King’s Speech

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. I am delighted to see the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, still on the Bench there, and long may he continue.

I will in the main speak about the conflict in Gaza, but it is worth starting my remarks by reminding the House, although it does not really need reminding, of the brutal murder of men, women and children by Hamas on 7 October—1,400 innocents murdered by Hamas death squads. There were 226 partygoers going for a gig with music who were killed while enjoying life; 240 Israelis were taken hostage, and we can only pray that they will live.

Israel retaliated. Did anyone, including Hamas, think it would be otherwise? At the same time, and still to this day, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are firing rockets at Israel, and Israel’s border towns have been evacuated in the north and south. But, very sadly, the retaliation has resulted in far too many deaths and injuries, and a lack of fuel, water and food for the poor people of Gaza. A real humanitarian problem has arisen out of this conflict, not unconnected to the Hamas policy of using the people of Gaza as human shields. There is a need for a pause in hostilities to lead to a return of Israeli hostages, a ceasefire and increased humanitarian relief.

We never know what to believe. You see all these stories coming out, and you are never sure what it is. There was a picture of people fleeing from hospitals in northern Gaza and being shot down. Logic shows that Israel wanted them to flee to southern Gaza. The only people who did not want them to flee were Hamas, so logic says, “Who shot them?”.

Like all conflicts, it is not a frozen scenario. Yesterday IDF troops took control of Gaza City’s al-Rantisi hospital, and discovered and showed a weapons trove in the basement, including suicide vests, grenades, AK47 assault rifles, explosive devices and RPGs. There was evidence of the occupation in the basement of that hospital. Now troops surround Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital, and I understand that today they have entered the compound. What will they find in its basements and tunnels beneath the site? I do not know. The Israelis say that they know—and various people in hospitals deny that it is happening. We will have to wait and see.

We want a ceasefire, but an interim thing that I hope we could all agree on is that there should be a cessation of aerial bombardment, be it rockets from Hamas and Islamic Jihad or aerial bombardment from Israel—because aerial bombardment is the most unfeeling sort of war that there is, with no contact.

Moving on, we urgently need an international consensus around a plan for a post-Hamas Gaza. The plan somehow must offer an alternative political order that prevents the resurgence of Hamas and marginalises its destructive ideology. I invite noble Lords to agree that Hamas cannot be able to rule Gaza either politically or militarily. That is Israel’s aim—will the world and Members of this House agree? It has to be a Palestinian Government to secure legitimacy in Gaza and the West Bank, and in this we need the support of Arab states. We could call for a Palestinian-led technocratic Gaza interim Administration, linked to the Palestinian Authority but autonomous so as to bridge the gap between the status quo and the full reunification of the West Bank and Gaza under the Palestinian Authority —an internationally backed interim Administration to replace Hamas in Gaza, facilitate economic development and prepare for future elections. Israel needs to do its part, which includes controlling militant settlers on the West Bank. There has never been a greater need for a two-state solution. I am an optimist, and I want a two-state solution.

Military Personnel Overseas: Vaccinations

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Thursday 1st July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

The noble Viscount is absolutely right; it is not my bag and I do not want to get into hot water with my colleagues in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In fact, from speaking to my defence attaché colleagues in one part of the globe this morning, I understand that our Diplomatic Service has been protected but I hesitate to give any further specific information because I do not possess it. I suggest that the noble Viscount might want to direct his question to my colleague, my noble friend Lord Ahmad.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Palmer of Childs Hill) (LD)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Wednesday 19th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, when a few years ago I was asked to lead on defence from these Benches, I was told that defence and foreign affairs were easy, as one rarely had contentious Bills in your Lordships’ House. However, when Harold Macmillan was asked the greatest challenges for a statesman, he replied, “Events, dear boy, events.” Knowing how to respond is a key skill for leaders.

Today I will talk about the very recent events in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, while declaring that I am president of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. I deeply regret the loss of life caused by the military action against Hamas, but also condemn the 3,750 rockets launched in the last few days against Israeli citizens, Jew and Arab alike. I am appalled by the street violence in Israel, which has affected Israel’s citizens—again, Jew and Arab alike. It is utterly shameful and is most certainly not a Jewish way to respond to any situation. I decry those who allow these tensions to develop in this way. We must call on political and communal leaders to take whatever action is needed to stop it and to re-educate people in the ways of coexistence.

But what, in this debate, are we calling on our Government to do? The UK is, in my view, in a unique position in that, unlike the United States, it is not clearly seen as biased to one side. We in the UK must call for an immediate ceasefire and not just a short-term truce, as that would be seen as an opportunity for Iran to replenish Hamas’s and Islamic Jihad’s stocks of rockets, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Polak, earlier in this debate. Action is needed to stop the rockets, and to stop the retaliation. At least that will stop the needless slaughter, both intended and unintended.

There is, again, talk of the creation of a state of Palestine, with which I have every sympathy. I believe it would, handled correctly, help both sides, but I ask our Government to help create a stable state, which looks difficult to build on with the main players being President Abbas or the Palestinian Authority and Hamas and Islamic Jihad. There are many in Israel and among its friends in the diaspora who want such a state; however, Israel must feel assured that it is not creating a belligerent enemy on its borders. That surely must be possible.

The dreadful events are happening just when it seemed, at last, that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s long reign as Prime Minister was going to come to an end, to be replaced by a rainbow coalition of right, centre, left, and even including an Arab party. Once calm is restored, one expects Israel’s President, under its laws, to call upon Yair Lapid, mentioned by my noble friend Lord Alderdice, to form a Government. If that happens, the UK must be there offering support and advice. I hope that support and advice will also come from Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan. My noble friend painted a very bleak picture and I know that he will be readily able to give people such as Yair Lapid, if he leads the Israeli Government, advice and assistance on coexistence.

The most reverend Primate referred to Saint Augustine, who said, basically, “not yet”. We must not defer action, as has happened in the past. A very vivid picture has been painted of the plight of Palestinians, and quite rightly so, but very few people remember that this is a very complex situation in the Middle East. Where is the reference to the 800,000 Jews who fled Arab lands, the hundreds of thousands who lived in Iraq and Syria and are no longer there at all? This is not a simplistic situation; it is a movement of populations, and both sides have suffered. Now is the time to take a breath and try to bring these people together in coexistence, not in confrontation.

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Pitkeathley) (Lab)]

The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Houghton of Richmond, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper.

RAF Red Arrows

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords—

[The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) (Con)]

It is the turn of the Liberal Democrat Benches.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill]

My Lords, we are all justifiably proud of the Red Arrows. They train for eight months of the year in order to perform and they are part of the RAF events team. Can the Minister please tell the House what is the annual cost of the RAF events team and the justification for that cost in the light of the severe reductions in our Armed Forces personnel?

[Earl Howe]

I thought I detected in that question some scepticism as to the value of the Red Arrows. Frankly, I am surprised by that because they are fantastic global ambassadors for the United Kingdom. They promote the best of Britain and represent the speed, agility and precision of the Royal Air Force. They showcase the professionalism of our Armed Forces very well. I will write to the noble Lord with the figure that he seeks. It is not as easy for me to quote a figure as perhaps some might think.

Warships

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Monday 11th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My noble friend is quite right. We can look forward with some eager anticipation to the arrival of the “Queen Elizabeth”-class aircraft carriers, which will indeed be the two largest ships that the Royal Navy has ever had. It will be a proud achievement for this country and will extend our reach, as the Navy and the Government wish to see.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, on the same theme of the aircraft carriers, can the noble Earl give the House an indication of when those two wonderful ships will actually be operating in service? At the same time, can he tell your Lordships whether the F35B flight aircraft, which is to be launched off the aircraft carriers, has any chance of being in service before 2020?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the programme has already been announced in the SDSR but, broadly, the “Queen Elizabeth” aircraft carrier itself will be in service by the early 2020s and we will have a number of F35s deployed on that ship. Indeed, we have accelerated the procurement programme for those aircraft.

Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill [HL]

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, Amendment 1 makes a very significant change to this Bill. In essence, it provides for a complainant who at the end of the full military process of investigation and hearing is dissatisfied with the judgment that has been reached to apply to the ombudsman for, essentially, a totally new hearing, not a review of whether the complaint was handled properly and appropriately, and not of whether the judgment reached was reasonable within the range of reasonable decisions that could have been reached, but an entirely new judgment on the merits of the case.

It is, of course, perfectly possible for two or more people to reach, in varying degrees, different views on the merits of a case on the same set of facts as presented. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is a dissenting judgment in the Supreme Court. This Bill, as amended, is now essentially saying that the judgment and view of the ombudsman is of more value and is more reliable than those of anyone in the military chain of command or of the Defence Council. Noble Lords will be able to judge for themselves whether they think that is a sensible thing to do. All I will say is that having been in the position of having to review many such hearings and judgments at Air Force Board level, I certainly, to some extent or other, found in favour of the complainant on quite a number of occasions. I could not give your Lordships an exact percentage at this remove, but my sense is that it was quite a significant percentage. The sense that someone in the chain of command is automatically going to be prejudiced and unable to give the complainant a fair hearing is entirely unfounded.

Nevertheless, this Bill provides for a process that is not simply judicial review but is essentially a rehearing on the facts. Given the number of complaints that go through in any given year, and that one of the defects that this Bill was intended to address was the delay in the hearing of such complaints because of their volume, it seems inevitable that the number of complaints on merit that are to be made in future to the ombudsman following the service process will be fairly large. This means that the ombudsman will not in every instance be able to hear that case personally. Some of her deputies, some of the people in her new office, will have to do that on her behalf. Although she will, of course, be called upon to sign off the outcome in every case, it will be people from the ombudsman’s office rather than the ombudsman herself who will hear some of these retrials, if I can put it that way. Therefore, it seems to me that if we are to agree to such an amendment, the very least we must insist on is that within the regulations that will give effect to this Bill in due course, the qualifications and training that will be necessary for anybody from the ombudsman’s office to sit in judgment on such de novo hearings are set out in no uncertain terms. The Minister alluded to this in his speech, and I welcome his words, but when he sums up I ask him to reassure your Lordships that he will come back to us with a form of words which, at the very least, will satisfy us that this unfortunate amendment will do as little harm as possible.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, first, I take the opportunity to thank the Minister, my noble friend Lady Jolly and other noble Lords for their input into this Bill. I think it is very important. I take issue with the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, because, when my colleagues in the other place asked me if I had any problems during earlier stages of the passage of this Bill in this House, with the Bill having started in your Lordships’ House before moving to the other place, I said that one thing that I spoke about, on which they spoke in the other place, was that the ombudsman would be able to look only at the process rather than the detail. I believed at that time, during the earlier stages of the Bill in this House, that the ombudsman should, in certain circumstances, have the ability to do so—but, as my noble friend said, this is after it has been through all the chains of command, and it is not meant to usurp any of those points.

Ukraine

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Ind Lab)]

My Lords—

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon]

My Lords, it is this side—we have not had a turn yet. Did I hear the Minister correctly when he gave the assurance that the 2% of GDP would be maintained? That seems to conflict with what the Foreign Secretary said yesterday when he refused to confirm it. Finally, can he comment on the reports in the Daily Telegraph today that after the election the Armed Forces will be cut to 50,000?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I said that this Government are committed to the NATO 2% target—I said that clearly. I did read the article in the Telegraph about the RUSI report, but we do not recognise a lot of the figures it used.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill]

My Lords, my noble friend, in replying to the original Question, said, “if it is affordable”. Can he please tell us who will take the decision on whether the defence expenditure is affordable or not?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, the decision will be made by the next Government.

Astute-class Submarines

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes a very good point. Designing and building submarines is one of the largest programmes, and most complex activities, that the MoD and UK industry undertake, and the noble Lord is well aware of that. Addressing the technical issues associated with nuclear submarine capability is exceptionally challenging, and is reflected in the time it takes to design and build a submarine.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, in view of the vulnerable international situation, have the Government been in discussions with BAE Systems about how to speed up the production of these necessary submarines with Tomahawk missiles if the international situation gets worse, or are we stuck on a timetable that has no connection with the international scene?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, my noble friend makes a very good point. We continue to look for ways to optimise manufacturing schedules. For example, we are introducing new technology to support modular build, an innovative means of testing and commissioning different systems.

Armed Forces: Baltic Defence

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, we are well aware of the very good point made by the noble Lord.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, the information given by my noble friend the Minister is to some extent reassuring, but perhaps it might be more reassuring if there were two aircraft carriers actually in service and if F-35B assault aircraft were actually working on those aircraft carriers. Will the Minister tell us what message we send out to our enemies, to whom we might seem somewhat unprepared?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, we are not unprepared. Our equipment programme represents a substantial investment: some £163 billion over 10 years on equipment and equipment support, ensuring that our Armed Forces retain a formidable range of cutting-edge capabilities, and the ability to project power across the globe, hence aircraft carriers. This investment is not only securing the best possible military capability; it is also helping to secure UK jobs and growth.

Gurkhas

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, that is a very interesting bit of information from my noble and learned friend. I am sorry that the noble Lord, Lord Slim, is not here; he served in the Indian Army and was on parade during the time of partition.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, I agree with all that has been said about the valour of the Gurkhas, but can my noble friend the Minister answer a question that is put by many people? Many veteran Gurkhas who have retired to this country live in poverty and receive only one-third of the standard pension of military pensioners. Have Her Majesty’s Government considered how, in the 200-year celebrations and commemorations, we should treat these valiant men? It should not be by paying them a pittance so that they need to go to food banks.

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, Gurkhas of working age who have been discharged since the 1990s and who are resident in the UK have integrated well and contribute to society. On the question of pensions, since 1 April 2007, any Gurkha joining the British Army receives the same pay and pension benefits as their counterparts in the wider Army. Gurkhas serve on the same basis as the remainder of the Army, with some very small exceptions designed to satisfy the Government of Nepal.