Matthew Offord
Main Page: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)Department Debates - View all Matthew Offord's debates with the Leader of the House
(9 years, 6 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
I noticed with interest this week that a police spotter helicopter appeared to sight a big cat in Glasgow; whether there is any connection, I do not know. The Energy Secretary will appear before this House in 10 days’ time, and that might be an opportunity for the hon. Gentleman to raise the issue with her directly.
Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)
I am very proud of the contribution made to my constituency by a significant number of the Nepalese community. Indeed, many of them came to this country following their service in the Brigade of Gurkhas. Given that that history extends back to 1815, may we have a debate in Government time in order to discuss the contribution made to the British Army in the past 200 years by the Gurkha regiment?
Chris Grayling
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Gurkhas, who have served this country over a very long period. I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work he does with the Nepalese community and with the Gurkhas. I also congratulate him on his re-election to this House. We will come back to this matter regularly. There will be opportunities to debate defence issues, and he will no doubt want to use those to raise the role of the Gurkhas, to praise them for what they have done, and to ensure that we have proper welfare support for them.