LGBT Veterans: Etherton Review

Alex Baker Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

This is an important day for a whole generation of ex-service personnel in my constituency and across the UK who lost everything they knew because of a policy that was discriminatory and wrong. I pay tribute to the charity Fighting With Pride and the coalition that has led this campaign with the dignity of ex-service personnel, in the very best of that tradition. We speak a lot in this House about the tremendous debt and respect we owe to our armed forces. That is something we in Aldershot and Farnborough feel very deeply, as people from our community have served in every major conflict that our country has faced over the past 200 years, yet the stories we are hearing today remind us that that respect is about not just words but deeds. I thank Lord Etherton for his work and the Government for listening, responding and taking action.

I will use my time in today’s debate to draw the House’s attention to the sister ban of this policy, for which the Government are rightly compensating people—the ban on people living with HIV joining or serving in our military. That ban was not repealed in 2000; it was repealed in 2022, and even now, there are loopholes that are still being exploited. So regressive were the rules that people were banned from joining the armed forces even if they were HIV-negative but were taking the HIV prevention drug PrEP. Regrettably but not surprisingly, opportunities to revise these rules were missed in 2008, in 2016, and yet again in 2019. Even as the British Government accepted the “can’t pass it on” science about people living with HIV in relation to treatment in the years that followed, no change was forthcoming. Those who were already serving personnel were labelled as medically not deployable.

It took the Terrence Higgins Trust, the National AIDS Trust and a remarkable Hampshire resident, Lieutenant Commander Oliver Brown MBE, to right this wrong. Oli was cycling through London when a brick hit his bike and he hit a wall. He was taken to a London hospital, and—as is finally becoming custom, due to the last Government and the £27 million announced by the Prime Minister last week—he was routinely tested for HIV. He discovered that he was positive. As his broken arm was being fixed, Oli had to come to terms with a stigmatised diagnosis and worry not about whether he would live or have his family’s support but about whether he had a job or a place to live. When he told his employer, the Royal Navy, he was labelled and held back. Thankfully, he found similar guts and spirit to those of Craig and Fighting With Pride, and became a relentless campaigner on this issue.

In June 2022, the rules were finally swept away not just for the LGBT community, but for anyone living with HIV. Days later, the Civil Aviation Authority did the same, and removed all barriers to pilots living with HIV on medication. That is why everyone involved was so surprised that the Military Aviation Authority gave itself an extra two months to remove the ban, and the obligations imposed then have still not been fully fulfilled. People living with HIV are still not able to join the armed forces as air crew or controllers. It would be a great thing if, off the back of this debate, my hon. Friend the Minister committed to investigate this issue, and agreed to meet Oliver Brown, the Terrence Higgins Trust and the National AIDS Trust to find a path forward on this issue.

We need to turn our military culture from just an absence of bans to one that promotes HIV and sexual health testing, with people being encouraged to take charge of their sexual health. The military needs to be a place where HIV stigma has no home. Our amazing HIV charities are on hand to help, and the UK could be the first fast-track military in committing to the goal of zero HIV transmissions, zero preventable deaths and zero HIV stigma. To meet that global goal, we need our armed forces to do their bit. If we achieve it, it will be the first time we have stopped the onward transmission of any virus without a vaccine or a cure. We cannot fail. Today is a great day, but the fight for equality is a journey, not a destination.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Baker Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

The Chancellor set out in her Budget on 30 October the steps we are taking, across Government, to deal with the £22 billion in-year deficit that this Government inherited. On the commitment to 2.5% of GDP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has made it clear that we will set that path in the spring. I remind the House that the Prime Minister said at the NATO summit in Washington, back in July, that it was a question of the strategic defence review first, then the commitment and the path to 2.5%.

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

My constituency is home to many small and medium-sized enterprises that contribute to our UK defence sector. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that submissions from SMEs to the strategic defence review are given equal weighting and consideration compared with submissions from prime contractors, in order to support innovation, job creation and competition within the UK defence sector?

[John Healey]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The shadow Defence Secretary will recognise the role that small, medium and growing companies can play in our defence and security sector better than anyone else in the House. That is one reason why, within days of getting this job, I did not just meet the big, leading defence companies; I had a similar meeting and briefing on the approach this Government will take with small and medium-sized companies, including growing companies, in the defence sector. Such companies will be an important focus for the strategic defence review, as the reforms and the long-term industrial strategy required to deliver stronger defences for this country are considered.

Armed Forces Commissioner Bill

Alex Baker Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

Establishing an Armed Forces Commissioner will make a real difference to the military families I represent in the home of the British Army, so I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak in this debate and welcome this important legislation. We have heard from across of the House about the tremendous debt we owe our armed forces. We feel that very deeply in Aldershot and Farnborough, as people from our community have served in every major conflict that our country has faced over the past 200 years.

The Bill is essentially about respect—showing respect to those serving and for the families who support them. This is about not just words, but deeds. The armed forces covenant is there to ensure that those who serve and their families are not disadvantaged by being part of our military community, but I have heard time and again, in countless conversations on doorsteps across my constituency, how forces families are often automatically on the back foot when they move on to a military estate in my community. A spouse shared with me last week how her three children have been allocated to three different primary schools within a seven-mile radius. How is she supposed to get all her children to school on time? That is an all-too-common experience for families in my constituency. Others have told me how they have tried to use their voice to speak up about shoddy accommodation that simply is not up to standard, but too many have been worn down and fatigued by the process, giving up hope that anything will ever change.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Councillor Nadia Martin, the armed forces champion for Rushmoor borough council. Nadia is a military spouse who has singlehandedly given a voice to so many serving families and veterans in our community. We have become a lot better at supporting our armed forces and veterans because of Nadia’s work, and our community owes her a huge amount of thanks.

However, for every case we know and hear about, many others go unspoken and unresolved, because people are too scared to speak out, for fear that it might harm their career or that of their partner. That is why we need an independent Armed Forces Commissioner; someone our forces can trust, and who can investigate, follow up, hold Government to account and be the guiding star for this place as we renew our nation’s contract with those who serve our country.

After a generation of our armed forces being neglected and run down by the Conservative Government, leaving morale at a record low, we desperately need to give hope to our serving personnel. My constituents do not want the earth; they just want the basic equipment that they need to be able to do their jobs, a good life for their families and a positive future when their time serving comes to an end. I hope that the Bill will move us closer to that, because if they are willing to fight for us, it is the very least that we can do.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Remembrance and Veterans

Alex Baker Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

As the Member of Parliament for the home of the British Army, it is my honour to speak in this debate on remembrance and veterans. I will use my time to share a story from a veteran of the Royal Marines, who celebrates their birthday today. My constituent has given me permission to share his story in the debate, although I have changed his name to protect his privacy.

John served our country with honour. He was discharged from the Royal Marines after three years of service, but life outside the military was hard. His mental health spiralled. He ended up homeless, sleeping rough on the streets, so he went to the local authority for help. This is the part of his story that shocked me, because John was told that before the local authority could help him, it had first to confirm that he really was homeless. Rather than taking John at his word, he was told that he would have to continue to sleep rough in a named location for two weeks and wait for an outreach worker to visit him to verify that he was homeless.

John did as he was ordered, following what he had been taught by his service, but he found staying in the same place meant he was targeted with verbal and physical abuse, so he moved and kept moving—the cycle went on for years. Eventually, he was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and referred to Op Courage. Even then, it took several more years in temporary accommodation and him witnessing a violent incident, before Op Courage and Help for Heroes were able to get John the specialist accommodation in my constituency that has allowed him to start to move forward with his life. I know just how great a step it was for John to share his story with me.

I take three things from John’s story. The first is that we owe our veterans much more than our silence and respect on Armistice Day; it is our duty to speak up whenever the systems that come from this place fall short. Secondly, safe and accessible housing is vital. That is why I was so proud to hear just a few weeks ago the Prime Minister announce the Government’s commitment to house all veterans. Thirdly, John’s experience tells me that our commitment to respecting every veteran must reach through every Government Department and every level of staff if we are to succeed—from the Secretary of State down to every member of frontline staff. That is the culture change needed to deliver for people such as John who have served our country.

The spirit of remembrance is defined by what we do for one another, and the contribution that every one of us can make. With shared effort, we can build a greater legacy for those who served us—now and in the future.