France: Bilateral Defence Co-operation

Lord Morgan Excerpts

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I would have to check with my noble friend on the precise nature of the monitoring but this is a very elaborate set of two defence and security treaties which carry affairs a long way forward in a number of areas, not just defence but also in civil nuclear development and in other crucial security areas. I shall check precisely the arrangements and come back to my noble friend.

[Lord Morgan]

Although my noble friend makes an excellent point, as of course does the Minister, on defence matters, and although I yield to none in this House in my francophilia, not least because my wife is French, I hope that we shall be very selective in our international collaboration with the Sarkozy Government. A catastrophic record in Maghreb was associated with the discredited departed regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and it would be very damaging to be linked with that.

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

I am sorry to hear the noble Lord’s comments on the French policy on record at the time. It is not for me to defend or to elaborate on France’s policy. All I can say in the present situation is that we are working in very close co-operation with our French friends. We regard them as close friends, and certainly in relation to Tunis and the other problems in north Africa, we are finding excellent co-operation.