King’s Speech

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, and her work as a Minister; I have appreciated the many exchanges we have had across the Chamber. I also welcome the Minister, the noble Earl, Lord Minto, to his post.

I also congratulate the noble Lords, Lord Young and Lord Roberts, on their excellent maiden speeches. We will hear some fantastic contributions from them in the future. I said to the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, that I have not had the opportunity to read many of his books. Unfortunately, I have been focused on reading all three volumes of Chips Channon’s diaries; I have certainly learned a lot about what has gone on in the past in this Chamber.

I have very firmly fixed in my mind my noble friend Lady Kennedy of The Shaws’s reference to the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, as a “keeper”; that is what he is for me.

As my noble friend Lord McConnell said, the world faces huge challenges with inequality, conflict and climate change. More than ever, we need a strong Britain on the world stage. But this Government have left Britain increasingly disconnected from our closest allies, with a tarnished international reputation and reduced influence in the world.

I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Wilson of Dinton, that Labour’s foreign policy will prioritise reconnecting Britain for security and prosperity at home—a confident country, outside the EU but a leader in Europe once again. We will be a reliable partner, a dependable ally in NATO, a leader in development and at the vanguard of climate action. We will drive forward the industries of the future for Britain. With the right priorities, the right partnerships and the right values, Britain can and will thrive.

I turn to the Middle East. I have talked before in the Chamber about the horrors that Hamas committed. I have not seen the films, but I have spoken to the families of people affected. Not only do they have the horror of knowing that their relatives are hostages, but those relatives have had their families murdered, and that has to be at the top of our mind when we consider this issue.

We all have to be determined to hold those people who committed these horrors to account. They cannot be allowed to get away with it. However, we also have to consider the impact in Gaza. We have heard that more than 11,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, and every one of those lives mattered. Two-thirds of the dead are women and children. As the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said, neither should we forget the UN workers and humanitarian workers who have suffered the same fate. These deaths are shocking and cannot be ignored. The desperate reports from hospitals in northern Gaza, short of fuel and filled with civilians seeking shelter, are truly shocking. All parties must follow international law, acting with necessity, distinction, proportionality and precaution.

Labour supports the independence of the International Criminal Court and recognises its jurisdiction to address the conduct of all parties in Gaza. In the Statement to the other place on Tuesday, which we have not considered but I hope we will cover in this debate, Andrew Mitchell said:

“It is not for Ministers to seek to state where the ICC has jurisdiction; that is for the chief prosecutor. The chief prosecutor has not been silent on this matter, and I am sure he will continue to express his views”.


In response to my right honourable friend David Lammy, who sought clarification on the Government’s position, he said:

“It is not for me to fetter or speak in the place of its chief prosecutor”.—[Official Report, Commons, 14/11/23; cols. 511-13.]


For the sake of clarity, I hope that tonight the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, will confirm very clearly that the UK Government recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction to address the conduct of all parties in Gaza. Previous Prime Ministers have put that in doubt.

Gazans need aid now—medicine, water and fuel. A full, comprehensive and immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting across the whole of Gaza is now necessary to alleviate Palestinian suffering and for Hamas terrorists to release the hostages. The noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, is right: Hamas’s stated aim is to wipe Israel off the map, it committed the most brutal attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and now it is using innocent Palestinians as human shields.

We must not give up on the narrow openings that keep the prospect of peace alive. That means preventing escalation; condemning violence from settlers in the West Bank, which I personally witnessed in May and has continued at pace; condemning rocket attacks on Israel from Iran’s proxies in Lebanon and elsewhere; and creating a future where Gaza is not subject to occupation.

Meanwhile, international diplomacy evolves and the facts on the ground are changing day by day, in relation to both hostages being rescued and Hamas’s capability to carry out attacks like we saw on 7 October. We must move to a full cessation of fighting as quickly as possible. The reality is that neither the long-term security of Israel nor long-term justice for Palestine can be delivered by bombs and bullets. We must seek a path to a political process that leads to two states: a secure Israel and an independent Palestine.

On defence, the gracious Speech says that the UK

“will continue to champion security around the world, to invest in our gallant Armed Forces and to support veterans to whom so much is owed”—

who can disagree? The first duty of any Government is of course to keep our country safe. Labour’s commitment to NATO is unshakeable, and we will continue to steadfastly support military, economic and diplomatic support for Ukraine for as long as it takes. By fulfilling our NATO obligations in full and renewing the nation’s moral contract with our Armed Forces, only Labour will secure Britain’s defences for the future. As my noble friends Lord Coaker and Lord Tunnicliffe, who are with me on the Front Bench, said, the Government have hollowed out our Armed Forces since 2010, and they have cut the British Army to its smallest size since Napoleon. We need to ensure that we have those troops back on the payroll and ensure that we return their morale to make sure that they are fighting fit.

On Ukraine, I reassure everyone that, although there may be a change of Government next year, there will be no change in Britain’s resolve to stand with Ukraine, confront Russian aggression and pursue Putin for his war crimes. One thing that was missing from the gracious Speech—given the Motion that was passed unanimously by the other place—was the need for legislation on the seizure of Russian state assets to repurpose them for the reconstruction of Ukraine. I hope the Minister will be able to reassure us tonight that that legislation will be placed. Not only do we have to make those responsible for this war accountable; we have to make sure that they pay for the reconstruction. We must continue to stand with Ukraine in every aspect that it needs, as my noble friend Lord Adonis said, until it is victorious over Russia in defence of its own territory.

On China and the Indo-Pacific, the noble Earl repeated the Government’s policy on China through their interrelated strands of “protect, align and engage”. Of course, the Intelligence and Security Committee report described the UK’s approach to China as “completely inadequate” and said that Britain was “severely handicapped” in managing future security risks. I assure noble Lords that, in government, Labour will carry out a complete audit of UK-China relations so that we can ensure that the relationship reflects our interests and values and that we can set a consistent strategy for the long term, ensuring that everyone—business, civil society and Governments—fully understands our intentions.

The noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, and the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, were absolutely right to raise the issues around the Taiwan Strait. We want to see a dialogue and peaceful moves to address those issues. We have been clear about our serious concern about China’s increasingly aggressive actions towards Taiwan and the attempts to intimidate its democratic leaders. Of course, it is important to avoid accidents and miscalculations that raise tension or risk escalation, but these are part of a wider pattern of China becoming more assertive, as we have seen in its actions in Hong Kong and the South China Sea. We have spoken about the repression in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, and I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Alton, that it is simply wrong and outrageous that China has brought sanctions against UK parliamentarians for raising these concerns.

I want to conclude by referring to our new Foreign Secretary, the future Lord Cameron. I have on many occasions praised him for one vital legacy of his foreign policy—the way in which he followed on the leadership of Gordon Brown on the millennium development goals, ensuring that the international community focused on the sustainable development goals. Of course, in September, the UN Secretary-General called for a global SDG rescue plan to be met with a co-ordinated response—I hope from the United Kingdom, our international partners, civil society and business. I hope that the future Lord Cameron will be absolutely focused—and I shall certainly be focused on holding him to account.

One issue that I have been particularly concerned about is nutrition. Nutrition financing has been disproportionately impacted by cuts to UK ODA, and there remains a major gender gap on nutrition spending. Some 149.2 million children under five years of age are stunted; 45 million are wasted and nearly 40 million are overweight. More than 1 billion women are experiencing at least one form of malnutrition. By 2050, climate change is predicted to increase the risk of hunger and malnutrition by 20%; 45% of deaths in children under the age of five are linked to malnutrition. This requires action, and on these challenges, while we are at the halfway point of the SDGs, we have a long way to go to meet them. Nutrition is pivotal to achieving SDG 2 on zero hunger, but it also underpins other goals related to health, education, peace, gender equality and poverty. Good nutrition means stronger immune systems and safer pregnancy and childbirth.

Next week, as my noble friend mentioned, sees the publication of the Government’s White Paper on international development at the global food security summit, which I am very pleased to have been invited to and I shall be attending. The summit gives us the chance to put malnutrition back on the global agenda and ensure that the United Kingdom remains in its leadership role. Again, I shall make sure that the future Lord Cameron not only takes that leadership responsibility seriously but delivers on it and on the SDGs.

Wagner Group

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 11th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

The noble Lord raises wide-ranging issues and has written to me on them; I have still to respond, which I undertake to do. I shall do that in greater detail than I can perhaps do at the Dispatch Box, but I agree that the evils he identifies are undeniably present, so the question for the UK Government is how we can best counter them. As I indicated to the noble Baroness, we do that in a variety of ways, and do it best in global concert with our allies and partners, but we are unrelenting in our focus on the problem.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, may I just pick up that last point concerning Syria? Reports are saying that Assad and Russian commanders are extremely concerned about the Wagner troops there because of the possible mutiny. What assessment has the department made of the situation in Syria? How has it impacted on government-controlled areas and wars, and what impact have the Russian commanders had in taking over these troops and making them more officially a state operation?

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

The noble Lord is correct. We are aware that Wagner mercenaries are in Syria supporting the Assad regime, just as they are in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. What the future is for them following their insurrection and near coup is, at the moment, somewhat unclear. We are very clear that Wagner is essentially a malign organisation, and that is why we are doing everything within our power as the United Kingdom Government to monitor its activities and to deploy whatever remedies we have available to us to curtail and constrain its behaviour.

Defence Policy (International Relations and Defence Committee Report)

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Friday 30th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I too congratulate the committee on its excellent report and the noble Baroness on her excellent introduction to it. I echo the praise for her for her period as chair of the committee. We have had a lot of exchanges, and those exchanges have mirrored what I hope we will see in today’s debate: a lot of consensus and a lot of support for the defence of this country.

The situation in Russia in recent weeks has proved, if we needed proof, that events are constantly shifting in size and shape, and our defence capability must therefore be agile, fit for purpose and resilient. It means that we often have to make extraordinarily large contingencies, particularly in this uncertain world we now face. The noble Baroness, Lady Smith, mentioned my noble friend Lord Coaker. He is on MoD visits at the moment, so I am covering for him, but obviously we work closely together, because if there is one thing that we have also learned—which the integrated review attempted to do—it is that defence, diplomacy and development are key ingredients for a more secure world.

I also echo the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, in saying that we should have huge pride in our Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families for the contribution they make to our country. We do not say it enough. From our deployments abroad in response to the invasion of Ukraine to deployments at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, our Armed Forces are essential to our national defence, our national resilience and our NATO obligations. On Britain’s military help to Ukraine—noble Lords have heard me say it from the Dispatch Box—we are at one with the Government. In Britain’s military help to Ukraine and reinforcing NATO allies, the Government have had and will continue to have the fullest support of Labour and the Opposition. Labour strongly welcomes the £2.3 billion in UK military assistance for Ukraine last year and this year.

The report before us asks some fundamental questions, not least whether the Army has sufficient numbers and capabilities to deliver on the Government’s ambition. We know that, since 2010, the Government have cut the full-time strength of our Armed Forces by 45,000. One in five ships has been removed from the Royal Navy’s fleet, and more than 200 aircraft have been taken out of RAF service in the last five years alone. Despite increased threats from Putin’s war in Ukraine, Ministers are cutting down further, to 73,000 troops by 2025—the smallest size of the British Army since it faced Napoleon.

The Minister needs to address today the fundamental question of whether we are failing or falling short on our NATO obligations. At a time when we are facing war in Europe and NATO is raising its high-readiness force to 300,000 from 40,000, Britain is still travelling in the opposite direction. We are assured that the question about the UK’s defence capabilities raised in the report will be addressed in the revised Defence Command Paper. In May, the Government said that they expected this to be published in June. Then we heard that it was delayed until 17 July. Today’s Guardian suggests that we will not see it until September. The article in the Guardian also suggested, as the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, referred to in respect of the article in the Times, that General Sir Patrick Sanders, who has served only a year as the Chief of the General Staff, may quit even sooner if the Defence Secretary imposes further cuts.

As a consequence of the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, finishing her term, we saw the follow-up letter from the new chair of the committee, asking for more detailed information on how Defence plans to refresh its relationship with industry, replenish equipment and build greater resilience and weapons and ammunition stocks. Again, I think that is what we all want to hear today. The letter also asked for the Government’s plans to address shortfalls in the UK’s hard power capabilities in the light of the Ukraine war, including the £2 billion over two years allocated in the Budget and how that will address the shortfalls.

Noble Lords have referred to the original integrated review, which I welcomed at the time. It was good to have that emphasis linking those three Ds. That review looked at geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts, such as China’s increasing power, the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific, systematic competition and rapid technological changes, which we have heard about again in this debate. On how we build a more secure world, we should not forget the collective action required between countries to challenge things such as climate change, global health risks, illicit finance, and serious and organised crime. Challenging all those things is vital for a safer country and a safer world.

The original Defence Command Paper outlined the MoD’s role in achieving the overarching objective set out in the integrated review and how we utilise the additional £16.5 billion in its budget that it received in 2020 to

“transform the Armed Forces to meet the threats of the future”.

It also announced further reviews and strategies, including those focused on accommodation, career management and pay—vital to reflect the importance of retaining an effective Army.

In March 2023, the Integrated Review Refresh responded to the factors that the Prime Minister referred to as

“Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, weaponisation of energy and food supplies and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, combined with China’s more aggressive stance in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait”,

all of which threaten

“to create a world defined by danger, disorder and division—and an international order more favourable to authoritarianism”,

as noble Lords have referred to. The refresh recognised that

“further investment and a greater proportion of national resource will be needed in defence and national security—now and in the future—to deliver its objectives”.

Again, I hope the Minister will be able to give us a very clear timetable as to when we will see the refresh Command Paper.

The biggest threats and risks for Britain remain in the NATO area: Europe, the North Atlantic and the Arctic. That is where our primary responsibilities fall, as the report highlighted. We need to have the United Kingdom secured as the leading European nation within NATO so that we can help NATO forge its response to future Russian aggression and the opening up of the Arctic under climate change, and set a strategy for dealing with the challenges of China in the long term. Those points were so ably and so brilliantly argued by my noble friend Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, said, key to addressing these challenges is rebuilding relationships within Europe. Britain has badly damaged its relationship with key European countries and allies in the Brexit process—sometimes deliberately so. We have to rebuild those to make Brexit work, but in defence and security we have to build those relationships because they reinforce security for us all.

On China, instead of flip-flopping between tough talk and muddled actions, we need to develop a strategy in which we challenge, compete and, where we can, co-operate. To do that, we first need a complete and comprehensive audit of the UK-China relationship, not restricting ourselves to government but including the private sector and local government.

We have heard detailed reference to procurement in today’s debate. We have seen many errors in relation to the defence procurement programmes, particularly since 2010. As we know, the Government have no systematic plans to fix the military procurement system, which the Public Accounts Committee described as “broken” and “repeatedly wasting money”. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Newnham: we need a clear programme and strategy that take this issue out of a political back and forth. We need to ensure a much more effective, long-term procurement programme.

In conclusion, we need to focus on fulfilling Britain’s NATO obligations; that is absolutely essential. Ministers must adopt what my honourable friend in the other place, the shadow Defence Minister, has called Labour’s plan for a “NATO test” of major defence programmes and a “stockpiles strategy” to replenish reserves and sustain support for Ukraine. We also need to renew Britain’s contract with our forces. Defence plans must ensure that our heroes have good homes to live in and that we fully incorporate the Armed Forces covenant into law.

Ukraine

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords—just to pick up that last point—I thought that yesterday’s visit of President Zelensky was a remarkable parliamentary occasion, echoing the leadership that this country showed in World War II, particularly the leadership of Winston Churchill. In that setting, I am very much looking forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Soames. Standing in his fatigues next to Mr Speaker and the Lord Speaker, President Zelensky’s message was clear: “Do not forget Ukraine or this war in Europe.” As the Lord Speaker said in his thanks to the President, leadership is about visibility, and the President has not been afraid to stand with his people and be where they have suffered most: in the front line.

On the point about visibility, it was also important for the world to see Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak presenting a united front in their determination to help Ukraine defeat Vladimir Putin. Both reaffirmed to President Zelensky their support for Ukraine and expressed sympathy for the horrors suffered by the Ukrainian people. This war must end with Putin’s defeat and Ukraine’s freedom secured.

As the Minister reminded us, this month represents the first anniversary of Putin’s barbaric and illegal invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in immeasurable suffering. Britain is united in its support for Ukraine, and the Government will always have our full backing to provide military, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian assistance as it defends itself. However, we also want to see support in the long term, and a move from ad hoc announcements to more systematic assistance. This means setting aside individual announcements, and instead setting out a clear strategy, in partnership with our allies and Ukraine.

Putin’s recent shift to attack civilian infrastructure shows that he has no regard for the rules of military conflict, and it also means that the war is unlikely to conclude in the immediate future. While the UK’s crisis response to Ukraine has been undoubtedly strong—and the Government deserve credit for this—we now need to look towards the future as well. It is on this basis that the Government should consider proposals for a 2023 action plan, encompassing military, economic and diplomatic support. This must include a strategy to ensure a sustained stream of future supplies, and efforts to urgently ramp up our own industry; but it should also encourage our allies to do more. I hope that the Minister will be able to respond positively about the intention to publish such a plan.

In the immediate term, the Government must also contend with how they can best support the people of Ukraine through the final months of winter. Putin’s illegal invasion has left key areas of the country’s infrastructure decimated, and the attacks on energy and water plants appear to be part of an attempt to freeze the population of Ukraine into submission. I hope the Minister can set out what the Government are doing to support the viability of Ukraine’s energy sector going forward. Can he also set out what additional support the United Kingdom will provide to Ukraine beyond the 850 generators already delivered, and what further measures will be taken to support Ukrainians in the light of these continued attacks by Russia on critical infrastructure?

As the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, reaffirmed, we must remain committed to military support for Ukraine. Ultimately, we must constantly ask ourselves how we can better assist it in winning this war. Immediately following President Zelensky’s speech, the Prime Minister said that the UK’s provision of planes is “part of the conversation”, but that the immediate need is for longer-range missiles and tanks—the noble Baroness referred to this—and that it may take as long as three years to train pilots to use UK jets. He also noted that there are supply chain issues, adding that some of the UK’s aircraft are linked to joint treaties with other countries. The PM said that Britain was only making a different long-term offer on fighter jets, saying that the UK would be

“expanding its training offer to include fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future”.

I know that the United States has been allocating resources to that sort of training. Downing Street said:

“The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO standard fighter jets in the future.”


What is the timeframe for this? What discussions have taken place with our NATO allies on such a programme?

Turning to next-generation light anti-tank weapons, although I am pleased that the Government have announced that a contract to start replenishing stocks has finally been signed, can the Minister confirm how many other contracts have been signed to start to replace the military aid sent to Ukraine? I heard the confident remarks from the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, in this regard but it would be good to hear a little more detail to ensure that this is actually happening.

Of course, sanctions are another of the greatest tools at our disposal in supporting Ukraine and holding Putin to account. The Minister will be aware that the US recently imposed new sanctions on Russia, targeting a network accused of procuring military and dual-use technologies from US manufacturers and illegally supplying them to Russia for the war. Given that RUSI has confirmed that UK components are also appearing in Russian weaponry, can the Minister confirm whether the UK is looking to impose similar sanctions? No doubt the Minister will say that he cannot comment on future designations for sanctions, but we want to hear from him that we are confident we can tackle these leaks and breaches of our own sanctions and that we are absolutely determined to work closely with our allies to do this.

On frozen Russian assets, the EU and Canada recently set out a plan to repurpose such assets to help rebuild critical Ukrainian infrastructure and provide much-needed humanitarian aid to the country. Does the Minister have any plans to replicate this, work in tandem with these important allies and engage with the EU and Canada to support those efforts?

Finally, the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, mentioned the growing body of evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. In addition to taking any steps we can to help the Ukrainians, we must consider how we can hold Putin and his regime to account. The reports of new mass graves in liberated areas and increasing evidence of war crimes demand accountability. It is in everyone’s interests that the UK supports all international efforts to document, investigate and prosecute these crimes. I know that the Minister has been committed to this strategy in other international scenarios. He will be aware that, since March, my colleagues in the House of Commons have been calling for a special international tribunal to prosecute Putin and members of his armed forces for the crime of aggression and other war crimes that have been evidenced. The EU backs the plan, as do the Ukrainian Government. Can the Minister explain why we as a country are not planning to support such efforts?

Unfortunately, it is now clear that Putin’s aim is not simply to take Ukraine. His regime has shown that it is prepared to use armed forces in contempt of international institutions and humanitarian law. For this reason, as Putin expands his war effort and amasses further troops, we must also remain alert to the more immediate threat to the United Kingdom and our allies. It is important that our commitment to NATO is unshakeable, and this must be paired with a rebooting our defence plans, as more than 20 of our NATO allies have done. We have heard repeated calls for the integrated review to be reviewed; however, we need not just the review but absolutely clear plans to reboot our defence mechanisms.

If this war is to end, we must make it clear to Putin that things will get worse, not better, for Russia. We must also give Ukraine the confidence it needs by announcing a longer-term strategy. On Britain’s military help to Ukraine and reinforcing our NATO allies on the border, the Government have had and will continue to have Labour’s full support. In standing side by side with Ukraine against this illegal invasion, we are not only reflecting our global values but defending our national interests.

Ukraine

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Friday 25th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her introduction to this debate. I am also grateful to the usual channels and the Government for facilitating it. I want to pick up on something that the noble Baroness said: these are ordinary people, and the pictures we saw on the television last night and this morning are deeply shocking. I have no doubt that every one of us in the Chamber has met someone with family in Ukraine. My own husband works with three Ukrainian women who are so upset, it is unbelievable. That is what we should be making our judgment about today. We should always reflect on those ordinary people.

I was extremely pleased to see on today’s list—and I look forward to hearing—the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Sedwill. His experience and knowledge, particularly on security and government matters, will make an invaluable contribution to the future work of this House and also to today’s debate.

As my right honourable friend David Lammy wrote in today’s Guardian, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is an unprovoked outrage and a heinous violation of international law. It is proof of his utter disregard for the health and wealth of the people of Russia and Ukraine.

As the noble Baroness said, the situation in Ukraine is changing by the minute; we do not know how the next few hours, days or even years will play out. But what I do know is that what will not change is the united determination of this Parliament and this country to hold Putin and his acolytes to account.

As we heard in yesterday’s Statement, Putin has sought to create a false justification for his actions. Russia faces no threat from NATO or Ukraine. As we heard from the noble Baroness, this is a significant moment in global politics that will have far-reaching implications for future interaction with Putin’s Russia.

Our sanctions and those announced by the EU last night are severe, but they need speedy and strong implementation. But we should also aim higher, to ensure that we cut Russia out of the western economic system, targeting the finance, energy, technology and defence sectors, as well as individuals linked to Putin and the Russian Government. The effects of our actions should be deep and long-lasting. This confrontation will, as the Prime Minister said, last for years into the future.

The Government must now also finally expunge corrupt Russian money from the United Kingdom. Allies of Putin are still able to use the UK to launder dirty money, so we need to see the full implementation of all the recommendations of the Russia report. As my noble friend Lady Smith of Basildon said last night, the Elections Bill, which we are considering and which had its Second Reading this week, introduces new loopholes to allow foreign donations to United Kingdom political parties. We will seek to amend the Bill to remove those new loopholes. But, in the light of the actions and the terrible and distressing scenes we have seen on television, I hope that the Ministers—the noble Lord and the noble Baroness—will speak to the Prime Minister about removing these provisions from the Bill and report back to your Lordships’ House.

To defeat Russian aggression, we need to do more than simply attack Putin’s bank balance. Sanctions must be as comprehensive as possible, but we need a broader response to face down his aggression. To defeat Putin we need to unite against the ideology of what Putinism stands for—an ideology that is mirrored in the despots and dictators we see in the rest of the world: in China, in the Middle East and beyond. Those despots will be watching every single move we make from today onwards, and we need to ensure that our response is strong and determined, because they will determine their next moves based on ours. We must not be at all slow in coming forward on this.

Russia’s attack will have long-term implications for the security of Europe. If Putin is successful in the short term, the new front line to Russian aggression will widen to include Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Of course, as the Minister said, we need to strengthen our work with our NATO and European allies and be in lock-step with them in every way. But we need to go beyond that unity and resolve. We need to rally the rest of the world to our position and ensure that there is an international coalition that will oppose this grievous act of war and counter Putin’s ideology and nationalistic expansion. We need to look beyond to other global players to raise the question of the need for sovereign UN states to support the principle of sovereignty and democracy. That is a vital component of our strategy.

As we have seen on the streets of Moscow and other cities in Russia, many ordinary Russian citizens are deeply concerned and upset about Russian troops wading across their nearest neighbour’s borders—the home of many of their family and friends. We need to ensure that we utilise our huge soft power to ensure that we communicate with those people and that they are able to hear the truth and see what is being done in their name. So I hope the noble Lord the Minister will be able to give us a very strong response in that regard. We must never allow our determination to confront Putin to obscure our desire for friendship and peace with the Russian people.

I will conclude with a final point on humanitarian support and aid. I know that the Government are committed to this, as the noble Baroness said, and I certainly heard that in my discussions with the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad. It is really important that we reassure all our allies who are neighbours to Ukraine that we will be there for them and will support them in every way to make sure that humanitarian support is given. I also heard Ben Wallace on the radio this morning. He is absolutely right. Whatever happens in terms of fighting on the street—and the determination of the Ukrainian people cannot be in doubt to anyone who has heard some of the speeches on the radio and the TV this morning—we need to ensure that we give them not only the fullest humanitarian support but the tools to do the job to fight this awful aggression. I support them.

France: AUKUS

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

Because this new arrangement is predicated on the desire of another state—Australia—to make changes to its submarine fleet. That was not instigated by the United Kingdom; we were approached by Australia.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, this has had an impact on our relationship, as recognised by the US State Department. The Secretary of State has spent two days in France; President Biden has spoken to President Macron. At every level there has been a connection between the US and France to improve and restore relationships. What have this Government done? Has the Minister spoken to her colleagues in the FCDO? Are they working on a common strategy to improve our relationship with our closest ally?

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

Yes, I want to dispel the illusion that there is some conspiracy of silence on the part of the UK; there is not. Certainly, from a defence perspective, business continues, as it has to, because of the essential nature of our activity. I was at the EI2 conference in Sweden just a few weeks ago and I spoke to Madame Parly, the French Defence Minister. We have a lot of important matters to engage upon and that is what we are doing.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Wednesday 19th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Udny-Lister, on his maiden speech. I look forward to many more of his contributions. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, for her introduction to this debate. It is a pleasure that I can now respond to her speech rather than her responding to mine, so I shall take that opportunity.

In his speech, my noble friend Lord Tunnicliffe said that when it comes to defence there is too often a wide gap between what Ministers say and what Ministers do. Sadly, this applies to elements of the gracious Speech. In one breath it talks of the global effort to get 40 million girls across the world into school and in another it cuts the ODA budget for girls’ education by up to 40%. We read of reinforcing the UK’s commitment to NATO, while the Government moves recklessly out of step from the alliance by increasing the number of nuclear warheads.

It is impossible to reconcile the statement that the Government will continue to provide aid to reduce poverty and alleviate human suffering with the decision to abandon the commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA. As the noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, said, it is incomprehensible that such a change in the law is not put to a vote. As the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, reminded us, slashing aid to Yemen—the world’s worst humanitarian crisis—by 60% without conducting an impact assessment is not only cruel but dangerous. The Government’s message that providing aid where it has “the greatest impact” is entirely the right one, but girls’ education, nutrition, water and sanitation do exactly that and yet are being cut.

For the last five years the UK has funded UNAIDS to the tune of £15 million annually but this year it plans to give only £2.5 million. These drastic cuts to a very low-cost, high-impact agency mirror those that other organisations doing critical work in the HIV response are facing too. The cuts hurt its work to help girls’ education and empowerment and lessen its ability to help countries, including the UK, to end HIV and AIDS, furthering the continuation of a pandemic that threatens us all. Bilateral nutrition projects have an enormous multiplier effect and address myriad other issues such as healthcare and pandemic preparedness. If there is one lesson to be learned from this pandemic, it is that both local and global solutions are necessary. On ODA, the Minister told us in December that

“we intend to bring forward legislation in due course”.

If the Government’s plans have changed, can he tell us on what basis? What is their opinion now?

The Queen’s Speech makes reference to upholding human rights and democracy across the world, yet too often the Government have shown a reluctance to act, as evidenced so well by the noble Lord, Lord Alton. My noble friend Lord Foulkes has raised the issue of Belarus, where civil society is under constant attack. To echo the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, if the Government are serious they must also be more ambitious in strengthening the role of civil society in the international order, because when nations fail in their most important task—providing safety, security and freedom for their people—it is always civil society that leaps first to their defence. That is why it is so important that we strengthen the role of civil society in our multilateral institutions. We need to continue to support women’s groups, trade unions and LGBT groups. I too welcome the work of the noble Lord, Lord Herbert, in his new role as a champion of LGBT rights.

In addition, we need a Government who will properly uphold the rule of law, as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leeds said. Standing up for our values means supporting a rules-based order and respecting international courts, but too often this Government disregard the authority of the institutions for short-term political whim. If we continue to support them only when it is convenient to do so, it is certainly not the UK and our closest allies that will benefit.

We read in the gracious Speech of measures to

“ensure that support for businesses reflects the United Kingdom’s strategic interests”.

If the Government are truly committed to making sure that business in the UK aligns with our values and interests, there can be absolutely no excuse for failing to implement the recommendations of the Russia report. Three years on from the Salisbury attack, the Government have failed fully to implement the recommendations set out in it. Up to half the money laundered out of Russia is still coming through the UK. Can the Minister explain why the necessary legislation was not brought forward in the gracious Speech?

On Hong Kong, as the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, said, we have still yet to see any sanctioning of officials responsible for human rights abuses and the dismantling of its autonomy. That is despite the arrest of 100 pro- democracy activists under the national security law and a further 10,000 on other protest-related charges. Can the Minister confirm when such sanctions will be brought forward to match those introduced by our allies, particularly the United States? He has repeatedly said that we will work in co-operation with the US on these issues, but I see very little evidence of that.

The role of Beijing in human rights violations is sadly not limited to its involvement in Hong Kong, as other noble Lords have said, and we must stand firm also in support of the persecuted Uighur Muslims. I deeply regret that the Government blocked an amendment to the Trade Bill, which I tabled in this House, to ensure that our trade agreements respect human rights. Given concerns that UK businesses may still be connected to ongoing persecution, when will this House be presented with legislation to strengthen Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, so that all companies will have a responsibility to prove that their supply chains are free of forced labour?

I have raised on previous occasions the situation in Colombia. The noble Lord will know, as penholder in the UN, of the reports of increased violence, much of which has been committed by Colombian police and government officials and which is undermining the right to protest. Will the noble Lord review aid and training to support the Colombian police and suspend any element linked to human rights abuses?

On hosting the G7 summit, the Queen’s Speech refers to

“the global effort to secure a robust economic recovery from the pandemic.”

However, this will require far greater co-operation and leadership than is currently on the table. President Biden has put forward proposals, and now the onus is on the UK and others to respond. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government have held any preliminary discussions with President Biden’s Administration on the global tax proposals?

If we are to recover from the pandemic, we must first bring the virus under control everywhere, and that means ensuring widespread access to vaccines. The UK’s support for COVAX is welcome, but it looks to vaccinate only 20% of countries’ populations, with no plan to achieve full worldwide vaccination. Low-income countries have received less than 1% of all Covid-19 vaccines so far. COVAX also does not currently have any concrete plan substantially to increase vaccine manufacturing to ensure sustained supply, as my noble friend Lord Boateng said. To expand production effectively, we need utilisation and expansion of local manufacturing capacity in low and middle-income countries. Will the Government follow the Biden Administration’s lead and engage constructively to develop a worldwide plan at the WHO on patent issues? In recent days, we have seen the ramifications of the situation in India regarding supplies to the scheme. Can the noble Lord confirm whether this will be on the agenda of the G7? What is the noble Lord’s response to the President’s announcement today that the US will donate 80 million doses to COVAX by the end of June? What is our response to this situation?

Recovery should not be the limit of this Government’s ambition. We must build back better and put forward our vision for a future better than the past. As president of COP 26, we must take the lead and encourage the big emitters to do more to cut their emissions, and support developing countries, which are often the least responsible for climate breakdown but also the most vulnerable to it. What steps are the Government taking to generate support for climate action ahead of the Glasgow summit?

As I said at the start, my issue with the gracious Speech is that the Government’s actions do not match their words. We need a Government who will act to protect our reputation and standing in the world, as the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, so eloquently put it; a Government who understand that our influence relies on perceptions of who we are as a country. As the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury said, we must be a global Britain that stands by its values in all circumstances.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Goldie) (Con)]

My Lords, I was struck by something said by the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara. He said that this was an amuse-bouche. I can tell him that I feel as though I have sat through a three-day banquet with 24 courses on each day. I feel that I have a pile of papers here that reflect the assorted menus of that three-day banquet, but I am going to do my best to get through it.

First, I am honoured to close this day’s debate following Her Majesty’s gracious Speech, and what a debate it has been. It has been wide-ranging, characteristically well informed and, as it should always be for the Front Bench, challenging. I thank my noble friend Lord Gardiner for so ably opening the debate with such a comprehensive speech. As my noble friend noted, this Queen’s Speech sets out a path to a stronger and more prosperous United Kingdom, one we shall achieve by being outward-looking to our partners and allies across Europe and beyond.

A number of your Lordships commented on the perhaps improved clarity of the political direction of travel. It is the Government’s priority to secure the UK’s departure from the EU with a deal on 31 January, but our ambitious programme goes far beyond our exit from the European Union.

We have had a stimulating debate, and I am grateful for the thoughtful questions that noble Lords have posed. I, too, thank in particular the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick, for her reflective and very interesting maiden speech. I know I speak for the whole House when I say we shall all look forward to future contributions from her.

I will now try to address various issues raised in the debate, first considering foreign affairs, defence and trade. The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU will give us the opportunity to redefine and reaffirm our role as a sovereign independent nation on the world stage. The Prime Minister has already committed to an integrated defence, security and foreign policy review led by No. 10 to ensure that we focus our combined international assets and efforts as effectively as possible in the national interest. A number of noble Lords raised questions about that, which I will endeavour to deal with later.

Our Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to play a pivotal role in promoting and defending those national interests, and part of that is indeed achieved through soft power. I thought that was spoken to very eloquently by the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, and I share his significant and exciting ambitions. The UK is indeed home to world-class healthcare companies that benefit from international trade—from 2016 to 2018, Healthcare UK supported over £1 billion of export wins in the healthcare sector. I thought the noble Lord raised a very important point.

However, promoting and defending our national interests will include standing up robustly for our values of democracy, equality, human rights and the rule of law, as a global force for good, and that of course includes the protection of freedom of religion or belief. I thought some very pertinent, tangential points were made about that general proposition of international discourse. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leeds had some sage advice which, with all due deference to him, I would say he essentially paraphrased from the national bard of my country, Robert Burns:

“O wad some Power the giftie gie us

To see oursels as ithers see us!”

I think that applies equally to individuals and to Governments

Perhaps that also echoes the sentiment of the noble Lord, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, who said that there is a time for listening and a time for discussion. Indeed, my noble friend Lord Lothian said that there is a place for “exploratory dialogue”—an interesting phrase—and that aspect of dialogue was very cogently reinforced by the noble Lord, Lord Owen. All of us accept the wisdom of these observations; none of us has a monopoly on either knowledge or sagacity when it comes to dealing with international discourse, and I think these were very relevant and helpful observations.

Many of your Lordships asked what the UK can do in various challenging situations across the globe. Global Britain is also about our partnerships across the world, and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a leading member of NATO, the G7 and the G20 and the current chair of the Commonwealth, we will continue to work with our international partners to defend the rules-based international system and resolve the most complex global challenges, from conflict and climate change to human trafficking.

A number of your Lordships understandably raised the matter of the Middle East and Iran. I feel my noble friend Lord Ahmad dealt with these issues exhaustively and comprehensively in his earlier Statement and do not propose to expand on his comments. I think he gave a great deal of information to the Chamber.

More specifically, as raised by my noble friend Lady Anelay, we will show global leadership through our presidency of the G7, through developing a Magnitsky-style sanctions regime and through hosting both COP 26 and the PSVI international conference. Indeed, my noble friend asked specifically about the Magnitsky sanctions. Secondary legislation will be laid under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 once we leave the EU. This will allow the UK to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions in response to serious human rights violations or abuses.

My noble friend also raised the important matter of the Truro review and its recommendations. The Government intend to implement the recommendations in full.

At a time when trade tensions are high across the world, we will act to support a global trading system based on clear and fair rules. Within three years, we aim to cover 80% of our trade with free trade agreements—starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan—all of which will be negotiated alongside a new trade deal with the EU. I say to my noble friend Lord Howell that we will forge stronger links with that tremendous institution the Commonwealth, which boasts some of the most dynamic economies to be found. Our exports strategy will help the UK to climb the ranks of trading nations by increasing exports as a percentage of GDP. Providing continuity for businesses and consumers as we leave the EU will also be essential.

The UK is a development superpower. Our development work will be key to reshaping our role after we leave the European Union. We look ahead to hosting COP 26, our presidency of the G7 and delivering on our visions for a global Britain.

I think it was the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham who made an important point about children and education. Global Britain is about more than just Brexit and free trade, which is why this Government will continue to prioritise fighting for the rights of women and girls. We will stand up for the rights of every girl in the world to something of inestimable value: 12 years of quality education. A number of contributors speculated on what education can do for women. I certainly suggest that it helps women into the workforce, prevents child marriage and early pregnancy, and boosts household income and economic growth. Since 2015, the UK has supported almost 6 million girls in gaining a decent education. At the United Nations in September, the Prime Minister announced measures to help to get more than 12 million more children—half of them girls—into school.

My noble friend Lady Hodgson raised the important issues of women, peace and security. The UK is a global leader on and champion of these issues and is committed both to reducing the impact of conflict on women and girls and to ensuring that they meaningfully participate in efforts to prevent and resolve conflict. However, we recognise that there are challenges, not least the paucity of the number of women at negotiating tables globally. We are certainly aware of this significant and lamentable deficiency.

The UK can and will do much more on conflict resolution, preventable deaths, Ebola and malaria, which the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, referred to. I say to her that the UK is committed to ending malaria and is the second-largest country donor to that fight. In 2016, the UK committed to spending £500 million a year on malaria control for five years until 2021. The Government remain committed to that target for the full period.

The year 2019 provided an opportunity for the UK to look back on collective achievements of the past—for example, through commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-day, the greatest combined operation in the history of warfare—while cementing our commitment to a safer future through celebrating the foundation of NATO 70 years ago. These events underscore an undoubted truth that it is the first duty of any Government to protect the safety and security of the British people both at home and abroad, and that is a duty which this Government take very seriously.

The noble Lord, Lord West, perhaps unsurprisingly, alluded to that. I would remind him that we have the highest defence spend in Europe and we are the second-highest defence spender in NATO. We are investing in the future of our air power, in the future fleet and in future-facing land capabilities and we are ensuring that the UK can be an undisputed global leader on defence. Perhaps I may also surprise the noble Lord by agreeing that there is a need for long-term strategic thinking and long-term decision-making in relation to defence. The proposed SDSR will be cognisant of that, and I thank my noble friend Lady Helic for her interesting suggestions about what that review should encompass. I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Swansea, who echoed that sentiment in relation to the issue.

As my noble friend Lord Gardiner rightly noted in his opening remarks, our brave men and women who defend this country and our nation as well as our national interests are a priceless asset. We will renew our commitment to do more for those who give so much. Our aim is for government, local authorities, the wider public, the public sector, charities, commercial organisations and civil society to all have a role in supporting the Armed Forces community and to introduce help where needed. One of the Government’s latest demonstrations of their commitment to the covenant has been the creation of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. I understand that it is the first time that veterans’ affairs will have been overseen by a dedicated ministerial team in the Cabinet Office.

Perhaps I may turn to the issues of environment and climate. Many noble Lords cogently and eloquently expressed acute anxiety about the now visible consequences of climate change, and I would suggest that it was a dominant feature of the debate. Quite simply, climate change is one of the greatest challenges confronting the world, and this Government are determined to build on our progress to date and to lead the world in tackling it. We have already legislated to deliver net-zero emissions in the UK, becoming the first major economy to do so. The target will end the UK’s contribution to climate change and shows real global leadership ahead of the crucial COP 26 talks, which we are proud to be holding in Glasgow.

We want to deliver on our climate commitments in a way that maximises the economic benefits of our transition to cleaner economic growth, creating high-value green jobs and new business opportunities across the country. Since setting a net-zero target—something I thought the noble Lord, Lord Collins, was a little discouraging about—the Government have set up a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change and have committed around £2 billion to support clean growth in a range of sectors from transport to industry, as well as publishing our landmark Green Finance Strategy, which I think is rather encouraging. We will set out our plans for delivering net-zero emissions over the coming years, starting with an energy White Paper addressing the transformation of the energy system in line with net-zero, and our upcoming legislative programme will prioritise these commitments.

Through the environment Bill we are embedding environmental ambition and accountability at the heart of government through legislative measures to improve air quality, nature recovery, waste and resource efficiency and water resource management in a changing climate. Through the agriculture Bill we will reward farmers for tackling the causes and effects of climate change, and through our fisheries Bill the Government will manage fish stocks more sustainably and protect our waters. We will also ensure that the UK enhances its reputation as a world leader for animal welfare and protection by recognising animals as sentient beings in domestic law and increasing sentences for those who perpetrate cruelty on animals by ensuring that they are subjected to the full force of the law. My noble friend Lady Hooper also spoke very knowledgably about the Antarctic and Latin America. Those are important areas and there are lessons that we can learn.

I should like to try to deal with some of the specific points raised during the debate. There is quite a wad of material here and I shall see what I can do to try to get through it. Very much on people’s minds and first raised by the noble Lord, Lord Collins, then referred to repeatedly by many noble Lords, not least the noble Lords, Lord Jay and Lord Bruce, the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and my noble friend Lady Manzoor, was the issue of DfID. The Prime Minister is responsible for all machinery-of-government changes and, at this point, no machinery-of-government changes have been announced for DfID or the FCO. I remind your Lordships that DfID and the FCO already work well together. There are currently two joint FCO/DfID Ministers and eight FCO/DfID joint units. The departments work together on a range of issues, including cross-government funds such as the CSSF and the prosperity fund, and on implementation of the joint Africa strategy. I was struck by the number of thoughtful, telling and important points made by your Lordships in relation to this matter. I am sure these have been noted.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I am sorry to interrupt the noble Baroness, but there have been press and Twitter reports, and I think this House deserves some kind of clarity on this vital issue.

[Baroness Goldie]

I can tell the noble Lord and the Chamber only what I have been given by way of briefing, and that is what I have just repeated. I am not inside the Prime Minister’s mind. I do not know what he is cogitating on the future. It is important that the FCO and DfID perform two distinguished and distinctive roles. As has already been illustrated by working arrangements, there may well be scope for better co-ordination and efficiencies. As far as I am aware, no decision has yet been made by the machinery of government—which sounds a rather Orwellian entity, but that seems to be what it is called.

My noble friend Lady Manzoor asked about the timeline for the integrated security, defence and foreign policy review. That will be confirmed early this year. It will be the deepest review of our security, defence and foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. My noble friend also called for a meeting between the all-party group and a DfID Minister to discuss the summit. I cannot speak on another Minister’s behalf, but I am sure her thoughtful points regarding nutrition and food security are noted and will be given due consideration.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, raised an important issue on nutrition, particularly the summit in Japan in November. He wondered whether the PM would attend the springboard event in July—is that correct? I cannot commit to that—I do not know—but we are working closely with the Government of Japan to ensure a successful summit later this year. We are working on the springboard event in the summer. I cannot commit to timing or pledge names of those who will attend, but I can assure noble Lords that nutrition is a high priority for DfID. We will build on the successful London summit of 2013 and strive to continue our global leadership on nutrition.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, also raised the issue of Saudi arms sales. Additional measures have been put in place to prevent such a breach happening again. All recommendations to grant licences for the export of items to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners will now be referred to Ministers to decide.

The noble Lords, Lord Collins and Lord Stevenson, along with some other Members, asked about ensuring parliamentary scrutiny of free trade agreements. The Government are absolutely committed to transparency and appropriate scrutiny of trade policy. We will ensure that Parliament and the public are given the opportunity to provide input as we take forward our independent trade policy.

The noble Lord, Lord Alton, raised issues about Hong Kong with me but then decided not to speak to these, so I am a little constrained in dealing with them at the Dispatch Box, but I will write because I have marvellous answers and I am sure he will enjoy reading them. He also raised the important issue of Yazidis. DfID has committed £261 million in humanitarian support to Iraq since 2014. We support the United Nations Funding Facility for Stabilization, which has completed 235 of 388 projects in Christian areas and 55 of 98 projects in Yazidi areas. I will endeavour to follow up the reference he made to the breach of the Geneva convention and respond to him on that.

The noble Lord, Lord Alton, also raised the protests against the Iraqi Government. The UK condemns the disproportionate use of force against demonstrators, including the use of live fire. The right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression must be respected. Iraqi leaders must take responsibility to stop the violence and hold the perpetrators to account.

The noble Lord, Lord Hylton, raised the issue of Turkish maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean. It is the UK’s consistent position that all maritime boundary disputes should be resolved through dialogue and in accordance with international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We continue to call for de-escalation.

I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, up in the corner there, who mentioned Cyprus. The Government’s focus remains to support both sides to reach a just and lasting settlement that will benefit all Cypriots, and a settlement continues to represent the most sustainable means of addressing the situation.

There seems to be some dialogue taking place over my shoulder. I had been going to ask for your Lordships’ indulgence, because this has been a very extensive debate. I did not think I would be chivvied for going on for 25 minutes or so. Are any last trains or buses going to be missed? I am being told I can go on for two more minutes.

Occupied Palestinian Territories

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Manzoor]

I entirely agree with my noble friend.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the opportunity is there. If you had listened to the radio this morning, you would have heard young Palestinians and Israelis desiring the same thing: the opportunity to prosper and use their skills. What are the Government doing to ensure we have two communities working together and that we end up with a two-state solution, in which both communities can prosper?

[Baroness Manzoor]

As the noble Lord is aware, the UK Government support a two-state solution. As I have said, the UK is a close friend of Israel and we enjoy excellent bilateral relationships. The British Government helped to establish the UK Israel Tech Hub, a non-profit organisation based in Tel Aviv and London, to help British companies looking for cutting-edge innovation and Israeli start-ups seeking to go through the UK. This kind of innovation is important to help individuals living in both Israel and Palestine, and to ensure we have good economic prosperity in the region.

Reconciliation: Role of British Foreign, Defence and International Development Policy

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Friday 14th December 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I too pay tribute to and thank the most reverend Primate for initiating today’s debate. None of us can fail to have been moved by many of the personal testaments and testimonies to the efforts to find reconciliation. Like the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, I was particularly moved by the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Trimble. It is important that we reflect on and listen to those contributions. That prompts me to quote someone else who has been mentioned today, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said:

“Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering—remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened”.


The noble Lord, Lord Trimble, is true testament to that.

If we are to have the international security and stability that we seek, development, defence and diplomacy have to go together. We have seen it in the national security strategy, which pledges,

“to address the causes of conflict and instability”,

by,

“tackling corruption, promoting good governance, developing security and justice, and creating jobs and economic opportunity”.

None of us has a crystal ball to predict the future with certainty. As we have heard, significant challenges to peace and stability lie ahead. As the noble Baroness said, the strategy placed great stress on the UK’s commitment to a rules-based international order. The dangers of seeing that international order unravel are of course multi-fold, not least because we have a United States President—President Trump—who has a fondness for unpredictability. He started this year with a flurry of tweets that sparked protests across the world and caught his allies off guard. His tweeting has continued throughout the year with increasingly inflammatory rhetoric—rhetoric that has a huge impact far beyond his own borders, hitting particularly the ability of the world to reconcile itself with its different communities.

The noble Lord, Lord Hannay, suggested today, as he did 18 months ago, that the response so far of countries such as ours, which has regarded the maintenance of a rules-based international order as its national interest, has been quite inadequate in the face of those challenges. I totally agree with that argument: we need to do a better job in making the case than we have in the past. That case means covering the whole range of our international commitments and obligations. It means supporting the United Nations, NATO and the World Trade Organization. It means making common cause with like-minded countries, particularly our partners—or former partners, as they will potentially be—in the European Union.

The Labour Party would commit to a renewed internationalism and strengthen institutions: by supporting better use of the United Nations Security Council to build a renewed commitment to multilateralism; by respecting the primacy of human rights and international treaties, insisting on the use of the UN as a means of conflict resolution; and by developing the use of sanctions and soft power as a response to non-compliance. We would create a Minister for Peace and Disarmament. We are seeing disarmament challenged for the first time in many years, with Chinese, US and Russian politics dictating or potentially leading to another arms race. We certainly want increased funding for earmarked investment in peacekeeping.

I also want to say something about the need to work with the Commonwealth. It is a very important institution because of the values that it represents. I have had the opportunity to speak to my noble and learned friend Lady Scotland about her agenda for promoting change. The Commonwealth charter represents shared values on human rights and democracy. Think about how the Commonwealth still has a majority of countries which criminalise people like me, simply because of the person I love. It is about challenging those countries, not to “Do as I say” but to understand the nature of our past colonial influence. That is what we need to address as our shared values.

The conditions which overseas development assistance aims to address, if left alone, can create a melting pot of conflict. That is what the sustainable development goals and the agenda for 2030 are all about. That is why I disagree so much with the noble Baroness, Lady Brady, about our commitment to invest. We need to focus on stopping instability, not leave it until it is too late. That is why our development agenda is so important. Labour would focus on crisis prevention rather than reaction. We have committed to publishing a strategy for protecting civilians in conflict that sets out detailed plans for work on conflict prevention and resolution, along with post-conflict peacebuilding, and of course justice for the victims of war.

We want—and I recognise that the Government are committed to this as well—expanding cross-departmental capacity to respond rapidly to sexual and gender-based violence. We want to transform the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to move to a more transparent, human rights-focused peace fund. The ICAI review, which looked at it in 70 countries, including Syria, gave it an amber/red warning. Will the Minister remind us of the response to that review and also say whether he is satisfied that proper human rights assessments and safeguards are operating to ensure that ODA does not undermine human rights?

As the most reverend Primate said, we must demonstrate a joined-up, whole-government approach with a properly funded strategy. My noble friend Lord Boateng reminded us of the importance of our Diplomatic Service and corps. I reflect that the UK spends less per head on diplomacy than the US, Germany, France, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. That should be something of a wake-up call for us.

The UK must always put the security of our country first and ensure proper investment in defence, but in doing so it must consider the ethical implications of the arms trade. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry made this point. The UK cannot defend and offer development on the one hand and fuel the tools of war on the other. That is a contradiction that we cannot sustain, and it does not lead to stability. We also want to introduce an ethical procurement policy to rebuild our country’s defences, support our home industries and give our Armed Forces the resources that they need. We need to use our voice within NATO as a stabilising and resolute force for the values of democracy and freedom.

The United Nations has renewed its commitment to peacebuilding through the sustaining peace agenda and placing greater emphasis on conflict prevention and addressing the drivers of conflict as well as highlighting the need for international partnership and co-operation. At the most recent UN General Assembly, Theresa May urged UN member states to,

“do more collectively to prevent atrocities in the first place, and address the causes of instability that can give rise to them”.

I recently attended a British Council seminar, and I join my noble friend Lady Andrews in paying tribute to the British Council for its work. We call it soft power, but it is a way of introducing things that lead to a better understanding of our differences, which is an important element of the work of the British Council. It is not simply saying, “Here we are, we are good”. It is understanding value in all cultural aspects of the word. At that seminar, at which the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, was also present, the discussion focused on positive peacebuilding through rebuilding trust and institutions through a whole-society approach. Most importantly, that includes civil society. This debate has not been about governance; it is actually about people and the organisations that represent them, and of course, as the most reverend Primate said, that includes faith groups—some 80% of the world’s population are in faith groups—but it also means that trade unions, workers’ organisations and women’s groups have a critical role to play.

We can do so much more if we each respect each other’s roles, not just ensuring that our own voice is heard. We can do so much more if we amplify each other’s voices so that we have a better understanding of our respective roles. We have to recall that it is not that long ago that trade unions were the enemy within in this country. We saw on the front pages—although in the last few months the Daily Mail has changed its position—Supreme Court judges being called “Enemies of the people”; when we talk about the rule of law, we have to remember the impact that those sorts of statements have.

I was particularly impressed by the evidence from the noble Lord, Lord Trimble, who talked about a bottom-up approach—not something that Governments can legislate for but actually understanding how organisations work. Certainly my experience of the trade union movement in Northern Ireland taught me a lot about that, and the fact that when you talked about peace you also talked about jobs and progress. That brought a lot of people together.

I have also been part of the Tracks of Peace campaign in the Middle East, which my noble friend Lord Anderson mentioned, where Palestinians and Israeli people are coming together to build viable economic communities. That is people coming together; it is organisation at the bottom.

That is something that has always struck me about Cyprus, which the noble Lord, Lord Balfe, talked about. For years we have had a green line drawn in Cyprus. Well, I live in London, and in Green Lanes the two communities have been living and working together for years. Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots live together because they respect each other, and that is what we have to fight to support more.

When we talk about ensuring the engagement of women, which the most reverend Primate talked about, it is also more important than just offering women a seat at the negotiating table, although of course that is important. It means dealing with the cultural and structural barriers that bar women from participating. We have to tackle the root causes of conflict rather than simply the symptoms.

My noble friend Lord Boateng highlighted the situation in Cameroon. My noble friend Lord Judd, who would have been here today but unfortunately was not able to participate, also mentioned that situation to me, and it is important that we highlight it. It underlines that reconciliation is not easy—it is tough—and it is certainly not something that can change overnight. Words cannot be our only response. I hope the Minister will be able to respond to my noble friend’s questions on that issue.

The UK’s call for global support for prevention-based approaches has not translated into funding. Only 1% is spent globally on peacebuilding. We know that, for societies in transition, positive peacebuilding is a long-term effort and it can be difficult to show immediate outcomes. With the UN currently eager for member states to take the helm of its sustaining peace agenda, this is an opportunity for the United Kingdom to exert positive influence, demonstrating a values-based foreign policy and reaffirming our commitment to engaging with the rest of the world.

We have heard in the debate—how could we not talk about it when we are talking about peace and reconciliation?—about the Middle East and, particularly, Syria. We have had seven years of bloodshed. The war in Syria has claimed half a million lives and driven 11 million people from their homes, causing a humanitarian tragedy on a scale unknown anywhere else. My noble friend Lord Boateng mentioned that an important element of reconciliation is not just truth but justice. Whatever lessons are to be learned from the conflict in Syria, we need to consider the institutions that have the job of investigating and gathering evidence of such horrendous crimes against humanity. Individuals who commit crimes against humanity should know that they cannot act with impunity and will be held to account.

In conclusion, my noble friend Lord Griffiths spoke movingly of the situation in Haiti, where external forces denied the opportunity for the country to govern itself and use its wealth for the benefit of its people. That reminded me of another quote from Bishop Tutu, who said: “When missionaries came to our land with their Bible, we shut our eyes and prayed. When we opened our eyes, we had the Bible but they had our land”.