Liberation of Mosul

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sir Michael Fallon]

That co-operation is essential not only for the liberation of Mosul, a city that sits very near to the Kurdish region, but for the future of Iraq. I am encouraged by the recent negotiations over the distribution of the oil revenue and some of the other accommodations that have been reached between Prime Minister Barzani and Prime Minister al-Abadi down in Baghdad. I hope that that will bode well for the integrity of Iraq as well as for the future of the Kurdish and Iraqi populations.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

I also support our Government’s role in this operation. There are already reports that Daesh is threatening to use civilians as human shields and to execute anyone trying to flee. Can the Secretary of State confirm that that is accurate, and is there anything that can be done to counter that particular form of barbarism?

[Sir Michael Fallon]

I have seen reports along the lines of Daesh being prepared to put women and children in military buildings in order to prevent those buildings from becoming a target. We are dealing with a ruthless enemy that has not hesitated, over two years, to kill anybody, including woman, child and fellow Muslims. There is very little that we can do to control that, other than to show our absolute determination, whatever the cost and difficulty of this campaign, to deal with Daesh and to get it out of Iraq altogether.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Dunne]

I am pleased to be able to tell my hon. and learned Friend that the Watchkeeper achieved its first initial operating capability last summer and was deployed with the Royal Artillery to Afghanistan between August and October last year. It immediately demonstrated its excellent, and potentially game-changing, tactical capability over Helmand. We expect Watchkeeper to be at full operating capability in April 2016.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

As well as investing in unmanned aerial vehicles, is the Department responding to reports that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is developing counter-measures designed to diminish the effectiveness of these drones in current operations?

[Mr Dunne]

We are always alert to intelligence reports of evolving threats, from wherever they emerge. We take a very keen interest in the development of unmanned systems across the armed forces and will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 12th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Francois]

I am very well aware of the campaign that my hon. Friend has doggedly run in an attempt to maintain a platoon of 6 Rifles in Truro, not least because of the proud heritage of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry—the DCLI. She may take close interest in my earlier answer to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) where I said that those units with a particularly strong recruiting record will find that we take that into account.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

10. What assessment he has made of the implications for the UK's defence policy of the situation in Ukraine.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

11. What discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on the implications for NATO defence policy of the situation in Ukraine.

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

As I have already said, the situation in Ukraine is very serious. We are responding to it through a series of activities, working together with NATO allies. In terms of UK policy, the emphasis at present is to support NATO's reassurance measures, both in the short and longer term. The events of the past few months have reminded the world that Russia remains a significant military power and cannot be trusted to abide by the rules of the international system. NATO members will need to take the lessons of the Ukraine crisis into account in determining the future posture of the alliance.

[Steve McCabe]

I am sure that nobody wants to see sabre rattling, but the accelerated withdrawal of all British troops from Germany was a decision taken during the rather hasty defence and security review of 2010. Given all that has happened since, is there not a case, as Lord Dannatt recently suggested, for a bit of a rethink on this?

[Mr Hammond]

No. From the point of view of military effectiveness, the presence of large numbers of British troops in Germany, which is now well behind the front line of NATO’s border with Russia, is no longer appropriate. Those troops will return to the UK where they will be able to operate more efficiently and effectively as part of integrated UK forces based here, but appropriate units will of course be ready to deploy should they need to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 17th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dr Murrison]

My hon. Friend will know that we are working closely with the Republic of Ireland to ensure that our period of shared history is commemorated appropriately. Today, we are operating with troops from the Republic of Ireland in Mali. He will know that the UK and Ireland stand shoulder to shoulder in EUTM Mali. It is a strengthening relationship and one that has great promise.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

As the Secretary of State says, procurement times are long. Joint Helicopter Command has indicated that it requires a new fleet of Apache AH-64E attack helicopters for operational use by 2020. Has that contract been signed yet?

[Mr Dunne]

If the hon. Gentleman is familiar with the AgustaWestland contracts, he will be aware that last month the Secretary of State announced a contract for the sustainment of the existing Apache fleet for the next five years. Thereafter, we are looking to introduce a contract that will take the effective use of the helicopter up to 2040. Discussions on how we should go about procuring that sustainment upgrade are under way.

Armed Forces Restructuring

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

As my hon. Friend might well imagine, Ministers and senior officials are vigorously examining different approaches that have been tried in different areas and different parts of the country to see what works best. What is clear to me is that, as I said in the House last week, we must focus back on using front-line reserve units as the principal tool of recruitment to the reserve. We can support that with national campaigns and a nationally managed IT platform, but we must rely on front-line reservists recruiting their fellow reservists. Everything that I have seen reinforces that, and it will be one of the driving requirements in how we manage this campaign.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

May I clarify that the Secretary of State is promising the House that RAF redundancies will be confined to a maximum of 70 medical and dental officers and nurses?

[Mr Hammond]

I can confirm that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 15th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I completely agree that there are huge risks at a time of heightened tension and a huge potential for miscalculation, which is why I welcome the initiative in which the United States is engaged to try to calm tensions around the Korean peninsula. The developments in Korea, and indeed Iran, show us primarily that the world is a very dangerous and unpredictable place, and that a credible nuclear deterrent is the ultimate protection against the threat of nuclear aggression or blackmail.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the time frame in which the North Koreans will have the capability to strike mainland Europe with a nuclear missile?

[Mr Hammond]

It is impossible for us to make with any accuracy a prediction of the time scale involved. As I said, the North Koreans have tested shorter-range ballistic missiles and paraded a ballistic missile with sufficient range to reach Europe and the continental United States. We can only assume—I would be prepared to bet my bottom dollar on it—that they are seeking to integrate their nuclear technology with that ballistic missile technology.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Harvey]

Yes, I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. Special Christmas packages are going out to all forward operating bases and patrol bases. In most cases there is a chef on site and proper catering facilities to ensure a Christmas lunch. That will not be possible for a small number of people in very remote locations, but even in those cases, special Christmas provision is being made.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

For purposes of comparison, will the Minister tell the House how much will be spent on food and entertainment for Ministry of Defence Ministers and officials over the same period?

Defence Responsibilities

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Dr Fox]

Again, I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I intend to concentrate very much on those issues, which remain at the top of my in-tray. As I said, we in the House understand that those outside have legitimate concerns and that they have a right for them to be addressed, and I think that the correct way to do so is for the Cabinet Secretary to continue the investigation begun by the permanent secretary. I can only reiterate my willingness to co-operate in every way that I possibly can with that investigation.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

What was the perfectly innocent explanation offered up by Mr Werritty when the Secretary of State had to confront him about touting around false business cards?

[Dr Fox]

He—Mr Werritty—accepted that he should not have done so, and I think that with hindsight, he would think twice about doing so. Having made that clear, he told me that he would get new business cards, not use those ones again, and he accepted that what he had done was wrong.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Peter Luff]

I think that it is guaranteed that it will be good news for Lancashire. Of course, the precise composition of the bids is a matter for the company, but I think that it understands the importance of protecting its design skills in my hon. Friend’s constituency, for which he speaks up vigorously and effectively in the House.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

11. What procedures exist to ensure that British military equipment used in operations abroad does not fall into the hands of others.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Nick Harvey)]

Robust accounting and security measures exist to prevent the loss of equipment through theft. In the rare event that equipment is damaged and cannot be recovered because of a risk to life or likely loss of further equipment, it is destroyed to prevent it from being used by others.

[Steve McCabe]

I thank the Minister. In the light of his response, can he say anything more about the announcement at the weekend of a £1 million fund to stop weapons proliferation in Libya? Does that fall within his domain, and exactly what is that money going to be used for?

[Nick Harvey]

The concerns that we have in Libya do not relate to our own equipment that our troops have used, but relate to a proliferation of equipment that we believe may now be at large in Libya, much of it having been previously held by the Gaddafi regime. It is in the interests of everyone around the globe that that situation is contained and controlled as quickly as possible, and we have sent personnel out to assist the new Government in Libya in getting those munitions under control.

Military Covenant

Lord McCabe Excerpts

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Dr Fox]

I can give the right hon. Gentleman the news that we have completed the review on military medals, and today I signed off the report, which will be published, and no doubt discussed in the House, before Easter. He will get a clear answer to his questions.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

I would like to judge the Secretary of State by his actions rather than his words. What progress is he making towards the establishment of a Government-funded post-traumatic stress treatment programme as promised in the armed forces manifesto?

[Dr Fox]

In a moment I shall set out how we have made progress on all the manifesto commitments. The hon. Gentleman will be pleasantly surprised.