Emergency Service Network Programme

Lord Stirrup Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

Let me give the noble Lord this assurance: I am not sure how we will monitor it, but it will be better than the previous Government’s monitoring. The previous Government’s overspend and the delays—as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Hogan-Howe—were all, dare I say it, on his watch. We signed a contract in December and it is a significant amount of taxpayers’ money—potentially £19.2 billion over a 28 year-period. The Home Office, with colleagues, will monitor the introduction, delivery and efficiency. As we do so, and as we have done with the previous contract that his Government signed, if it becomes inefficient, we will take action. We are now in discussions with Airwave and Motorola to find recompense for the taxpayer for the overspend that was inflicted on his watch.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

Has the Minster read the latest leader in the Economist, which sets out the irrefutable case for the substantial rearmament of this country and its western European neighbours if we are to provide adequately for the security of our people? Does he accept that that is a question not just of pure military power but of national resilience, in which emergency communications play a crucial role? Further to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Harris of Haringey, can the Minister assure the House that this new system, whenever it comes in, will be fit for purpose in a potentially hostile environment?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble and gallant Lord is absolutely right. Any future Airwave system has to be resilient to potential hostile actor threats and attacks. That is built into the system, and it is something we are cognisant of. The security element of that is extremely important not just in an emergency services context but in the context of any other form of communication. The noble and gallant Lord will know that there are hostile actors who seek to do harm to the United Kingdom. Our job is to stand up to them and to provide resilience accordingly.

UK/US Free Trade Agreement

Lord Stirrup Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. The US is our single largest trading partner, amounting to well over £300 billion last year. We have invested close to £1.2 trillion in both our economies, and employ almost 1 million people. The US is a country that we have to deal with, and our businesses ask us to work with the US.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, clearly President Trump will link his economic relations to wider policy objectives. One of the policy objectives that he will be looking for in this country, as well as in others within Europe, will be for European nations to take a much greater share of the burden for their own security. At present, this country and other European partners are doing that far too little and far too slowly.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for that question. I do not think we should get ahead of ourselves. The President is being sworn in at this very moment. We will be looking towards working with his Administration. Any discussions about defence or trade will have to wait until his Government get in.

Defending Democracy Taskforce

Lord Stirrup Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I pay tribute to my noble friend’s experience in this area when he held the post in the previous Government. We will keep under examination the impact of the changes in Syria. We are doing that as a whole in terms of geopolitical responses and also in terms of individuals who are leaving Syria or staying in Syria. We need to make an assessment of that. It is very early days. We will continue to monitor that, and I will take on board the points that my noble friend mentioned.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, in regard to countering radicalisation, what discussions are the Government having with United States authorities to learn any relevant lessons from the recent dreadful events in New Orleans?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I say on behalf of the Government that we condemn the events in New Orleans and, indeed, the events that took place in Germany over the period. Those types of events can happen any time, any place, anywhere. That is why it is extremely important that we use the basis of the Five Eyes to support that intelligence-led operation and look at how we monitor and intervene in potential terrorist activity and track it. We also need to look at co-operation to identify the reasons why people are being radicalised. I say to the noble and gallant Lord that it is very difficult to identify individuals who are what we term “lone wolves”. There is an organised structure, which my noble friend Lord West mentioned, but there are also lone wolves who are radicalised. The Government are alive to both issues and will continue to be on top of them. We will put the security of this country and of our partners at the forefront of our operations.

Police: Firearms Officers

Lord Stirrup Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, for her question. An individual lost his life in this circumstance. The jury made a decision based on the evidence before it. That is not to take away from the fact that an individual lost their life and that that has a big impact on the family. There has also been a major impact on the police officer who has been charged with, and now acquitted of, the offence initially suggested by the CPS. How long that takes is a valid question and I understand why the noble Baroness raised it. We will look at that in due course.

The noble Baroness said that the criminal justice system is broken. It has many challenges but this Government have not had stewardship of that system for the last 14 years. I did, in part, when I was a Minister in the previous Labour Government. There are challenges now about timing and a range of issues, which my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Justice will be examining. Issues that relate to the Home Office and the matters before us in the Question from the well-versed and experienced noble Lord, Lord Hogan- Howe, will be examined in due course.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, some police officers have been found convicted of appalling crimes but many others have given their lives in the line of duty, so there is a difficult balance to be struck here. It is of course right that police should be held accountable, but is the Met Commissioner not right when he says that if we crush the morale of the police, we make all of our society less safe? So, in considering the way forward, what discussions and consultation will the Home Secretary be having with those who work on the front line of policing in this country?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble and gallant Lord for his question. It is vital both that the police have confidence to exercise their duties, as demanded by this House and the Government as a whole, and that they do that in a way that is accountable but with proportion and under the rule of law. That is what we are going to examine: whether the experience of this case affects and impacts upon that particular aspect.

It is also important that the community has confidence in policing, and the two go hand in hand. We therefore need to ensure that we work through this, not just today but in the longer term, to build community confidence in policing and to ensure that the police themselves have confidence in their operational skills and that, for the reasons given by the noble Lord, Lord Hogan-Howe, they have confidence to discharge their duties. At the end of the day, they are protecting society and are given those powers by this House and the House of Commons to do so.