King’s Speech

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

Liel Hetzroni was 12 years old. She and her twin brother were murdered. Her grandfather was slaughtered. It took 38 days to identify her remains. A family torn apart, perhaps irretrievably. No burial was possible, so horrific was this murder, so a funeral took place where her toys were buried. Twelve years old—and there are hostages much younger enslaved today. Free the hostages. Free the hostages. Free the hostages. In every speech, on every platform, that should be the first, the second and the last demand. Free the hostages.

We are parliamentarians. It is our duty to create the rainbow through which those shrouded by the dark clouds that encircle parts of our nation can emerge. I will therefore be bringing forward new opportunities for us, the parliamentarians, to stand up for and alongside our Jewish communities. We will not abandon them and leave them alone; nor will we accept any anti-Muslim racism in our country for our people. One country, many communities, protecting and protected against hatred. The time will come, we hope and pray, with every hostage released and Hamas destroyed, when we have the opportunity—no, the obligation—to create a lasting stability of economic prosperity and thereby peace.

Our Arab friends in different states will be there in different but critical ways. It will need an Israeli leadership and a Palestinian leadership with vision, wisdom and courage. Whatever form our next Government take, with whichever people or party, we have a unique and important role to be in the middle of the peacebuilding: with our history, our traditions and our church structures. We have no choice but to give this our top priority: a two-state solution, Israel entirely secure, a Palestinian state independently economically viable. Despite the complexities, the vested interests and the enmities, it is our duty—now and tomorrow—to step up to the mark, and to then be prominent at the table when the time comes, as it will.

The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre got it right. All of us have within us some prejudice, but the question is whether we are brave enough to challenge ourselves: to see things not only through our own eyes; to hear things not just through our own ears; and to live lives that we have not lived.

The definition of leadership is to challenge ignorance and prejudice and to challenge ourselves. The skill of leadership is to create political constructs that empower and enlighten—and we are, all of us, in our tiny way, as parliamentarians, the definition of leaders.

Our Muslim communities have been abused, demeaned and vilified. Our Jewish communities, already traumatised by the incomprehensible nature of the murder of their family and friends, now fear a cacophony of hatred. Let us say: we have your backs; we will not be bystanders. The only question for our two Houses of Parliament is how overwhelming and permanent that solidarity will be. It is now time for us all to stand up and be counted.

Fleet Solid Support Ships

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 7th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

As we leave the European Union, will the Minister agree that, when it comes to building military assets, British workers and British companies are perfectly capable of delivering what is needed and they should be given all orders?

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

I think the noble Lord is being slightly mischievous in his question and understands that I cannot make a specific response in the way in which he would desire. What I can say is that the Government are well aware of the significance of our indigenous UK shipbuilding capacity. We are engaged in a process in respect of the three new ships. As I said to the noble Lord, Lord West, the criteria for assessing the bids will be produced in accordance with Her Majesty’s Treasury guidelines, seeking best value for money.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Mann Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

We are certainly not keeping our country safe on the cheap, which is why we have committed to spending more than 2% of GDP, and our defence budget will continue to rise from £36 billion this year. However, I agree with the hon. Lady that we need to find innovative solutions when it comes to recruiting cyber-specialists, which is precisely why we are now doing that in the reserves. We have changed the rules about who can join and their backgrounds, which has proven to be a tremendous success.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

20. What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the training that it provides to African rangers in tackling wildlife poaching.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

Last year, the Department deployed the British Army to Malawi for four months to run counter-poaching training in support of the Foreign Secretary’s aim to combat the illegal wildlife trade. It is a role that plays to the strengths of our young commanders and soldiers, who are experts in fieldcraft, tactics and intelligence fusion. It is a testament to the quality of their training of the rangers that arrests in Liwonde, Malawi, have increased by 50%.

[John Mann]

With our ivory trade ban and our summit this autumn, what an opportunity we have not only to assist the work in Africa, but to give some of our armed forces real experience in training and, potentially, the use of drones. Could we not expand this training opportunity alongside this autumn’s summit?

[Mark Lancaster]

After the success of the pilot project, which has been funded for three years, I am delighted to report that we will indeed be doing exactly that and will be expanding the programme to two more wildlife parks in Malawi. That sits exactly within the priorities of Her Majesty’s Government’s Africa strategy, which runs across three Departments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Mann Excerpts

Monday 15th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Guto Bebb)]

I thank my hon. Friend for the passion with which he asked his question. The Ministry of Defence supports and attracts engineers across the services. That work includes focusing on undergraduate apprenticeships in the Royal Navy to target submarine engineers; the Army’s running science, technology, engineering and maths events to inspire young people; and enhanced digital marketing of the RAF to promote graduate engineering opportunities.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

T3. Given the appalling state of some armed services accommodation and the amount of gold we have poured down Carillion’s throat, is not this week a great opportunity to directly employ some of the maintenance and catering staff, who could be automatically taken on by the MOD today to provide a good service without the requirement for a profit to be made for Carillion or any other private sector company?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Tobias Ellwood)]

As I said earlier, plans are in place to make sure that, with respect to what is happening with Carillion, obligations are met and we continue to provide the important accommodation for service families, as well as single accommodation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Mann Excerpts

Monday 2nd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

As my hon. Friend says, I am delighted to confirm that a British-piloted F-35B—the short take-off and vertical landing version of the F-35 aircraft—has completed a successful landing on USS Wasp, which was, I think, off the coast of Virginia. We have a programme of embedded UK pilots training with US navy marines on those aircraft. Progress is good on that programme, and we expect the first squadron of aircraft to come to the UK fully formed in 2018, with pilots who have been trained and prepared in the United States.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

Post-conflict Commonwealth applicant Burundi desperately needs assistance in rehabilitating soldiers and ex-combatants from the civil war, including disabled and child soldiers. Will the Secretary of State use his good offices to come up with a scheme with the Department for International Development gainfully to employ some of the great expertise that our ex-service personnel, who are about to increase in number, could use to assist them?

[Mr Hammond]

I will certainly talk to my right hon. Friend the International Development Secretary and see whether DFID could look at that. I will also ask our own conflict prevention and reconstruction unit to consider whether there is anything that the UK military could do to help in that situation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Mann Excerpts

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robathan]

First, I can confirm that nobody will remain longer on operations in Afghanistan because of this debacle over the G4S contract. I will say to my hon. Friend, as he would expect me to, that I absolutely agree that former service personnel would do that job particularly well, but I have no responsibility for the recruitment practices of G4S. However, it appears that it was not recruiting that was the problem but the organisation of the Olympics in general in terms of security.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

10. What additional support he plans to provide for mental health conditions experienced by current and former soldiers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Andrew Robathan)]

The Ministry of Defence is committed to offering a high standard of mental health care to those who need it. In his “Fighting Fit” report, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) made a wide range of recommendations for improvements to mental health care for both serving and former armed forces personnel. The MOD is working with the Department of Health to implement the recommendations, and I am pleased to report that excellent progress is being made.

[John Mann]

With the stigma of mental health increasingly being lifted in our society, not least in the armed services, will the Minister take it on himself to ensure that every mental health trust across the country is required, in partnership with his Department, to have an effective strategy for dealing with current and former members of the armed services?

[Mr Robathan]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right that the stigma is being lifted. Indeed, there is a programme in the Army called trauma risk management, or TRiM, which means that if somebody appears to have some mental problems, his comrades in arms will go to the chain of command and say that they think that so-and-so is having trouble and should be looked at carefully. We are already deploying extra mental health nurses across the Department of Health as a result of the “Fighting Fit” report. If the hon. Gentleman has not read it, I strongly recommend that he does because it is an extremely good piece of work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Mann Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Peter Luff]

I can confirm that nothing has happened to our commitment to increase the equipment budget by 1% in real terms from 2015. I have to say that our job would be a great deal easier if the previous Government had not taken the decision to delay the carriers, thus adding an extra £1.3 billion of costs to the programme with no capability gain whatsoever.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

11. When he expects UK troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)]

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House that UK force levels in Afghanistan will reduce from 9,500 to 9,000 by the end of 2012. By the end of 2014, the security transition will be complete and British troops will no longer be in a combat role. The UK and the international community are committed to Afghanistan for the long term, and a number of UK troops will remain after 2014, including in training roles at the UK-led Afghan national army officer academy.

[John Mann]

Does the Minister pay more attention to the German Foreign Minister, who wants us in Afghanistan for another 15 years, or to the people of Bassetlaw, who say that now is the time to bring our lads back home?

[Mr Hammond]

We have a clear plan for the completion of the mission in Afghanistan, which involves transitioning lead security responsibility to the ever more competent Afghan national security forces. That will be done over the next three years, resulting in the withdrawal of the overwhelming majority of our forces by the end of 2014 and the ending of our combat role. That is the position that most people in this country would want to see: a measured and properly controlled winding down of our involvement that protects the legacy that we have won with so much blood and treasure.