Gibraltar Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Boyce
Main Page: Lord Boyce (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Boyce's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(11 years, 2 months ago)
Lords ChamberI do not know what representation was made, if any, but I will write to the noble Lord in detail.
My Lords, will the Minister not agree that were this Government not to have depleted our destroyer frigate force to anorexic levels, we would be able to demonstrate better and in a more consistent way our resolve in a time-honoured and effective way? By the way, a patrol boat in the Gibraltar squadron is not as effective as a destroyer.
I hear what the noble and gallant Lord says, but we have never had to deploy that kind of force in Gibraltar and we do not anticipate that we will have to. The annual Cougar deployment that has been taking place is long planned and well established. It is a large Royal Navy force of frigates and aircraft carriers that exercise in the region in the summer.