Aircraft Carrier Task Force Debate

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Department: Ministry of Defence

Aircraft Carrier Task Force

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts
Wednesday 13th March 2019

(5 years, 1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
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Earl Howe Portrait Earl Howe
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My noble friend is absolutely right. We do not comment in detail on operational matters.

Baroness Smith of Newnham Portrait Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)
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My Lords, the Minister has on several occasions talked about working with our allies, as he has in the past in the context of the escort ships alongside the Queen Elizabeth class. What additional work are the Secretary of State and the Ministry of Defence doing to ensure that we have stronger bilateral co-operation, particularly in the context of Brexit, to strengthen our resilience?

Earl Howe Portrait Earl Howe
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There is a great deal of interest on the part of our European allies, in particular, in working more closely with the Royal Navy once the carriers come into service. The carriers will enable the UK to make an unparalleled contribution to NATO, not only through the carriers’ own capability but also as a means of coalescing European naval effort alongside that of our close partners the United States.