UK-Norway Defence Agreement: Impact in Scotland
Debate between Lord Browne of Ladyton and Lord Lemos
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. That sounds like an excellent suggestion and I will certainly pass it on to the Secretary to State. I should be delighted to attend myself; I am looking forward to visiting some of these facilities with my noble friend Lady Curran. I should say that, in Scotland, defence directly employs 4,000 civil servants and 10,000 serving personnel. MoD spending with UK industry and commerce in Scotland in 2024-25 was £2.1 billion, £1.3 billion of which was on shipbuilding and repair, including submarines, and—this is an important point—£23 million of which went directly to SMEs. We are very committed and, as the noble Baroness says, we hope to make sure that the Scottish Government are too.
Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)
My Lords, many, including many noble Lords, rightly believe that the renaissance of shipbuilding in the UK is a direct consequence of Sir John Parker’s review of the 2017 shipbuilding strategy, which reported in 2019, and his recommendations that the industry could be transformed by simplifying governance, securing long-term funding, and improving competitiveness to boost skills and engineering. May I suggest to my noble friend that the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Procurement meet with Sir John, if they have not already done so, to discuss whether the Parker approach would be to the benefit of all military manufacturing in the UK, in particular the manufacturing of drones and drone-hunting technology?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank my noble friend. He draws our attention to a very important development in the defence world of drones and their procurement. I am sure that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State will be happy to meet Sir John Parker, as he suggests. As was in that review, though, the key to this is not just investment. It is about skills, as we have already highlighted, but also innovation, research and development, supply chain innovation, and the speed to market. All those points would come out in the meeting that my noble friend suggests.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Debate between Lord Browne of Ladyton and Lord Lemos
Lord Browne of Ladyton
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they are monitoring the escalating tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and what steps they are taking to reduce the risk of renewed cross-border conflict and protect civilians in the region.
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Lemos) (Lab)
My Lords, the UK does not support actions by any party that would bring conflict or instability to the region. Alongside partners, we continue to monitor the situation closely, to warn both countries about the risk of inflammatory action and to urge constructive dialogue.
Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)
My Lords, with the leave of the House, before I ask my supplementary question, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his deserved promotion and welcome him to his place on the Front Bench.
My noble friend will be aware that, in the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022, the Ethiopian federal Government and the Eritrean regime, with others, fought together against the TPLF in a war that caused between 160,000 and 600,000 civilian deaths. What assessment have His Majesty’s Government made of the reason for, and the implications of, a new and unthinkable unholy alliance between Eritrea and the TPLF, apparently formed with the aim of facing Ethiopia? What lies ahead?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for his question and his congratulations; his vast experience and expertise make me feel considerable humility standing here.
We cannot speculate at this time about what position either Government will take in relation to the tensions within Tigray. However, we have been clear that, for sustainable peace, the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement is required, including the withdrawal of forces other than the Ethiopian National Defense Force from Ethiopian territory. Both Government Ministers and senior officials have made clear that we do not support inflammatory action, by either side, to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Governments.