EU Council

Lord Spicer Excerpts

Monday 23rd February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The noble Lord makes an interesting point. In some of the background reading that I did over the weekend about Ukraine and Russia, I was intrigued to learn that the people of Russia, notwithstanding the propaganda, do not put responsibility for the situation in Ukraine at the feet of the western world. While the noble Lord is right that we need to ensure that the people of Russia are very much aware of what is happening in Ukraine, I think that they are perhaps more aware already than we give them credit for.

[Lord Spicer (Con)]

My Lords, talking about actions not words, when can we expect the brave speeches about Russia to be backed by effective action on our defences?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

Is my noble friend talking about—

[Lord Spicer]

Perhaps I may rephrase the question. When can we expect the brave speeches about Russia that we hear from our side to be backed up by proper changes in our defences?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

Our defences are absolutely secure, and there is no issue of concern there. It is worth reminding the House that we are meeting the 2% of GDP guideline for our defence spending, and we are one of only four NATO countries to do so. The Prime Minister has already committed to a real-terms increase in defence equipment spending by 1% over the next 10 years and said that there will be no further reduction in the Army, so our defences are sound.