EU Security Action for Europe Programme

Debate between Lord Coaker and Lord Redwood

Monday 20th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

Alongside our failure to get an agreement on the SAFE project, as the noble Lord, Lord Teveson, highlighted through his Question, there are numerous initiatives taking place and numerous things happening. My noble friend is right to point out the Farnborough air show, which brings together industry from across Europe and across the globe. It is at those sorts of events where industry can co-operate to provide the equipment and resources that we need to deter any threat. You can see initiative after initiative, and I may get the opportunity to lay them out further on this Question, where we and other European countries have come together to establish defence agreements which take forward all our defence needs.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on not accepting totally unacceptable terms on the first idea from the EU. Can the Minister confirm that our defence contractors can look forward to a very big increase in orders for our own defence requirements, so we do not need to pay a lot of money to get contracts elsewhere?

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

Of course we want the growth of our own industry, and we want it to have the means to support our UK Armed Forces; that is really important. But our industry and our defence also need exports, so I do not see this as one versus the other. Growing our own industries is important to supply our own Armed Forces, but working with partners to develop exports helps collective defence, and we should pursue that as well.

Russian Shadow Fleet

Debate between Lord Coaker and Lord Redwood

Tuesday 16th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I can comment on the environmental risk. Obviously that is important, and we will do all we can to ensure that we do not see any adverse impact or consequence of what we have done in that respect. As I have said, apart from the captain, who is in custody with the police in Bournemouth, the 24 others remain on board. The only legal way that they could come on to the UK mainland would be if they were to be repatriated—in other words, if they were coming here to be sent back to their country of origin. That answers that specific point. As for the ship, then noble Lord will remember the “Bella 1”, which was interdicted a few months ago. It was just off the coast of Scotland for a time, but, as I understand it, it is now in the Caribbean, far away from our shores. That is, I hope, an example of how, while we deal with the specific consequence of the interdiction, we are mindful of the potential environmental consequence. We are also mindful of what we do with the crew, but we do not want any environmental damage from the ships. However, that should not alter the fact that we will take action where we need to do so.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

To deter these ships, surely it is important that the Government tell them what would happen to their cargo and what would happen to their vessel if they persist.

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right to raise that. Let us be clear that the Department for Transport will ensure that the way in which the oil is dealt with in no way benefits the Russian war effort. That is a matter for the Department for Transport. One of the important things is to make sure that we as a country stand up for the law. The noble Lord will appreciate that the really important point is for Russia to understand that we will not stand idly by, whether that means sanctioning ships or taking action where we need to.

Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill

Debate between Lord Coaker and Lord Redwood

Tuesday 14th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for her question. It is in the interests of the country to try to take this forward. It is in all our interests to try to do that, because it is in the interests not only of our country but of the security alliances on which we depend. The point made by my noble friend and the noble Lord, Lord Purvis—which I gently point out again to the noble Lord, Lord Callanan—is that the idea that this started under this Government is simply not the case. There were rounds after rounds of negotiations beforehand, where the previous Government tried to deal with what they regarded as a difficulty that potentially put Diego Garcia under threat. That is what I would like the noble Lord opposite sometimes to recognise, because it is important that it did not start under us.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

My Lords, why are the Government blocking the delivery of a small fast boat to the Chagossians on the islands? It is much needed in case of a medical emergency that could threaten them.

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I previously said that I asked directly before this debate whether any humanitarian assistance—

Middle East: Defence

Debate between Lord Coaker and Lord Redwood

Wednesday 11th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

That is the whole basis of how the British Government are operating and of the decisions we are taking. The noble Baroness is quite right that the decisions we take are in the interests of the British people, both here and abroad, and obviously of our Armed Forces. We have a clear plan to do that. That is why we will operate only in a self-defensive way, because we do not want to escalate the situation. We are calling for de-escalation, which is the way to do it. We are also considering some of the economic impacts and how we might mitigate them.

A point I often make is that when you take action, it has consequences. When you do not take action, that also has consequences. So, sometimes a decision you make is based on your best assessment of how to deal with a particular situation. Our assessment, while not agreed by everyone, of the offensive action on the Saturday, was that it was not the right time to participate with the Americans and the Israelis. But, when the indiscriminate retaliation happened from Iran, with the attacks on numerous states across the region and their requests to us, the further request from the US was a reasonable one for us to allow it to use the bases to provide the self-defence that is so necessary.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

I thank the Minister for his support for our Armed Forces. Has this action, which relies to some extent on aircraft operating out of Diego Garcia, persuaded the Government that it would be a very bad idea to give the freehold of this base to a friend of China and to take the risks with a non-nuclear power? Is that why they have paused that rather bad idea, or is it that the United States has warned them that it will not consent to vary the treaty which set up the base in the first place?

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

The noble Lord raises a couple of points. First, as a counterpoint to the point about China, if we are talking about Mauritius, the biggest friend it has got is India rather than China, and the Indians are just as worried about the influence of China in much of that region. The discussions continue around the Diego Garcia treaty, and we will see where that takes us, but the important thing is that Diego Garcia is and will be an important strategic asset for us. The debate the noble Lord and I would have is how we ensure the security of that base for us to continue operating in the way that we have done.