Global Biodiversity Loss and National Security

Lord Grayling Excerpts

Monday 23rd February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am starting to get a bit alarmed about the number of questions referring to World War III, but the noble Lord is right: food security is of critical importance. I am sure that right across every department we will do everything we can to ensure that, should World War III come anytime soon, we will have good food security in our country.

[Lord Grayling (Con)]

My Lords, the Minister is well aware of the challenge that we face around our marine biodiversity. One thing we have been able to do since we left the European Union is improve some of the protections, particularly around marine protected areas. What steps are she and Defra taking to ensure that the Government’s reset with the European Union does not end up compromising those standards and taking us back to where we were before?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am sure the noble Lord will appreciate that I cannot comment on the ongoing discussions that are taking place with the EU regarding the reset. However, we have been discussing with the EU the importance of not reducing any of our current standards.