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Written Question
Egypt: War Graves
Thursday 10th February 2022

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in identifying the graves of more than 10,000 Egyptians who died in the service of the British Empire during World War One, including those in the Egyptian Labour Corps.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

In April 2021, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) published its Special Committee’s report into historical inequalities in commemoration. The CWGC continues to make good progress against the report’s ten recommendations. Documents recently discovered by the CWGC’s dedicated research team put the number of personnel from the Egyptian Labour and the Camel Transport Corps who lost their lives in the Middle East during the First World War at just over 15,550. Very few of these were known to have marked graves and the names of the majority were, and are, unknown to the CWGC.

Although one aspect of the CWGC’s response to the report is to search for missing burials (and where they can be located and marked, they will be), the CWGC is initially focused on the discovery of names so that individuals’ service and sacrifice can be properly recorded and acknowledged. The CWGC have established that records and named lists of Egyptian personnel were passed by the British Armed Forces to the then Egyptian authorities so that pensions and compensation could be paid. The CWGC hope that these records might yet be found in Egyptian archival collections and the CWGC is making progress in tracking these records down.

Written Question
Defence: Finance
Friday 28th January 2022

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to signing up to the “Peace Dividend Campaign”.

Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)

The first responsibility of Government is to protect its citizens.

Defence is one of a full spectrum of levers that we routinely use - alongside diplomatic, intelligence, economic, legal and strategic communication tools. For example, Defence continues to play a direct role in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, most recently through ongoing Royal Navy support to the international disaster relief efforts following the tsunami in Tonga; and last year providing a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel to assist the US humanitarian aid mission in Haiti. Our Armed Forces are also always ready to respond to requests to support civil authorities, and from vaccine supply logistics to front line medical support they have played a critical role in supporting the response to the COVID pandemic.

We must stay ahead of the increasingly complex threats to our people and allies by investing in, rather than cutting, defence budgets. That is why we are increasing defence spending by over £24 billion over the next four years.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 29 Nov 2021
Ukraine: Military Equipment

"My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Balfe, asks about the impact of arms sales on peace in eastern Europe. In the light of the US and allied withdrawal from Afghanistan, the broader pursuit of “America first” policies from Washington, and the fact that the UK is the world’s second-largest arms …..."
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 23 Nov 2021
Armed Forces Bill

"My Lords, I will speak very briefly, having attached my name to Amendment 2 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford. I did that because, as we came to the deadline, I noticed that there was a space, and I really felt that, given the level …..."
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle - View Speech

View all Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Armed Forces Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 23 Nov 2021
Armed Forces Bill

"My Lords, I will speak very briefly. I was not able to take part in the debate on these amendments in Committee because I was at the COP 26 climate talks, but at Second Reading I very much majored on the issue of the recruitment of 16 and 17 year-olds …..."
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle - View Speech

View all Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Armed Forces Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 23 Nov 2021
Armed Forces Bill

"My Lords, I apologise again for not speaking in Committee due to being at COP. I offer support and regret that I did not attach my name to this amendment. What the noble Lord, Lord Browne, said about public consultation in this process is really important, as is what the …..."
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle - View Speech

View all Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Armed Forces Bill
Speech in Grand Committee - Wed 27 Oct 2021
Armed Forces Bill

"My Lords, I beg the Committee’s indulgence. This is my first time back in this Room, and I am afraid I got my body language wrong. I was hoping to come in before the noble Lord, Lord Coaker. Perhaps I may briefly speak in support of Amendment 5. The noble …..."
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 16 Sep 2021
AUKUS

"My Lords, in the foreword to the integrated review, the Prime Minister says that the UK

“will make tackling climate change and biodiversity loss its number one international priority.”

The Climate Transparency Report on G20 countries ranked Australia in the bottom bracket of every climate action area, except one. The …..."
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 08 Sep 2021
Sheffield Forgemasters

"My Lords, given that, three weeks ago, the Swedish steelmaker SSAB supplied Volvo with what was described as the world’s first “fossil-free steel”, produced with iron using 100% hydrogen, does the Minister see this acquisition as a step towards the development of such environmentally friendly procedures for the production of …..."
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 07 Sep 2021
Armed Forces Bill

"My Lords, in rising to speak to the Armed Forces Bill, I can only contextualise our debate, as so many other noble Lords have, with the dreadful events in Afghanistan and the continuing desperate efforts of people who have supported and served with our Armed Forces to escape the country …..."
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle - View Speech

View all Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Armed Forces Bill