"I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker, for any mix-up that may have occurred.
There are two people to whom the House ought to be grateful including, first, the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron). I attended the Backbench Business Committee with him to push for this debate. I made …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"That is exactly the point that I want to come on to: the limitations of soft power on its own when dealing with a regime such as Iran.
There are two issues that I want to raise: first, satellite communications to the people of Iran have been jammed locally, with …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"I am a signatory to the amendment tabled by the right hon. and learned Member for Kensington (Sir Malcolm Rifkind), but I was very concerned about his belief that an American military attack would have only temporary consequences. I am not suggesting that it be taken off the table, but …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that there is little chance of a united international, and therefore effective and peaceful, response to the Iranian nuclear weaponisation programme unless other regional players take a lead in those international forums? Is there any chance—has he seen any sign—of their preparedness to do …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"The different reaction to the Arab spring, and to Libya in particular, by NATO countries and—on occasion—the complete contradiction of their policies surely suggests the need for a post-mortem on the Libyan situation. Is thought being given to starting some analysis of why NATO countries have reacted so differently and …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"On post-conflict planning for Libya, the Foreign Secretary is reported to have said at the weekend that although such planning is vital, it is as yet in an “embryonic” state. I do not know whether that is true, but it is what I read in the press. Surely there is …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"First, may I thank the Chairman of the Select Committee for the leadership that he has shown during the preparation of the report? I believe that we have managed to produce an enormously influential report under his chairmanship. He was talking about the value of the World Service, but I …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"Is the Foreign Secretary not glossing over the significance of what the Chief of the Defence Staff said? I think that the Chief of Defence Staff is worried about stalemate. We are doing enough to keep the operation going but not enough to finish it off, and we are turning …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"Fear is growing that, although we are doing enough to keep this operation going, we are not doing enough to bring it to a successful conclusion. If stalemate or de facto partition are unacceptable, and if the people cannot be properly protected while Gaddafi is in place, surely we need …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech
"The Minister is right that this is a blow of whose significance we cannot at this stage be certain, but surely it points to the fact that we cannot rely on the security sector alone to provide a stable situation in Afghanistan within the time frame that the Government have …..." Bob Ainsworth - View Speech