Royal Navy: Caribbean

Lord Stirrup Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I do not know the exact answer regarding presence, and I am very happy to find out more and come back to the noble Baroness, but what I do know is that we work closely with the JIATF. We maintain close co-operation through a UK liaison officer embedded with the US Joint Interagency Task Force in Florida, ensuring effective co-ordination with allies in counternarcotics activity. I cannot overstress the importance of this activity and the joint work that we do. It has direct relevance and benefits for the streets of all our towns and cities.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

On a slightly wider point, the Joint Interagency Task Force South is acknowledged in America as the gold standard of interagency co-operation—something that is not necessarily all that common there. Have the Government conducted any analysis of whether there are any lessons to be drawn for the United Kingdom in cross-government working in the context of international security? If they have not done so, will they undertake to do so?

[Lord Lemos (Lab)]

I thank the noble and gallant Lord for that question. As he knows, we have published the national security strategy, which goes much wider than national security strategies have in the past. On his specific question, I am very happy to find out whether that analysis has been undertaken and come back to him, but he knows of our wider commitment to national security and increasing defence capacity.