---

Ministry of Defence

I congratulate the right hon. and learned Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Sir Malcolm Rifkind) on an excellent speech in which he encapsulated the past, present and possible future. It is a pity that he was not in the House when the Iraq debate was going on, because he might have influenced some Opposition Members. May I ask the hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen), in maintaining his consistency in criticising his Government’s adventure in Iraq, nevertheless to pay tribute to the British troops, who are doing a fantastic job? If he could offer just one or two sentences in praise of our troops, he would go some way towards those who may think that he is being critical of them.