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Defence in the United Kingdom

Recent defence debates have provided an opportunity to discuss the qualities of the armed forces and the vital work that they do around the world. We ask a lot of our armed forces. Day in, day out, they perform a huge range of challenging tasks, many of them dangerous, in countries around the world and in the UK. I will never tire of paying tribute to their dedication, commitment and bravery, and I do so again today. However, we owe it to our armed forces to do more than simply pay tribute to them. We must show the same level of commitment in enabling them to perform their role, and support them as they do so. I want to pick up on the earlier point of order by the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan), on which there was an exchange. He should be very careful in the words that he uses. He described the Chief of the General Staff, who is one of the bravest soldiers of his generation, as lacking moral courage. I understand that the hon. Gentleman was also a serving soldier, and I pay tribute to all that he did, but he should use his brain before he opens his mouth and attacks people of such—