Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Christopher Pincher

Monday 2nd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

11. What conclusions he has drawn from the Trident alternatives review about alternatives to a UK nuclear deterrent based on Trident.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)]

The review demonstrates that no alternative system is as capable as a Trident-based deterrent, or as cost-effective.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend has conflated two different questions. The Trident alternatives review states categorically that Trident provides the best value and the best capability for the United Kingdom. As for the separate question of how many boats are needed, the Government are determined to maintain continuous-at-sea deterrence, and the best advice at present is that that will require four boats. The cost differential between three and four boats is about £1.7 billion in net present value terms, or about £50 million to £60 million a year over the life of the project.

[Christopher Pincher]

My right hon. Friend has already made a powerful case for Trident and for continuous-at-sea deterrence, but does he agree that other potential deterrents that have been mooted, such as an airborne deterrent, would also be expensive to implement? Moreover, an airborne deterrent would be prey to a pre-emptive strike—which means that it would be no deterrent at all—and would be considered objectionable by many people who do not want nuclear armed planes landing and taking off on their doorsteps.

[Mr Hammond]

Indeed. The nature of the United Kingdom, which is a relatively small and densely populated land mass, is one of the factors taken into account by the Trident alternatives review, and one of the reasons why the idea of land-based ballistic missiles was ruled out at an early stage. The review states clearly that all alternatives to Trident are less capable, higher-risk and more expensive. That strikes me as a pretty categorical conclusion.

Defence Budget and Transformation

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Christopher Pincher

Monday 14th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am glad to tell my hon. Friend that that is already happening. We are increasingly entering into availability contracts where the whole-life costs of the project are taken into account and capability is delivered in the most efficient way.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend’s announcement is good news for the taxpayer and will give certainty to our armed forces personnel. Will he say a little more about how it will build certainty among the lower reaches of the procurement supply chain—the small and medium-sized enterprises—who have suffered historically from budgetary uncertainty and do not have the luxury of waiting around for Government and prime contractor decisions?

[Mr Hammond]

We are committed to supporting the role of SMEs in the supply chain. I visited some SMEs involved in defence equipment very recently and they are among the most innovative and flexible parts of the industry. The changes we have already announced will assist them and I have pledged to look at how we can give them greater certainty that when they invest their own money in developing technologies, we can give them the highest possible level of assurance in advance that they will be able to export those technologies and not find that they have developed a white elephant.

Hostage Rescue Operation (Nigeria)

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 13th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The Foreign Office maintains travel advice to UK travellers in respect of all countries and will, of course, update it, but I take on board the hon. Lady’s comments about engineers and people working in similar professions, who of course play a very important ambassadorial role for the UK as they go about their daily business. We seek to understand where people are although, of course, we do not have formal registration requirements in any sense.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend suggested that the heightened level of military activity in Sokoto might have alerted the kidnappers that their security had been compromised. Was there any way in which that military activity could have been reduced or was it absolutely essential to the conduct of the operation?

[Mr Hammond]

The control of the wider area was under the command of the Nigerian military authorities and the approach that they determined was appropriate—they, after all, are in the best position to judge—was that a cordon at some distance needed to be placed around the area. Our concern was that a number of events, starting with the arrest of members of the group on Tuesday evening through to the movements of Nigerian military into the area overnight on Wednesday, could have given the kidnappers an increasing awareness of what was going on and therefore put at increasing risk the lives of the hostages.

Afghanistan

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 18th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am happy to do my best to remain in post for as long as I can, although my hon. Friend might address his plea to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. It is the Government’s policy that Plymouth will remain one of the UK’s principal naval bases, and I am happy to arrange a visit to the Haslar unit at a convenient time.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

May I, too, add to the bouquets of congratulations under which my right hon. Friend is being buried today? In July, President Karzai of Afghanistan accepted that his Government needed to provide a more predictable environment of security to Afghan citizens. What further can the Afghan Government do with their political and military machinery—my right hon. Friend has spoken about the recruitment of more local policemen—to help build that more predictable security environment before 2014?

[Mr Hammond]

If my hon. Friend could avoid the term “buried”, I would be grateful to him. It is vital that we create this climate of security—I have referred to some of the initiatives under way—but it is clear to me, from everyone I have spoken to over the past 96 hours, that nobody who knows the country believes that there can be a sustainable, durable, peaceful Afghanistan unless all its people are included. That means that reactivating the reconciliation process and the political track at the earliest possible opportunity—after the disruption suffered following the Rabbani assassination—will be of critical importance to the future.