"My Lords, we have spoken before in this Chamber about the link between the war in Sudan and instability more widely in the Horn of Africa. Does the Minister agree that we need to do much more to persuade and convince the people of this country that this is not …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, I offer my sympathies to the Minister for being put up, once again, to defend the indefensible. Would he agree that the people of this country have a right to expect their leaders to, well, lead? The need is not in doubt. The Prime Minister goes to places …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"Does the Minister accept that some of the difficult political challenges facing western societies today are a consequence of the destruction of the faith that people have in the effectiveness and fairness of the socio-political economic model following the financial crash of 2007 and the economic consequences? Therefore, issues such …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, surely the point here is not the threat from Iranian missiles, which would be operating at extreme range with limited payload and very poor accuracy. The lessons to be drawn from this conflict are the vulnerability of military and civilian sites to combined missile and drone attack, which …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, following on from the previous question, there is a clear and urgent strategic demand for a robust, Europe-based polar satellite constellation. This is an area where the UK should be taking a lead, but at the moment it is not. This requires urgent action and sufficient investment. Will …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, we have talked a lot about cyber defence, and of course that is extremely important, but you do not win a war purely through defence and, be in no doubt, we are at war in cyber space. I do not expect the Minister to give us any details, …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, China is deterred from taking military action against Taiwan not by the rules of an international order with which it fundamentally disagrees but by the prospect of the hard power retaliation that it would face in such circumstances. Given that, does this not underscore the importance of the …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, does this not reflect the flaw in the approach of successive Governments to China? They have all said that we will engage with China where it is appropriate, trade with it where it is appropriate and contest it where it is appropriate. That would be fine if those …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"My Lords, the defence industrial strategy will have no economic effect. What might make an impact is a defence investment plan, backed up by the necessary level of resources. The absence of such a plan is undermining business confidence and investor confidence. When will the Government start taking such crucial …..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech
"Can I ask the Minister a point of clarification? I think I understood him to say this in his opening statement. Is it the British Government’s legal position that the nature of entry requirements to Gibraltar is a matter for the Gibraltar Government and not the UK Government?..." Lord Stirrup - View Speech