Royal Navy: Conduct towards Women

Jess Phillips Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Murrison]

The excellent report by our right hon. Friend’s Select Committee, and my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham in particular, makes some recommendations along those lines, and much of that has been accepted, so the general trajectory of the environment—in particular for women who have found that Defence has in the past not provided the background against which they would want to conduct their careers and lives—will be improved. It is worth underscoring—our right hon. Friend made this point—that the great majority of women serving in our armed forces today have a positive experience that they would recommend to others.

[Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) (Lab)]

I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am a trustee of the Agnes Wanjiru trust. Agnes Wanjiru was a prostituted woman in Kenya who was murdered on the site where there were military personnel; I will say no more about the case, except that it has not been pushed forward.

The Minister has referred to a number of documents that have been produced since other cases have come to light. There have been a number of documents of progress. One document to which he referred is on sexual exploitation policy, which now disallows Defence forces having sex with sexually exploited people abroad. However, the document specifically says:

“While the policy is not intended to apply in the UK”.

Does the Minister think it is okay that the Department has written into a document that it is fine for British military personnel to sexually exploit people in the UK?

[Dr Murrison]

Sexual exploitation is unacceptable in the UK and abroad under any circumstances.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jess Phillips Excerpts

Monday 15th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Falmouth has always had a vital role in the defence of the UK. A&P Falmouth’s in-service support contract, awarded in 2018, is worth some £239 million over 10 years. Given our strong investment in the Royal Navy, to which she referred, I have no doubt there will be future opportunities.

[Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) (Lab)]

Can the Secretary of State tell me, first, what contact he has had with the Home Office regarding the murder of Agnes Wanjiru to ensure that at least there has been effective monitoring of a man accused of murdering a woman? An answer from his Department last week stated:

“At present, the sexual exploitation of any person is not recorded as an offence in its own right”.

Can he explain why not, and can he tell the House when it will be an offence for a British soldier to partake in the sexual exploitation of prostituted adults?

[Mr Wallace]

The hon. Lady will know that, where a judicial investigation by another police force is going on, we stand ready to support and help them, and we do that. I cannot give this House a running commentary on any investigation for fear of jeopardising that investigation. What I can say to her is that not only have I said that our support is available, but I have even, on a similar type of investigation, told the provost marshal that if there were any barriers I would seek to remove them. I am determined to make sure that both legacy or older investigations and indeed investigations into current offences get all the support we can give—we have extra members of the military police in Kenya to make sure of that—but I cannot give her a running commentary.

On the hon. Lady’s other issue, about exploitation, I have made clear, first, the points about respect for women overall; secondly, that there are already some sanctions in place in the armed forces should people go against that; and, thirdly, that I am absolutely looking at the whole section about prostitution and the exploitation of women.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jess Phillips Excerpts

Monday 29th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The exchanges today are, to put it mildly, a tad long-winded. There are a lot of questions to get through. What is required is a pithy question and a pithy answer. It is not very difficult.

[Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) (Lab)]

3. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned 30% reduction in his Department’s civilian workforce on front-line service personnel.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

10. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned 30% reduction in his Department’s civilian workforce on front-line service personnel.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mark Lancaster)]

Our civilian workers do an excellent job. I recognise that reductions in our workforce will require the Ministry of Defence to look strategically at the way in which we operate. The majority of the planned reductions are under way and there is an opportunity to identify further efficiencies across defence. Our priority is to deliver a smaller, more productive workforce that will ultimately generate savings for reinvestment in front-line capability.

[Jess Phillips]

Does the Minister acknowledge that further cuts to the civilian workforce will inevitably shift the burden on to armed forces personnel? How does he think that will affect the retention, recruitment and morale of our troops, which, according to servicemen and women in my constituency, are already worryingly low?

[Mark Lancaster]

No, I do not, because the savings of approximately £300 million that we will be able to make will ultimately be reinvested in front-line capability.