Ukraine: Depleted Uranium

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Thursday 30th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harlech (Con)]

My noble friend is absolutely right and that should definitely be considered.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

My Lords, we should be very grateful for the intervention from the Front Bench opposite. I strongly reinforce what my noble friend Lord Forsyth said about losing all sense of proportion. This is a widely used uranium-depleted metal and very little to do with nuclear power. The absurd proposition seems to be that being killed by one of these shells might cause skin irritation, whereas if you are killed by a shell without it you would just be dead. Can we please keep a sense of proportion in this Chamber about these matters, because at the moment we seem to be losing that?

[Lord Harlech (Con)]

My noble friend is absolutely correct. I reiterate that DU armour-piercing rounds are effective. They are legal and fully compliant with the law of armed conflict, while extensive research and tests have shown them to be safe to those operating these munitions.