Queen’s Speech

Lord Lyell Excerpts

Wednesday 11th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lyell (Con)]

My Lords, 41 years ago, as a fairly fresh-faced Member of your Lordships’ House, I took part in one of the first visits that the House of Lords defence group made to RAF Leuchars and RAF Kinloss. I am very lucky to be secretary of this group, which has continued right through. Above all, it came into being as a study group and, my gosh, we are able to reflect.

I hope I can take two minutes of your Lordships’ time to say that we are unbelievably well served by quite one of the best Ministers for Defence that we have had in your Lordships’ House in all my time here, my noble friend Lord Astor. He gathers us humble Back-Benchers, together with noble and gallant Lords, at least once a month and gives a full briefing on everything to do with the Ministry of Defence—the facts, the figures, the equipment, the tactics, the men and women and the problems. He gives us a fantastic background and I am particularly grateful to him for that.

Many of your Lordships may be startled given the length of my hair and, I hope, my bearing, but for two years I was a soldier. I can see many more around the House, including my noble friends Lord Selsdon and Lord Howell of Guildford, who was a distinguished member of the Coldstream Guards for about that time. We are old enough—over 75. I spent two years as a young soldier and I have never forgotten what the Army did for me. We have opportunities to study and visit Army units, Army regiments and all kinds of other groups and members of the Armed Forces. I am amazed at how far things have continued and been able to go on.

I apologise to my noble and learned friend who will be winding up the debate but I am sure he will be able to gather together my thoughts and answer any questions through the usual channels and through the ministry. I would be grateful if the Government could reassure me on the particularly ambitious programme of achieving 30,000 reservists in all branches of the Army and in everything it does. It is clearly an ambitious programme. There are some bright points but some press reports indicate that there are some difficulties. No doubt they will come out in the wash and at some stage over the next year we will be able to have a fuller debate on these matters.

I hope recruiting is carrying on as it should and that no one in the Army, or any other branch of the defence forces, has to wait for up to six months before they can start training. Such delays are mainly because of financial constraints but quite often because of other administrative reasons. I hope I will receive encouraging news on that.

I hope that training facilities, particularly for the Army but also for other branches of the defence forces, are available and being improved, and that value for money can also be improved. There are all kinds of ways in which improvements can be made.

As to the equipment, kit and weaponry that might be needed, I recall—the noble Lord, Lord West, may remember this—a happy day on the ranges at Bisley in 1990. We both had an opportunity to speak to the sharpshooters of the Royal Marines who had serious problems with the SA80 rifle. It was certainly causing trouble then, although it may have been put together and be doing well now. Your Lordships may hear later from the noble Lord and me about what happened and how the Royal Navy brought the entire proceedings at Bisley to a halt that day. He may be able to explain that at a later date and in due course.

The families of all members of the defence forces are of particular importance. I hope that my noble and learned friend will reassure me that the return of forces from Germany is proceeding smoothly, that accommodation is available and that problems are being ironed out.

Next month will be a special month for the Royal Navy and for Scotland. I was encouraged by the fiery speech of the noble Lord, Lord Reid, who is absolutely right. I have a message for the First Minister, who thumped his chest last week and said, “We can”. I, a humble Scot, will tell him that we, the people of Rosyth, delivered on time and that we will see what is happening with that wonderful new carrier in about a fortnight’s time. It was a team effort.

I see my noble friend is getting excited. I was told that I had short sight but I have my glasses on. I will not refer to her in like terms as I do at the football—“Get new glasses”—but I hope the noble and learned Lord will take on board that we are very proud of what is happening at Rosyth.

Finally, I wish every man and woman in the Armed Forces the best. They are the best. We salute them and their families today and for good.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Lyell Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lyell]

My Lords, nearly five years ago my late noble kinsman Lord Lyell of Markyate rose at the Conservative Party conference and made a much briefer speech than I shall be able to make today. He just said that the first duty of any Government is the defence of the realm. The rest of his remarks were drowned out by bad manners as everyone took off, but I suspect he was absolutely right.

I have the very good luck to be in your Lordships’ House and to be a member of its defence group. We are beautifully led by the noble Baroness, Lady Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, who keeps me and many other ex-servicemen—people go right back—in shape and in the best condition to understand exactly what is needed by, and can be done for, defence in your Lordships’ House and elsewhere.

Perhaps it is appropriate that today’s debate was instituted by my noble friend Lord Howell. Together with our principal doorkeeper and the late Sergeant Kiwi Clements, who 55 years ago licked me into shape as a young national serviceman, he belonged to that great regiment, the Coldstream Guards. The motto of the Coldstream Guards is “Nulli Secundus”. Sergeant Clements put me under close arrest for thinking it meant “no second helpings”. It does not; it means “second to none”. Those words apply to my noble friend the Minister on the Front Bench, who will be winding up the debate. My noble friend gives all of us with any interest in defence, let alone those of us in the defence group, constant briefing advice and one-to- one contact with the Ministry of Defence. For anyone who has any interest in defence, it is top-class. I also know that all the work that he has done has brought many others in your Lordships’ House much closer to defence and one aspect of it that we are discussing today.

My noble friend Lord Luke referred to aircraft carriers. The Minister will have to cope with the budget. I hope that he will not worry about my speech for one second of his winding-up speech; he can write to me in due course. I know that he will write to my noble friend Lord Luke about the aircraft carriers. One recent development in aircraft is that the Ministry of Defence has chosen the F-35B as its vertical and short take-off and landing model. If I am wrong my noble friend can correct me—probably in writing—later, but I understand that this will enable both aircraft carriers to be in constant service, and that it will be a great saving in the budget, costing far less than the cat and trap.

Equally, at sea, it is very encouraging to read of the great success of the Type 45 destroyer. It was three years ago that my noble friend Lord Lee of Trafford and I went down to Portsmouth and viewed HMS “Daring”, which was the first of the Type 45, with its outstanding commanding officer, that man of Fermanagh, Captain McAlpine. He set the standard of his crew for what is now being done and it is already a major success in the Royal Navy. I just hope that the Type 56 frigate, when it comes out, will be an equal success.

I turn to the Army aspect of defence and the SDSR. I understand that the Army will be reduced over the next 10 or 12 years to about 82,000 personnel—my noble friend the Minister may be able to explain that today or at a later stage—but the apparent good news that has come out in the past two or three days concerns the Scottish regiments and what I would call the cap badges. I understand that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State has taken the question of cap badges, particularly as it refers to Scotland, very seriously indeed. He is not with us today, but the noble Earl, Lord Stair, was fighting with the Scots Guards 30 years ago at Mount Tumbledown in the Falklands. The noble Lord, Lord West, is also not here today, but he, too, was there. For Members of your Lordships’ House who have been in a situation like that, it hammers home to them, as it would have hammered home to me, that you are together with your friends—as we said in the services, your muckers. When it is one to one on a dark night in winter in the Falklands, you are with people with whom you have formed a very close bond, and that gives you that extra pace in defending the realm and in what you have to do.

I quickly turn to Afghanistan. There has been more and more decent news recently over the kit, the supplies and the support of our forces all over Afghanistan and on the way out and back. Indeed, there is an interesting article today in the Financial Times about the situation in Afghanistan and the kit referred to by the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley. It seems quite encouraging.

The House of Lord defence group is not, I hope, all red leather Bench warriors. Certainly we take an interest in other things—my training goes on, as I started out as an accountant, seeking the truth—but we are very concerned with the families of servicemen all over the world, here and elsewhere, and their quarters, housing, children and support. For families but also for the wounded service men and women, Headley Court is second to none and does a wonderful job. Our group made at least two visits; I hope that we are able to do that.

I was fortunate five years ago, with the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mayhew, to visit Birmingham, which is the first stop for injured service men and women returning to this country. The work that is done there and continues to be done is really very encouraging and I hope that my noble friend will be able to give us some support either today or at a later stage.

When we discuss defence today or at any other time, here in the comfort of the warm leather Benches, I hope that I as a humble national serviceman can say thank you and pass on my gratitude to each and every one of the service men and women all over the world—in Afghanistan, under the sea and elsewhere. We think of them and think of the frightened, startled recruits who are starting their training, and to them we say our thanks.