Petitions
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox
Dr Liam Fox (North Somerset) (Con)
I am handing in a petition in the same terms for 435 signatories from my constituency and another petition also in the same terms on behalf of 812 signatories from the constituency of Weston-super-Mare in pursuit of natural justice for the rural parts of this kingdom.
The Petition of the residents of Weston-Super-Mare Constituency.
[P001247]
The Petition of the residents of North Somerset Constituency.
[P001248]
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
I rise to hand in a petition in the same terms as that presented by my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) signed by 316 of my constituents and praying ever in the like terms.
The Petition of the residents of Sleaford and North Hykeham Parliamentary Constituency.
[P001246]
Rural Fair Share Campaign
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox
Dr Liam Fox (North Somerset) (Con)
I am handing in a petition in the same terms for 435 signatories from my constituency and another petition also in the same terms on behalf of 812 signatories from the constituency of Weston-super-Mare in pursuit of natural justice for the rural parts of this kingdom.
The Petition of the residents of Weston-Super-Mare Constituency.
[P001247]
The Petition of the residents of North Somerset Constituency.
[P001248]
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
I rise to hand in a petition in the same terms as that presented by my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) signed by 316 of my constituents and praying ever in the like terms.
The Petition of the residents of Sleaford and North Hykeham Parliamentary Constituency.
[P001246]
Mull of Kintyre Review
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox(13 years, 3 months ago)
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Dr Fox
The hon. Lady raises a very interesting point, and it is one that I raised with Lord Philip and his team. Given that I think there is wide acceptance in the House that they came to a conclusion that had been missed too often by previous inquiries, the question is: why? I have asked Lord Philip whether he would mind setting out why he thought this particular inquiry had worked, and, from his perspective and that of his team, why they thought they were able to get at the kernel of truth that was missed so many times in the past. Looking at their methods, and how they went about drawing up their report, would be hugely instructive and helpful as a template for similar inquiries in the future.
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
May I add my tributes to those given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and other hon. Members? I want to return, if I may, to the legal advice that forms the basis of the report. It appears that the conclusions of the original legal advice were obviously and palpably wrong. I quite understand that my right hon. Friend cannot give assurances about the quality of future advice, but there appears to have been a culture within the Department of seeking to defend the indefensible on the basis of something that was absolutely and obviously wrong, and he can give assurances about that culture. Will he assure the House that he will investigate that culture, see whether it existed and deal with it?
Dr Fox
I hope that we have shown by our very approach to this subject that we are willing to do so. I was not willing to accept an assurance that everything had been checked and everything was fine, which was why we set up this inquiry in the first place. Too many experienced people in the House had spoken to me as we all discussed the matter and said that they felt intuitively unhappy and worried that an injustice had happened. It says a lot for Members of Parliament that when they intuitively felt that uncomfortable, we did not simply accept what had gone before but sought to take an independent and rigorous view of how it should be addressed.
Defence Reform
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox(13 years, 4 months ago)
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Dr Fox
I want to end the presumption that those at the centre know better how to micro-manage the services than those who are trained and have spent a lifetime in those services. We need to accept that, while politicians have a particular role in policy, the application of that policy should fall to those with the real expertise, namely the armed forces chiefs themselves.
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
Like all Conservative Members, I welcome the statement, not least because it deals with so many of the inadequacies with which my right hon. Friend was left by the previous Administration. Does he believe that his statement, and the publication of the report in full, tell us all that we need to know about behaviour of the present Government as opposed to that of the previous Government, who tried to bury bad news in the form of the Gray report?
Armed Forces (Redundancies)
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox(13 years, 8 months ago)
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Dr Fox
Clearly we are going to disagree on our approach, because what the hon. Gentleman calls smug, I would call angry. We are very angry indeed that we were left with a £38 billion hole in the Ministry of Defence and a massive national deficit, the interest payments on which are bigger than our defence budget. We are angry, but we are absolutely determined to get the situation under control, and then we will urge the British people never again to elect such an economically incompetent Government as the previous one.
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
My right hon. Friend was kind enough to write to me yesterday following his statement, knowing that RAF Cranwell is in my constituency. All serving RAF personnel in my constituency well understand the £38 billion hole that we were left with by the last Government. However, RAF Cranwell is considered the home of the Royal Air Force. Can he give me an assurance today that it will always be considered the home of the Royal Air Force?
Dr Fox
That is the tide of history, and nothing I could say or do would change it. However, I reiterate to my hon. and learned Friend that we must go through the proper processes where redundancies are concerned. We must stick to the timetables concerned, because that is part of our duty of care to the men and women who serve in our armed forces. We cannot have arbitrary dates set to suit a political timetable, at the expense of our armed forces. That would be quite wrong.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox(13 years, 10 months ago)
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Dr Fox
It is always regrettable when there are job losses. We remember that, behind every number, a family will undergo financial hardship as a consequence of such decisions. I give the hon. Gentleman an absolute assurance that we will be promoting Typhoon at every possible opportunity. I had a number of discussions in the Gulf last week on that issue and I recently visited India to try to boost the Typhoon bid. We are fully committed to the joint strike fighter, which will give us a fifth generation capability far greater than anything we currently have and offer intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance—ISTAR—capabilities, which will see us well into the first half of the century.
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
T7. My hon. Friend will be aware of the sacrifice of the thousands of men and women of Bomber Command during the second world war. That sacrifice has never been properly recognised by the award of a campaign medal. When will it be?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Stephen Phillips and Liam Fox(13 years, 12 months ago)
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Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Liam Fox)
My departmental responsibilities are to ensure that our country is properly defended now and in the future, that our service personnel have the right equipment and training to allow them to succeed in their military tasks and that we honour the military covenant.
Stephen Phillips
My right hon. Friend will be aware of the considerable concern expressed by a number of commentators about the capability that will be lost to the Royal Air Force with the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 programme. Will he tell the House what steps will be taken to ensure that that loss of capability does not adversely affect our national security?