Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 12 Jan 2026 Iran: Protests
"My Lords, when I was First Sea Lord, I tended to send warships towards the sound of the guns. If things go wrong in Iran, as it looks as if they might well do, the whole of that region will be in great difficulty and trouble. We currently have one …..." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"My Lords, our nation is standing into danger. I do not need to articulate the dangerous geopolitical situation that we are in, and which is getting worse. I think people understand that, and they believe that we need to spend more on defence. Unfortunately, there is no urgency in that. …..." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government whether the military Chiefs of Staff have expressed concern over in-year defence spending...." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"My Lords, as we are talking about the death of young people, I am sure my noble friend the Minister would like to take this opportunity for the House to express our thoughts and prayers for the families, friends and loved ones of those people who died in that appalling …..." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"My Lords, my noble friend the Minister will know my view that the best barracks for sailors are ships. I am sure he would agree that the way of getting around it from that side of life is that we should order as many ships as possible as quickly as …..." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"First, my Lords, I want to praise the bravery of Mr Ahmed al-Ahmed in tackling one of the terrorists. He is clearly a better human being than I am, in that he took the rifle and then put it down, because I would have shot him.
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any implications of the terrorist attack in Sydney for the United Kingdom...." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"My Lords, I conducted the study 30 years ago into whether women should serve at sea and came to the conclusion that they should, and it has been a huge success. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that, overall, women have added hugely to our Armed Forces and that, …..." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"My Lords, our submarine force is in a parlous state—the worst in my 60 years of service. Successive delays in ordering, a lack of dry dock investment, the failure to recruit and train the requisite nuclear personnel, training delays for those for those we have got, lack of spares and …..." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what measures they have implemented to resolve problems confronting the Royal Navy’s submarine force...." Lord West of Spithead - View Speech