UK-Ukraine 100-year Partnership

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, to date, the UK has given £7.8 billion-worth of military assistance to Ukraine and that has been paid for from the Treasury reserve. Under this agreement, we commit to give a further £3 billion per year until 2030. Can the Minister say whether that will continue to be paid for from the Treasury reserve, or will it, as some fear, be transferred to the defence budget, because without the appropriate baselining that would effectively negate any increase in the defence budget to 2.5%?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lancaster, for his steadfast support and championing of the need to have sufficient resources for the MoD; I have seen him do this on many occasions. Of course, this will be subject to discussion between the Treasury and the MoD, and my understanding is that it will be allowed for within the MoD budget. We will make sure at every stage that our troops have everything that they need. We are committed to the 2.5%, and we are committed to providing the £3 billion per year to Ukraine.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for reminding us of the wider context—it is very important—as well as reminding us of the not-too-distant history of this conflict. I can assure her that my honourable friend, Minister Stephen Doughty, is in regular contact with our friends and allies in the Balkans, and he is working very hard to prevent the situation that she warns us of. It is right that we do not take our eye off the situation which she discusses.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

With your Lordships’ indulgence, I will ask one more question since we have lots of time. I want to pick up on a point that the Minister made in her initial response about the status of refugees in the United Kingdom. I declare an interest in that my wife, Caroline Dinenage, the MP for Gosport, and I have hosted a Ukrainian family for the last two and a half years. They are very happy here and are pleased that there is clarity that, with their initial visa due to end shortly, they will be allowed to apply for a further 18-month extension, which, of course, takes them to four and a half years—some six months shy of the five years required to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Notwithstanding the Minister’s comments about not wishing to hold them here, the brutal reality is that they have made their home here and they wish to stay. They do not wish to go back to Ukraine because they simply do not have anything to go back to. While I realise the Minister cannot commit as to their status, will she perhaps take this opportunity to say that the one thing the Government will not be doing is forcing people to go back to Ukraine?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

First, I acknowledge that the noble Lord and Caroline have done so much to support a family from Ukraine. Although many families are doing this, it is still an exceptional act of generosity and welcome. It is truly something we should acknowledge and thank him and Caroline for. I respect that he has taken this opportunity to raise this issue and highlight the feelings and thoughts of some people who are here from Ukraine who may feel as he describes. Clearly, this would be a matter for the Home Office at the point at which their status comes up for renewal again. I would not want to prejudge what the Home Office might decide, but he has made the case very strongly and clearly, and I am sure that that will be heard by colleagues at the Home Office.

Chagos Islands: UK-US Defence Relationship

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Thursday 5th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We are not putting a timetable on this for the Mauritian Government. It is not really on us to chivvy them along; they need as long as they need to consider the agreement in the fullest way, and we respect their right to do that. Jonathan Powell has been in the United States, but we need to remember that the US has very clear rules on its engagement with other Governments in the period between the election and the inauguration in January, and we need to respect its rules on that.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, I was the last Minister to visit Diego Garcia. It is depressing to learn, in Answers to Parliamentary Questions, that no Minister intends to visit in future—that is really not a good sign. In the sovereign base areas in Cyprus, we have a working example of ceding sovereign territory while maintaining a strategic sovereign base. Why are the Government refusing to follow that example and that model?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I would very much like to visit the Chagos Islands some weeks.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

She should do so.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I would be very happy to. I point out that Minister West visited Diego Garcia recently. It was before she was appointed as a Minister, but she is now the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, and she has visited the Chagos Island. On the noble Lord’s second point, as he knows, every case is different. This is a unique situation, and our presence in the Chagos Island has been contested for many decades. This is a very different situation to what we have in the sovereign base areas, the uniqueness of which has led to a unique way of resolving the situation.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the United Kingdom’s strategic relationship with the United States of America of the decision to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, on 3 October, the UK and Mauritius reached an historic political agreement that will ensure the operational effectiveness of the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia well into the next century. Throughout the negotiations we have worked in lockstep with the US, and this agreement is strongly supported by the US. President Biden issued a statement applauding it within minutes of its announcement. Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken have also voiced clear public support.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, I did not fully appreciate the strategic value of Diego Garcia until I visited it in 2019 in my capacity as Minister for the Armed Forces. Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary said that there would be “robust security arrangements” to prevent other nations occupying the outer islands. Of course, the best way to do this would be to maintain sovereignty. Short of this, are we simply relying on other nations to follow the international rules-based order? We need look only at what the Chinese have done on the disputed Spratly Islands to realise that this would be naive. I simply ask: what is the rush? My understanding is that we are in such a rush that no Minister has even had the opportunity to go to Diego Garcia. Can the Minister confirm that that is not the case?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, the easiest way to put this is that there is no easy time to make this kind of decision. Noble Lords will be aware that the previous Government took part in 11 rounds of negotiation on this issue. The situation was getting to a point where legal rulings had made it clear that the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands belonged to Mauritius. I accept that those legal rulings, to which I can refer Members opposite should they need me to do so, were not legally binding; however, it is clear that they were going in that direction. We found that it would be much better to take this decision from a position of relative strength, rather than wait for a legal ruling that would be legally binding to go against us.

Ukraine: Military Support

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as director of the Army Reserve. It is about finding balance. The Minister mentioned Op Interflex, which is undoubtedly a great success, having trained 45,000 Ukrainian troops. However, she will also have seen the National Audit Office report published on Tuesday, which said that as a result of Op Interflex, we are now struggling to train our own troops. While it would be unreasonable to ask her to prioritise, may I seek her reassurance, given the funding issues in defence, that she will make sure that suitable funding is available to train our own troops?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, our troops will receive all the training they need. We are generally very satisfied with the NAO report—it is very good and worth reading in full, as I know the noble Lord will. I assure him that our troops will get everything they need to ensure that they are trained for whatever they may need to do.