment to note my debt of gratitude to Lord Etherton for his work on behalf of LGBT veterans, among his many other achievements. I express my profound condolences to his husband Andrew and family. Lord Etherton will be missed.

Like others, I acknowledge the role that my grandparents and great-grandparents played in the wars. My great-grandmother, Marion Lauder, was one of the first women to drive an ambulance in the First World War and was a suffragette. Her daughter, Betty Martin—my maternal grandmother—was a Wren. My maternal grandfather, Joseph Martin, served in Normandy. He returned, having been shot, and limped all his life. My paternal grandfather, William Hunt, worked the docks in Barry, south Wales. As the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick of Undercliffe, has described, that was not a particularly easy role to play in the war. The resilience and commitment shown by my family and countless others to something greater than themselves revealed extraordinary sacrifice, and it is because of their service that our democracy continues to hold.

As has been referred to, we continue to face threats. Perhaps the world has always been volatile and uncertain, but multiple wars on multiple fronts, requiring multiple responses, feels particularly challenging. In many ways, warfare has not changed. In Ukraine, soldiers are still digging trenches, but, at the same time, our Armed Forces and allies must grapple with cyber threats—threats that are increasing at an exponential rate and evolving and mutating far faster than the Enigma code did. There has perhaps always been an imbalance between requirements and the resources available, but the demands we place on our Armed Forces feel greater than ever.

I was struck by the comments from computer scientists this week who suggested that the Enigma code would now be cracked by AI in 13 minutes, although, of course, in 13 minutes multiple Enigma codes could also be created. This led me to recall a letter sent by four Government Code and Cypher School cryptanalysts, including Alan Turing, to Sir Winston Churchill in 1941. The extraordinary letter, held by the National Archives, is fascinating. In it, the four authors explain that they needed more staff. Women would be fine: 20 women, to be exact, in the way that cryptologists are known to be, would be perfect if they were to crack the Enigma code. Sir Winston Churchill wrote on their letter:

“Make sure they have all they want on extreme priority and report to me that this has been done”.


Over the past 80 years, I suspect that generations of military leaders have made, if not exactly the same, a variation on this ask: more women, more huts, more money. We need more, if we are to do more. I am sure most have craved a handwritten instruction from a Prime Minister to make sure that they have all they want. The constant imbalance between resources, capability and commitment is not new, and I hope the strategic defence review, due in the summer, will provide our Armed Forces with more long-term certainty—beyond parliamentary terms—about resource, clarity about the trade-offs we would like them to make in utilising that resource, and the consequences of those trade-offs for the UK. We must never forget the sacrifices that were made 80 years ago, and we must do all in our power to support our Armed Forces today to do what we ask them to do: to protect our democracy and keep the peace. I hope that is possible.