Thursday 12th March 2015

(9 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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These are extremely important and sensitive matters, but we have a heavily subscribed defence debate, to which I wish to move without delay.

James Gray Portrait Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)
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The contribution made by the armed services, 750 of them, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus and the Merlin helicopters, has been superb, and it would not have been possible to battle against Ebola in this way without them. I look forward to welcoming them back here to Parliament in the autumn perhaps. In the meantime, does the Secretary of State, or perhaps the Minister for the Armed Forces who is sitting next to her, agree that if we were to see unwelcome defence cuts, such operations in the future and elsewhere in the world would not be possible?

Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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This case shows that the work of the MOD is intrinsically linked to the work on development. We need to see the UK foreign affairs strategy in the round and to be prepared to look at it in that light.