Rachel Taylor
Main Page: Rachel Taylor (Labour - North Warwickshire and Bedworth)Department Debates - View all Rachel Taylor's debates with the Ministry of Defence
Middle East: Defence
Rachel Taylor Excerpts(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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John Healey
I am not going to announce the deployments of British forces in advance. The hon. Member is right to point to the balance of threats and responsibilities that we have to manage. We are doing that, and we will always fulfil our NATO commitments.
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
Can I thank my right hon. Friend for everything that he is doing in Britain’s national interest? Our armed forces cannot believe their ears when we have the Leader of the Opposition saying that they are hanging around doing nothing and the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) swanning off to the States to tell Donald Trump that, if he were Prime Minister, he would blindly follow US defence policy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the first duty of any Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defence is our national interest—Britain’s national interest and not anything else?
John Healey
The first duty of any Government is to defend the country, pursue our national interest and support our armed forces. On this occasion, we had expected and look for better from the Leader of the Opposition.