Nova Kakhovka Dam

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, my understanding is that parliamentarians are also attending that conference. As the noble Lord will be aware, it is primarily aimed at the private sector and focused on reconstruction, but I note what he said.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

Does the Minister accept that a lot of the water will be undrinkable?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I accept what my noble friend says. The challenge has been that, as the dam broke, pollutants and other substances such as oil and petrol contaminated the whole river. As I said to the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, there are implications for both agricultural land and the ecological habitats along the river. The assessment is still yet to be made fully.

Ukraine

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I will not go into a specific case, but I agree totally with the noble Lord’s earlier comments. We need to ensure that we stand firm against Russian aggression. He is also right that Russian aggression is not limited to Ukraine. When noble Lords say that this was about Crimea, what about South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia, and, of course, the Russian people themselves? Our fight is not against the Russian people. Many noble Russians are standing up to Mr Putin and paying the ultimate cost. I look forward to meeting the noble Lord if there are particular issues.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

Will the Minister accept that there have been a great many repeated attacks on the civilian population in Ukraine and that no Government in the world could be expected to put up with that kind of treatment?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I totally agree with my noble friend. That is why I am proud of the fact that, notwithstanding the tragedy that is unfolding on the Ukrainian people, the United Kingdom has stood, along with other key partners, as a true friend to Ukraine.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Wednesday 18th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on his constructive speech. I shall not follow him down those tracks, because I have something else to mention. The Government’s legislative plans announced last week did not contain proposals to increase spending on defence; nor have Ministers given any indication that they are averse to the proposed reduction by 9,000 in the target level for our Armed Forces to a total of just 73,000 full-time troops by 2025. Of course, our forces have to be equipped with the latest technologically advanced equipment and be able to respond swiftly when required, but, at a time when the United Kingdom, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, is taking such a prominent global role in helping Ukraine withstand totally unjustified aggression by Vladimir Putin, we have to question why we are continuing to engage in scaling back our armed services to levels not seen for 200 years. If I remember correctly, my noble friend Lady Davidson mentioned this, as did the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead.

At the same time as the troop cutbacks, the number of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles is being reduced. Hercules transport planes are being retired and there is to be a further scaling back of the Navy and the Royal Air Force. Even before Ukraine was attacked, our senior military leaders and those at Westminster who take a special interest in these matters warned that more of the UK’s finances need to be allocated to future defence spending and that the planned cutbacks in troop numbers are too severe. “Mass still matters”, said the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Richards, a former Chief of the Defence Staff. At the beginning of this year, referring to the 2021 integrated defence and security review, Tobias Elwood MP, who chairs the Defence Committee in the other place, claimed that the necessary funding had not been committed

“to ensure that our defence powers are suitably upgraded for the looming threats we face.”

The percentage for defence has been falling over the decades. The United Kingdom has remained within the 2% of GPD NATO spending pledge, unlike some other European nations.

Returning to troop numbers, this month General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, who is soon to step down after four years as Chief of the General Staff, told Soldier Magazine—my noble friend Lord Lang of Monkton mentioned this—

“I am not comfortable with an army of just 73,000. It’s too small.”


He said the plan to limit the number to that total had come as “quite a surprise”. Further concern over the direction of government policy was expressed in the recently published report of the Back-Bench 1922 Defence Committee, set up by the Prime Minister in February, which stressed that the plan to cut Army numbers was based on the assumption of peace, not war, and must be halted immediately.

There is a famous quotation often attributed to the economist John Maynard Keynes, although there are other possible authors, including Winston Churchill, which states, “When the facts change, I change my mind.” That seems very appropriate in the circumstances which the Government now face over defence. The Prime Minister recently signed security pacts with Finland and Sweden to offer assistance should they be attacked before they can come under the defence shield of NATO. Meanwhile, that 73 year-old organisation has been recalled to active life by Putin’s appalling actions. I recall that in 2019 President Macron said we were experiencing the “brain death” of NATO. Well, all I can say is that NATO has certainly woken up. Its members, including the United Kingdom, are being called to give renewed service to reinforce the security of its eastern European flank, along with the territories of the Baltic states.

The facts have indeed changed dramatically in so many ways, and in these new and dangerous circumstances our armed services should not be expected to do more and more with less and less. I hope Her Majesty’s Government will consider a reappraisal of spending on defence and at least some aspects of future strategy. I hope that Ministers will be able to adjust their minds, where necessary, to help the United Kingdom, alongside its allies, to meet the formidable challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead.

Daesh in Syria and Iraq

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I agree that it is important that the Islamic military coalition should consider the interests of both Sunnis and Shias, but that should come in any event because there are Shia minorities within the coalition countries. Bahrain, which is a member, has a Shia majority population. The noble Lord is right, however, to sound a word of caution. We welcome the creation of the IMC to fight terrorism and we look forward to hearing further details from the Saudis on the IMC’s intended remit and scope. We want it to be able to work closely alongside the global coalition against Daesh to tackle the terrorist scourge.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

Has there been substantial progress in destroying the stockpiles of chemical weapons, which was promised quite some time ago?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

We continue to receive reports on the removal of chemical weapons. I answered a Question about this a little while ago and have also answered a Written Question. We continue to keep that under review, although I am concerned by reports that, in some circumstances, chemical weapons have been used in Syria. It is, therefore, even more important that we have regular inspections and reports. The specific stockpiles to which my noble friend referred have, we are told, been reduced.

Universal Declaration on Human Rights: Article 18

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2015 Grand Committee

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Alton, is an extremely doughty campaigner on behalf of freedom of worship throughout the world and it is a privilege to follow him today. He may even be aware that it was Queen Elizabeth I who in 1558 famously declared that she had no desire to open “windows into men’s souls”. It sounded like a magnanimous promise of tolerance and religious freedom after the persecution presided over by her predecessor. Sadly, however, events made her tolerance wear thin by the end of her reign. Now, some 450 years later, men and women in many countries continue to suffer terribly as a result of their deepest-held religious convictions. Windows are still being opened into people’s souls, often with brutal consequences and a shocking disregard for freedom of conscience.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, urged nations to guarantee freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Organisations who now have experts in this field agree that attacks on religious freedom have increased in recent years. Christians have been caught up in the revolutionary turmoil which has swept through many countries in north Africa and the Middle East in the last few years, and they have suffered especially as a result of the murderous extreme groups such as ISIL, and Boko Haram and al-Shabaab in Africa, which kill Muslims as well as Christians. The great Sunni/Shia divide is another source of persecution, and there are warnings that those of the Jewish faith are facing a fresh surge of anti-Semitism.

It is shocking that only last week the Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need, reported that the number of countries in which those who practise the Christian religion are suffering extreme persecution has risen to 10. In one of those countries, Eritrea, it is estimated that in 2013 a total of up to 3,000 people, the majority of them Christians, were imprisoned for their religious beliefs. In Pakistan, the blasphemy laws often have adverse consequences for religious minorities. In Nigeria last year, around 276 girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok by Boko Haram, and it is reported that many of them have been forced to convert to Islam. In a message at the launch of the report, the Prime Minister said:

“Now is not the time for silence. We must stand together and fight for a world where no one is persecuted because of what they believe”.

In view of the shocking statistics on religious persecution and the levels of human suffering they indicate, is it not time for the British Government to examine how they can take stronger measures to support those who are being persecuted for practising their faith? Religious liberty is a universal human right, and democratic Governments who believe in the rule of law should have the moral courage to raise the issue wherever such rights are flagrantly abused in breach of the UN charter. If the West can impose sanctions on Russia over its Government’s aggressive actions in eastern Ukraine, could not overseas aid, or rather the loss of it, be used to bring pressure to bear for a change of policy? Where a country’s Government are behaving intolerably, and the Government are turning a blind eye, we should act in a principled way and, where necessary, consider withholding aid. Our overseas aid budget was £11.7 billion last year. Can the Minister assure us today that with the provision of bilateral aid, the Government will insist that the Governments of the countries concerned should show a definite commitment to freedom of worship?

The noble Lord, Lord Alton, who instigated this debate, and others have called in the past for the Government to establish the position of a high-profile international ambassador for religious freedom. Previously, the Government have said that our Ministers and ambassadors are sufficiently active in promoting freedom of religion and belief. Can the Minister tell us why the Government are not adopting a bolder stance, as the United States of America and Canada have? The US Congress has passed the necessary legislation and Canada has already appointed a religious freedom envoy.

My time is up. I will just say, finally, that we must redouble our efforts to raise this matter higher up the agenda of democratic Governments around the world. I look forward to the Minister’s reply.

Syria

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Wednesday 10th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

I have said on many occasions at this Dispatch Box and maybe should say again that no decision has been taken to arm the Syrian opposition. The noble Lord will be aware that the national coalition has just elected a new president, Ahmed Assi al-Jarba, who has made it his job, among other things—indeed, he did so before his election—to broaden the coalition to include more people within it, to make sure that he unites the coalition. He is committed to the Geneva process.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

Will it be the Minister’s policy to make sure that the future housing needs of the refugees who are now in temporary provision are looked at and discussed with the relevant Governments, bearing in mind that many of those concerned cannot return to their original houses, which have been reduced to rubble?

[Baroness Warsi]

My noble friend will be aware that the largest humanitarian appeal ever has been launched as a result of the situation in Syria. The United Kingdom has made the largest contribution it has ever made to a single humanitarian appeal—£350 million. Indeed, the Secretary of State for International Development was in Lebanon earlier this week pledging further support for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The long-term solution is to resolve the political situation on the ground so that these people are allowed to return. There are more than 4 million people displaced within Syria and 1.7 million displaced outside it. There is no conceivable way, even as an international community, that we could meet the housing needs of that many people. The solution has to be to create the climate for them to return to their own homes.

Sudan and South Sudan: EUC Report

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Wednesday 17th October 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

My Lords, the speech made the noble Lord, Lord Jay, places this matter very well in its correct context. The deals over oil, trade and security signed by the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan last month were a most welcome development. They have brought hope of a better future for some of the poorest people on earth whose lives have been ravaged by civil war. However, it would be naive to believe that all the economic woes, the plight of the dispossessed refugees and the dangers arising from the volatile border disputes can simply be eliminated overnight.

It is acknowledged that international pressure, particularly from the African Union, helped to produce the recent agreements. However, the committee’s report, which was written before the deals were signed, makes the still very relevant plea that the European Union must work urgently with the African Union and the United Nations to persuade Sudan and South Sudan to seek a mutually advantageous resolution of the outstanding issues between them.

The most important economic issue is how soon oil sales can begin again, as the precarious financial position of both countries has been seriously damaged as a result of the shutdown in oil production in the south in January this year. It will be recalled that at the time of independence in July last year, the new country of South Sudan got two-thirds of the former Sudan’s oil but Khartoum continued to retain the processing and export facilities. Oil sales, in fact, account for around 98% of South Sudan’s budget.

There is also the prospect of negotiations and arguments over the possible development of a pipeline from oil fields in South Sudan through Uganda to the coast of Kenya. Here, I should very much like to congratulate and welcome the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, and to wish her every good fortune. Perhaps she would like to say a word about the possibility of such a pipeline through to Kenya. However, it seems to me that Sudan will assert an interest in any such development and that discussions with a view to finding a meeting of minds are extremely likely to be necessary. Perhaps the Minister can say how best a way forward might be found on that subject. Judging from past experience, the African Union should have a considerable influence in this connection.

While the deal over resuming oil production is the most encouraging aspect of the recent agreements, international pressure should also be maintained. The noble Lord, Lord Trimble, emphasised that point. That pressure should be maintained on both Governments to try to reach a solution on the vexed question of Abyei. I was very pleased that the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York referred to this and to other urgent matters. A demilitarised buffer zone is part of last month’s agreement but little progress seems to have been made on deciding the future of this disputed border area, which contains valuable oil reserves.

Here again, perhaps the Minister can tell us whether the British Government favour the concept of a referendum being held that could assign the area to one of the two countries or whether they prefer the idea of political negotiations and a negotiated solution that could mean the region being divided between the two Sudans. I note that Sudan has stated a preference for a negotiated solution.

I should also like to ask the Minister about the current status of the EU office in South Sudan following the previous commitment of the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton, the high representative of the EU, to upgrade it into an EU delegation with a new head of delegation, and also about the planning of development support in areas such as law, education, health, water management and food security. The average life expectancy of men in this part of the world is around only 58 years of age. Half the women are not literate, and we know the horrifying total of at least 1.5 million people who died during the long years of warfare between the north and South Sudan. Future generations deserve a great deal better than that.

I was very pleased to have the opportunity to support the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, and his committee in having a follow-up report. As that report urges, European Union countries must continue their efforts to play an effective part, through development aid, in helping the people of these two countries, who have endured so much suffering and upheaval, to achieve a stable, peaceful and economically viable place in the modern world.

Lockerbie

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to make representations to the National Transitional Council of Libya to make available any evidence in their possession concerning the attack on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 to the Lord Advocate and the Scottish police to assist their investigation.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford)]

My Lords, the Government will continue to support the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary’s investigation into the Lockerbie bombing. We will approach Libya’s newly formed transitional Government about getting the Dumfries and Galloway police back to Libya at the earliest opportunity to take forward their investigations. The National Transitional Council chairman, Abdul Jalil, has assured my right honourable friend the Prime Minister that the new Libyan authorities will co-operate with the UK on this and other ongoing investigations.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

While I welcome the Minister’s statement, does he believe that the recent capture of Colonel Gaddafi’s intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, and of the intelligence archives in Tripoli, may finally provide the vital information that would assist the Lord Advocate with his ongoing inquiries? I ask this question as one of the two former Ministers who were at the crime scene within a few hours and who met some of the relatives shortly afterwards. In order to bring closure to the families of 270 victims, is it not highly desirable that they should learn from any new evidence exactly what happened 23 years ago, and precisely what the background was to this monstrous crime?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

Yes, it is desirable and yes, indeed, it was the most monstrous crime. We are seeking confirmation from the Libyan Government regarding the reported detention of Abdullah al-Senussi. We have been clear that no effort should be spared in bringing him to justice. Al-Senussi’s arrest, if confirmed, would offer an opportunity to uncover the truth behind some of the former regime’s dreadful crimes. As I just said, the Government will continue to support the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary’s investigation into the bombing. We would want any new evidence to be made available to it and indeed to the Lord Advocate. I am confident that the new Libyan Government will act in accordance with Chairman Jalil’s commitment to co-operate with the UK on this and other investigations, and bring closure to the concerns and misery of the families of the victims.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

We have passed a request from the devolved Administration to the Libyan chargé d’affaires in London asking that the supervision arrangements of Al Megrahi’s licence are observed. Part of the investigation by the Dumfries and Galloway police will also embrace the question of his condition, but we are awaiting the precise details of his health from the Libyan Government now.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

Does the Minister accept that the Lord Advocate has put in a formal request to the National Transitional Council and that a statement has been issued by the Crown Office to the effect that the trial court of Mr Al Megrahi accepted that he did not act alone?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I am not sure that I can comment on my noble friend’s second point, but it is certainly correct that the Lord Advocate has put in a formal request, and indeed has made that absolutely clear to my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. We are collaborating closely on this.

Piracy: Operation Atalanta (EUC Report)

Lord Selkirk of Douglas Excerpts

Wednesday 10th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

My Lords, in following the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, I share his enthusiasm for Operation Atalanta and also many of his concerns. It was reported only last Sunday that the president of the British Chamber of Shipping, Jan Kopernicki, had warned the Prime Minister of the potential threat to our energy resources from the criminal activities of pirates in the Indian Ocean and in shipping lanes which take a quarter of the world’s marine trade. He feared that the threat from piracy was becoming so great that seamen might refuse to serve in the Gulf of Aden, with a consequent disruption to fuel supplies and the raising of prices for the public in this country.

Be that as it may, his concern in general is echoed by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, who has denounced the pirates as “a scourge” and has warned that they are setting up bigger fleets to prey on shipping. Last week, he said that some 389 hostages are being held in Somali territory, and our thoughts in this House are with Paul and Rachel Chandler from Tunbridge Wells, who have now been held for more than 12 months by the pirates. Only days ago, we heard the alarming news that the largest ransom so far—£7.7 million—had been paid to pirates for two ships which they had hijacked. The magnitude of such booty can only lure more young men to take up robbery on the high seas. All this calls for a policy of maximum deterrence.

So what has been our response to this growing threat? As part of the coalition’s spending review, we are reducing the number of Royal Navy frigates and removing from our country the capability for maritime reconnaissance by standing down the Nimrod fleet. I note that the Secretary of State for Defence admitted recently, in a debate in the other House, that the decision over the aircraft was “extremely difficult” and that it meant taking a calculated risk on the capability that Nimrod provides.

We were in this situation before when we had no look-down radar over the Falklands, and during the Falklands war that was a contributory factor to the loss of HMS “Sheffield”. In the case of Nimrod, nine of these aircraft, which are among the best of their kind in the world, are coming off the production line almost immediately. I make a very strong plea to the Minister today that these aircraft should not be destroyed. If the decision has been made that the Royal Air Force will not fly them, at the very least they should be sold to allies or friendly countries, bearing in mind that they are the culmination of a £2 billion-plus investment.

The seriousness of the situation that we face makes it very clear, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said, that piracy today is a sordid business with none of the spurious glamour of the past. On a much lighter note, I recall that one of my own family, a former Lord Selkirk, was the object of an attempted kidnapping in 1778 by a man denounced as a pirate by the British authorities. However, Lord Selkirk was not at home in St Mary’s Isle, Kirkcudbright, when John Paul Jones, captain of the USS “Ranger” with its 18 guns, came calling with his crew. So instead they purloined the family silver but first had to face the formidable Lady Selkirk, who demanded a receipt from them for all the items they were stealing. The Scots-born John Paul Jones went on to reinvent himself as a person of respectability and distinction, and later returned the silver before going on to become a hero of the American Revolution and being recognised as the father of the American navy.

The situation today is totally different. The criminals and hijackers we are confronted with in the waters of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden extorted some £67 million in ransom last year—a very sad situation. Was it not Rudyard Kipling who said:

“Once you have paid him the Dane-geld, you never get rid of the Dane”?

With this background in mind, we have made some strong recommendations for action in our report. Three of them are of the utmost importance to Operation Atalanta, led by Rear-Admiral Hudson, and deal with the subject of shortfalls in capability.

The first is one already mentioned and referred to in this debate: that additional airborne surveillance with maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters is essential in order to identify suspected piracy activities. Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones would assist, and it has been noted that support provided by Luxembourg from the Seychelles has made a difference. I am glad to see, in the Government’s response, that they share our concerns in this regard, and are working bilaterally, and through the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, to secure additional assets for counterpiracy operations—France having many of them. Addressing this shortfall should be a top priority for the countries of the European Union, which must make the best use of present resources. It is perhaps ironic that this recommendation is made when we know that we might have to be reliant on other countries for photo reconnaissance, but photo reconnaissance, none the less, will be essential.

Secondly, the Admiral confirmed, in evidence to the committee, that more tanker support is required for refuelling in mid-ocean, so as to make the best use of existing assets to provide continuous cover and protection for legitimate shipping. I was glad that the Government will continue to assess the operational mechanisms for providing fuel at sea to ensure that the task force can meet its obligations. I am also glad that the Minister will continue to encourage EU partners to provide tankers.

Thirdly, there was the recommendation that the EU should work out with its member states how best to increase the access to medical facilities needed for surgery and other purposes in order to avoid shortages. It is welcome that the Government are exploring possibilities with our partners to close this gap. I hope that they will give top priority to ensuring that all of these matters remain prominently on the EU’s agenda for action.

We made two other extremely important recommendations. One was endorsed by the former Field Marshal, the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Inge. It was that the World Food Programme should declare as a condition of contract that, when asked to do so, the flag state of the ship concerned would allow authorised military personnel on board to ensure that such vessels would not become prey to piracy. Incidentally, the report also makes the very relevant point that if the World Food Programme could bring forward plans for larger, more modern and faster ships, these would require fewer armed guards and patrolling ships. That would release naval and military resources to carry out piracy-prevention measures elsewhere.

A very important point raised in committee by the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, was that the insurance industry should take on board more responsibility for promoting best practice so as to deter piracy. In other words, if ships adopt the necessary self-protection measures, and the terms and conditions of insurance have those requirements incorporated into their contract, then best practice is likely to be followed with a corresponding reduction in the opportunities for piracy.

We may no doubt be told that some of the pirates are merely poverty-stricken individuals trying to scrape a living. I need hardly remind the House that that has been the cri de coeur from armed robbers from time immemorial. The reality is that they constitute a grave and growing threat to life, freedom of passage and property. Our Government, along with other EU Governments, should give top priority to deterring them.

The noble Lord, Lord Jopling, in an important NATO report last year, stated that,

“pirates operate first and foremost as a ‘business’ and not as a political movement or a paramilitary force”.

What we know for certain is that the relative success of Operation Atalanta has made pirates move their activities to more than 1,000 miles from the Somali coastline. Indeed, I know that they are now operating off the coast of Tanzania, which is a long way further south. This means that those dealing with them have to be one step ahead of their activities all the time.

We completed the report very speedily, within a very short timescale before the election, and we did not have time to consider in depth the case advanced by Russia for establishing an international tribunal or court, but I believe that the Government would be well advised to leave this subject on the agenda. We also did not find out exactly where the proceeds of the £67 million of ransom to free vessels already referred to have gone, but we recommended that the Government continue to monitor the potential risk of funds reaching terrorists. This has been mentioned by the noble Lords, Lord Teverson and Lord Avebury. We have to keep in mind that this is an area which 25,000 ships frequent every year. If European nations do not commit themselves to a strong and united front against the seagoing predators with courage and conviction, we may find ourselves confronted by another golden era for piracy, with all the misery, disruption and loss to freedom which that would entail. We should aim to deter the pirates, not just to disrupt their activities.

I hope that when the Minister replies he will be bold and forthright in speaking up for the EU's naval operation—Atalanta.