Baroness Smith of Newnham
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Boarding of Sanctioned Vessels
Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)
My Lords, as the Minister has just said, we are waiting for the defence industrial strategy. What is holding it up, the MoD or the Treasury?
Lord Coaker (Lab)
What we are doing is trying to make sure that we get it right. Even if you increase the budget by £3 billion, £4 billion or £5 billion, there will be debate about the correct way to spend that money. What is the war-fighting readiness that we need? What is the capability that we need to tackle the threats that we face? We as a Government are determined to ensure that we can fight the war of the future—that we are ready to fight the war of the future, not the war of the past. That takes decisions, that takes debate, that takes discussion, and that is what is going on.