UK-Türkiye Typhoon Export Deal
Samantha Niblett Excerpts(1 week, 3 days ago)
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Luke Pollard
I am happy to write to the right hon. Gentleman about the precise details of that deal. I politely say to him that the future is crewed, uncrewed and autonomous. That is what the strategic defence review set out, and that is why the platforms that we are looking at, such as GCAP, will start as a crewed platform but have the ability to spiral develop into an uncrewed and autonomous platform. That is a key part of staying ahead of our adversaries by making sure that we can increase the lethality of our crewed platforms by having uncrewed and autonomous platforms alongside them. That is the spirit not just in the combat air domain, but on land and at sea as well.
Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
The Minister knows that I took part in the armed forces parliamentary scheme this year and last year, and I had the great privilege of visiting the NATO airbase in Poland where I saw Typhoons scramble to the skies to protect us from Russian aircraft. He rightly points out that Türkiye is an important NATO ally, and I am proud that Labour played an important part in founding NATO. Does he agree that it is shameful and wrong to suggest that NATO’s presence in eastern Europe was provocative to Putin, as the leader of Reform, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), has previously asserted?
Luke Pollard
The armed forces parliamentary scheme is a brilliant opportunity for parliamentarians with or without defence knowledge to learn more about our platforms and, perhaps most importantly, about our people. The RAF crews that we forward-deployed to Poland to help to support our eastern flank allies did a superb job, as are the Typhoon crews leaving RAF airbases in the UK to support our eastern flank allies as part of our commitment to Eastern Sentry.
Let me be clear: our national security would not be helped by Putin-friendly policies or Putin-friendly politicians. That is why we all make a strong case about our support for NATO and our pride in being a party and a Government with a NATO-first defence policy. I encourage all those toying with the idea of siding with a Putin-friendly Government to look at what is happening in Ukraine, with the theft of Ukrainian children by Russia, the unprovoked illegal attack on civilian infrastructure, and the threats that Putin and his illegal war machine make not just to our friends in Ukraine but to our NATO allies, and come to the firm conclusion that being Putin-friendly is certainly un-British.
War Memorials
Samantha Niblett Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Stuart.
It is reported that in Derbyshire we have well over 3,000 memorials, and some estimate that there are as many as 4,000. They range from crosses, obelisks, cenotaphs, columns, statues, boards, plaques and tablets to documents such as rolls of honour or books of remembrance, paintings, prints, tapestries, flags, banners and photographs. The variety is vast. Those memorials can be found in a variety of places among our towns and villages—in village halls, churches and chapels, clock towers, gates and gardens, and a whole host of other settings.
I have already spoken in support of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the work that it does in my constituency of South Derbyshire. However, I want to mention some of the other memorials, and their variety, in the villages dotted across South Derbyshire.
There is a magnificent plaque with raised gold lettering in All Saints’ parish church in Aston on Trent, commemorating those lost in the great war. There is a grey stone tablet attached to the front of the village hall in Burnaston as a tribute to those who fell in the first world war. In Ticknall, in the grounds of the village hall, there is a magnificent plaque encased in wrought iron as a tribute to those who fell in world war one. It is decorated with 19 wrought-iron poppies extending around the case, with the flowers forming a border. The poppies represent the 19 people from Ticknall who fell in world war one.
Overseal has a delightful memorial garden that is surrounded by a fence, with wrought-iron gates at the front and an arch above. Two rectangular metal plaques are attached to a granite block, with the names of the 31 people from Overseal who died in the two world wars. It was wonderful to attend the Remembrance Sunday celebrations in Overseal in November.
In St Mary’s church in Coton in the Elms, the fallen are commemorated in a framed and glazed print roll of honour, with a red and black border containing oak sprays, shields and mottos, and names handwritten in ink in three columns. In Swarkestone parish council, the roll of honour is mounted on the wall and framed, with the names of the fallen written in red, black and blue.
Let us recognise the supreme sacrifice that was made for us so long ago in the two world wars and, at a time of renewed conflict in the world, the sacrifice of so many members of our armed forces in the conflicts since, which continue across the globe. This Armed Forces Week, it seems particularly pertinent to do so, so I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy for securing this really important debate.
UK Military Base Protection
Samantha Niblett Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Luke Pollard
I thank the right hon. Member, who I also have a lot of time for. At no point have I sought to downplay the activities of Palestine Action. Indeed, today the Government have taken the strong step of proscribing Palestine Action, precisely because its activities are a threat to our national security. It is for that reason that the Home Secretary has made her decision.
In relation to the military bases near the right hon. Member’s constituency in Salisbury plain, and indeed to those in the constituency that I represent in Plymouth, the review of our security arrangements covers all military bases. From the Defence Secretary to the Chief of the Defence Staff and others in the Ministry of Defence, we are looking carefully at what lessons can be learned, what improvements can be put in place and—noting the conclusion of the strategic defence review that we need to invest more in this area—how we can implement the findings of the SDR as quickly as we can.
In relation to the right hon. Member’s points about policing, I would be very happy to discuss them further with him, because I know he is an expert in this area.
Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
As I am taking part in the armed forces parliamentary scheme with the RAF, I have had the greatest pleasure and incredible privilege of visiting many RAF bases over the last year, and I am in absolute awe of those who put their lives on the line to defend us. The events of last week were not only a breach of our defences; they were a massive demonstration of disrespect for service personnel who will have been delivering aid to people in Gaza. Does the Minister agree that we should thank them for their service and that it was right to proscribe Palestine Action?
Luke Pollard
My hon. Friend is exactly right about the disrespect shown to our forces and their personnel. The threat to our national security posed by breaching the security of a military base and approaching military assets is something that we take incredibly seriously. The British public want to know that the full force of the law is being used to locate those responsible and bring them to justice, and I can confirm that the investigation is ongoing. The steps that the Home Secretary has taken today to proscribe Palestine Action are entirely consistent with the severity and seriousness of its activities.
Royal British Legion
Samantha Niblett Excerpts(7 months, 1 week ago)
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Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to participate in the debate with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I thank the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) for securing it.
I rise to celebrate the impact of the Royal British Legion in my constituency, which is primarily through the National Memorial Arboretum. It is a genuinely wonderful place with 150 acres of woodland and over 420 memorials. As I walk around this place, I speak to so many people who say that they have been meaning to visit some day. I cannot stress how much I advise people to make “some day” today.
Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
I was invited to the National Memorial Arboretum for Remembrance Day. I proudly watched my hon. Friend lay a wreath, just as I was proud to lay a wreath on behalf of fallen men and women in my neighbouring constituency. As I am serving on the armed forces parliamentary scheme, I am growing in awe for the men and women who serve in the forces, including those I get to meet through the Royal British Legion. Members of the Swadlincote district branch raised over £52,000 for the poppy appeal, and they helped to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-day. They play a huge role in the local community. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Royal British Legion plays a significant role in ensuring that we never forget the sacrifices made by those who have served?
Dave Robertson
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Royal British Legion does so much through its branches and clubs. I am privileged to have a number of branches and two clubs in my constituency, and I will support them for as long as I can.
I will return to the National Memorial Arboretum, which is the country’s centre of remembrance. It is a wonderful place, and I repeat that people should make “some day” today and get up there if possible. I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to show some of my fellow MPs around the site. Every time I go, it reminds me that remembrance is not just for November. It is so much more than wearing our poppies. It is about celebrating and reflecting on the service and sacrifice of so many who have helped to make our country what it is today.
Last week, I also hosted an event in Parliament with the UK Police Memorial Trust. The arboretum not only celebrates our armed services, but is a home to memorials to our emergency service workers, and indeed anybody who has given that service and sacrifice. The police memorial, which opened almost four years ago, pays tribute to officers who have laid down their lives keeping their communities safe. The trust has just launched a new education programme. I invite all Members to flag that to their schools, as I have, because remembrance is not just for that one month. It is for all year round, and it should be for anybody who has given that service and sacrifice.
Finally, we are about to come to the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe and victory over Japan. I particularly thank the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for supporting the Royal British Legion in leading services at the arboretum to mark those dates. Britain’s victory in the second world war secured peace on our shores, but in an ever-more dangerous world, we should never take peace for granted. In ever-more dangerous times, we have much to learn from our second world war veterans. I would be delighted to join them to mark VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum. I wonder whether the Minister will be able to confirm which Minister will be joining us for the day.