Russia: Arms

Debate between Baroness Warsi and Lord Boyce

Wednesday 18th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

My noble friend makes an important point. He will probably be aware that NATO has set a target for its members to retain defence spending at 2%. I am pleased to say that the United Kingdom has met that target, and has done so since the day it was met. We will meet it this year and will meet it again next year. Let us also not forget that the UK has the biggest defence budget in the EU and the second largest in NATO.

[Lord Boyce (CB)]

Does the Minister agree that the 2% target that she said has been achieved has been met only by taking into account spending on contingency operations? That was not the practice in the past; therefore, if one is totally honest we are not meeting that 2% target.

[Baroness Warsi]

The brief I have from my colleagues in the MoD is that we have met the 2% target, and have done so since the day that target was set. If that is not the case, I invite the noble and gallant Lord to write to my colleagues in the MoD.

Gibraltar

Debate between Baroness Warsi and Lord Boyce

Thursday 10th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

I do not know what representation was made, if any, but I will write to the noble Lord in detail.

[Lord Boyce (CB)]

My Lords, will the Minister not agree that were this Government not to have depleted our destroyer frigate force to anorexic levels, we would be able to demonstrate better and in a more consistent way our resolve in a time-honoured and effective way? By the way, a patrol boat in the Gibraltar squadron is not as effective as a destroyer.

[Baroness Warsi]

I hear what the noble and gallant Lord says, but we have never had to deploy that kind of force in Gibraltar and we do not anticipate that we will have to. The annual Cougar deployment that has been taking place is long planned and well established. It is a large Royal Navy force of frigates and aircraft carriers that exercise in the region in the summer.

Shipping: International Maritime Law

Debate between Baroness Warsi and Lord Boyce

Monday 4th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

I can inform my noble friend that I have just come from a meeting. The president of Somalia is in the United Kingdom, having discussions about progress that has been made since the Somalia conference. My noble friend will be aware, too, that a follow-up conference has been planned for later on this year. I have the statistics somewhere in this great brief, but I can inform noble Lords that numbers of successful piracy attempts in that region have gone down dramatically. My noble friend is right that, ultimately, we need to keep working to keep those numbers down rather than providing security.

[Lord Boyce]

Could the Minister tell the House whether she feels that an increase in armed guards on board merchant vessels transiting that area has significantly improved security and, as a result, we see far less hostage taking so that lives are saved?

[Baroness Warsi]

I can inform the noble and gallant Lord that no vessel has been successfully pirated when it has had security on board.