Lord Soames of Fletching
Main Page: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Soames of Fletching's debates with the Cabinet Office
(6 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberI have made it clear to President Trump on a number of occasions that some of the views that he expresses about the United Kingdom on these issues are not shared by this Government. There are issues on which I disagree with the Mayor of London—for example, I want to see him building more homes in London than he is doing—but on the issue of fighting terrorism, the Mayor of London and this Government work together, as we did last year following what happened here in Westminster and at London Bridge and Finsbury Park. It is an issue on which we unite, because we all recognise the importance of ensuring that the terrorists can never divide us.
Given President Putin’s long-term goals of destabilising the European Union, seeking to restore Russian influence in eastern Europe and undermining NATO, is it not important—and was it not discussed at length during the NATO summit—that NATO’s strategic concepts continue to advance at pace, and that the British Government should therefore wholeheartedly support the 30-30-30-30 proposal, generated by our great friend General Mattis?
I can certainly give my right hon. Friend the assurance that we do support the four-30s approach that has been adopted by NATO. We will ensure that we are able to contribute to it as appropriate. He is also right that, as NATO looks at the threats that we face, it needs to modernise and reform itself and consider the capabilities that it needs for the future.