"My Lords, just for clarification, the Minister said that the Government have an ambition to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament. My understanding is that the Prime Minister has committed the UK to increasing it to 3.5% by 2035. Could the Minister please clarify?..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister keeps saying that the Government want to get this right—and of course, who could argue with that—but does she agree that in the broader sense, there are two fundamental tenets that we should be aware of? The first is that AI cannot be uninvented. The second …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"Does the Minister agree that, while senior military officers, for example, are Crown servants, and it is not appropriate for them to dissent from or challenge government policy in public, nevertheless, if they are constrained to being little more than oral press releases, they will lose all credibility? Surely, it …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, does the Minister agree that the security of this country against major threats in high-intensity warfare is based on our membership of NATO, and that within NATO we rely upon many of our partners to provide crucial capabilities —not least, for example, a number of strategic capabilities that …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, one of the many difficulties associated with this situation is the confusion that seems to have arisen over strategic objectives. Israel has stated that it does not want Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, but there has been a lot of loose talk recently about regime change. Can …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, has the Minister noticed any reticence or reluctance on the part of President Putin to killing Ukrainian civilians while so-called peace talks continue? Has she identified any actions at all on the part of the American Administration to try to compel President Putin down that path of reticence?..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister has said that it is not for the Government to tell banks to whom they should lend and in what they should invest, but it seems to me that the banks, particularly the large banks, are never slow to beg for public money when they get …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, 2027 is a long way off. The problem is urgent now. I understand that, between now and the full implementation of the contract with Serco, there will be a period that has been referred to as a “mobilisation period”. Can the Minister tell the House what that will …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, at yesterday’s summit the UK and the EU undertook to engage and co-operate further on priority regions such as the Horn of Africa. Can the Minister confirm that this will include, as a matter of priority, acting together to counter the malign and destabilising influence of Russia in …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, the commemoration of VE Day this week was a particularly poignant one, since it was probably the last major landmark at which we will see significant numbers of veterans. When the last human link to the Second World War is gone, there is a danger that the trauma …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech