"My noble friend will know the importance of his question. That is why reform has taken place within the Ministry of Defence with the establishment of the National Armaments Director Group. The new National Armaments Director is in post and is addressing the very real problems and concerns my noble …..." Lord Coaker - View Speech
"Many decisions will be subject to the defence investment plan. The noble Viscount has been an advocate of the GCAP programme for a number of years and was berating me a few months ago regarding whether the Government support the programme. He knows that the Government support it, and he …..." Lord Coaker - View Speech
"First, it would be wrong not to acknowledge the service that the noble Lord undertakes on behalf of our nation; perhaps he can pass that on to the other reservists he will be training with at the weekend.
"I am not going to comment on the operation of Special Forces, and the noble Baroness would not have done that in her previous role, however nicely she was asked. I outlined the money being spent to other noble Lords: we are developing munitions factories and money will be spent …..." Lord Coaker - View Speech
"My Lords, any future requests from the US for Royal Navy and Royal Air Force support for operations will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This includes appropriate consideration of the legal basis for any proposed activity. The MoD will continue to step up action against shadow fleet activity to …..." Lord Coaker - View Speech
"That is a really important point; let me just broaden it. It is not just financial institutions: we still sometimes read of universities not welcoming defence industries on to their campuses and recruitment fairs not welcoming defence industries. If the threats we face become real then everyone will being saying, …..." Lord Coaker - View Speech
"The noble Lord and I have spoken about this. I understand exactly the points that he has made with such passion, force and logic. I cannot say any more than that the final decision will be contained within the defence investment plan. The only thing that I will say to …..." Lord Coaker - View Speech