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Ministry of Defence

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for clarifying his position so eloquently. I congratulate the Chairman of the Defence Committee, which will take away from today’s debate one or two points that I shall come to shortly, on his presentation. I represent the garrison town of Colchester with great pride and affection, and 2 Para is in Iraq, while 3 Para will shortly go to Afghanistan. When 2 Para returns from Iraq, the 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, which is the regional regiment for our part of the country, will go out there, so I have more than a passing interest in what happens to British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just a week or so ago, I had the privilege of travelling with the Committee considering the Armed Forces Bill to Iraq. The Minister knows this, but I am proud to say that the morale of soldiers, sailors and Air Force personnel is great. I have pride and affection for those young men and women—the number of young ladies is increasing—and for the officers. Sadly, the Committee arrived in Iraq soon after two members of 2 Para lost their lives. I pay tribute to them and to last night’s BBC ““Panorama”” programme, which provided a balanced account of what British troops are doing in Iraq: helping to bring that country up to the    democratic standards and civilisation that this Government feel should be provided there. I say that as somebody who voted against the war, because we are not here tonight to discuss why we are there: we are there, and it is our duty to remain there and try to help the Iraqi people.