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Defence in the UK

I am sorry, but I will not. The hon. Member for Woodspring raised the issue of decompression. Every time I have been to theatre, I have asked about the issue. I was in Afghanistan a few weeks ago and asked again whether the decompression period was long enough. It is 48 hours in Cyprus. Every single time, both commanders and normal soldiers tell me that that is long enough. I have said this to the hon. Gentleman before: I ask him not to downgrade in any way the role of our civil servants serving overseas. I do not think that he did so intentionally. Those staff are volunteers, and many are doing dangerous jobs in dangerous situations. We should thank them for the role they play. I do not know whether anyone here has seen the film, "Groundhog Day", but the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (John Smith) perhaps reminded a lot of us of it. He is a great, strong advocate for St. Athan. A lot of Members have asked where the new facility is, and I had to think very hard about whether it actually was in his constituency. I pay tribute, as he did, to the brigadier and the project team who are delivering that facility. It is a challenging and complex project that will not only deliver the training we need, but, as he rightly highlighted, have an economic impact on his constituency and part of Wales; that should not be underestimated. The hon. Member for North Devon spoke of the number of people who have, sadly, been wounded or died in Afghanistan. May I join him in paying tribute not just to the men and women who have lost their lives, but their families, and to the medical staff, to whom he drew attention? I will not repeat the arguments on the timetable for withdrawal—it is one occasion on which I agree with the point made by the hon. Member for New Forest, East. As for the larger issue of where we are, we are making changes, and there is new thinking on how we deal with the arms plot to provide more settled lives. The regional forces review will address some of the issues that, particularly in the Army, have not been previously addressed. I am not a great supporter of a defence review, because I fear that it would take a lot of time and effort, and detract from the immediate task at hand, which is not just supporting our service men and women but looking at their operational commitments. Turning to the contribution from the right hon. and learned Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Sir Malcolm Rifkind), may I say that, yes, it is a great honour to be a Minister in the Ministry of Defence. Anyone who has that privilege, as he did, knows that we deal with some remarkable men and women in a great Department. I was a little concerned, because I know that he is a former Foreign Secretary, and he used the words, "wars of choice". I am worried that that may be interpreted as our being able to pick and choose the conflicts in which we become involved. I accept that he is not an isolationist who thinks that England can somehow divorce itself from the rest of world. However—and he knows this from his experience in the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence—one of those Departments may not think about the implications for others of its decisions. Having been on both sides, seeing that must have been difficult for him. I do not agree with the right hon. and learned Gentleman's perception of why and how reservists are used. The position has changed. I never cease to be impressed when I go to theatre by the dedication of the men and women I meet. In some cases, certainly in reconstruction projects both in Afghanistan and Iraq, their civilian skills serve a useful purpose. The right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire (Mr. Arbuthnot) raised the issue of Belvedere. May I tell him and the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has got the message? We need to move on this, and my right hon. Friend agrees that the delay and uncertainty are not helping. The right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire raised the issue of JPA—the organisation that procured it is based in his constituency. May I say—and I have said this before—that it is a standing issue when I meet the head of defence personnel? There have been problems, but it is a remarkably successful IT project compared with those in other Government Departments. The important point about JPA, which I want to push, is how we achieve increased access to it. Internet access is the way forward. There are some security issues, but we are addressing them. My hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark) raised the issue of nuclear deterrence. As the hon. Member for New Forest, East said, it is nice to see that the unilateralist flame still burns in our party—although that is not something that I ever supported, I hasten to add. My hon. Friend mentioned the DSDA, and I will take that message back to the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies). I have a lot of time and affection for the hon. Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton), but I thought she was occasionally a little intemperate in her speech. She takes a close interest in protected vehicles, and in a previous debate expressed thanks and recognised the advances that had been made. She asked for numbers, but I do not want to give the number of individual vehicles for operational reasons. Great advances have been made. When I was in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, I saw not only how they saved people's lives but the adaptations that had been made in theatre. We can rightly be proud of that. The hon. Lady spoke about Merlin. The reason for the upgrade is that it is not a simple matter to move an aircraft from a peacetime role in the UK to an operational role. The issue was not that the helicopters could not fly without their rotor blades, but the need to increase efficiency. As a result, the number of flying hours that we are getting out of helicopters in Afghanistan has substantially increased. My hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) paid tribute to 22 Signals and thanked the people of Stafford for their support for the armed forces, particularly for the Gurkhas. The Gurkhas are within my area of responsibility, so I know that they will warmly welcome the support they are getting locally. On the Borona project, I was in Germany on Tuesday and was briefed about the process. There is work to be done on sites and time scales, but I assure my hon. Friend that the project is still on schedule and under active consideration. It is important that where we site super-garrisons we have good working relationships in advance with local authorities, and I am sure he will play his role in that. The hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) made a passionate and well-argued speech. He is a great advocate for the reserve forces. I, too, congratulate the Argylls in his constituency. We should not forget the reservists who have been wounded or killed in action, especially members of the special forces. We should ensure that they get recognition. I am sure that when the review document is published, the hon. Gentleman will be pleasantly surprised by much of it. The hon. Member for Salisbury (Robert Key) is my former colleague on the Defence Committee. I think I have been to Salisbury more times in the past few months than I had ever been in my life, and it is a wonderful city. He spoke about the role of the Navy and he is right. When I go to Kandahar or Camp Bastion, there seem to be more submariners there than anywhere else. They are playing a key role. I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue of Help for Heroes, which has raised not only money but the profile and support for our troops, which is welcome. One of the privileges of my job is to work with armed forces charities, which do a fantastic job. I am not one who thinks that Government can do everything. The charities have an important role. I hope that many people take part in armed forces day on 27 June and give the recognition and support that our troops deserve. We heard a fascinating contribution from the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walter), which showed the tensions in the Conservative party on Europe. I am glad that he and the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) are now in the ascendancy again in the party. The hon. Gentleman's speech was well argued. Britain cannot do anything alone. Working with European partners and NATO is important. We need to explain that and fight back against little Englanders such as the hon. Member for North Wiltshire. I wish the hon. Member for North Dorset well in his campaign to educate the more recalcitrant members of the Conservative party about the benefits of the European Community. I have already mentioned Project Belvedere, which was also raised by the hon. Member for North Wiltshire. I understand the frustration. The hon. Gentleman makes a good point: a decision needs to be taken so that we can move on and get the necessary involvement. In closing, it is always important for us to say a big thank you to our men and women in the armed forces. Whenever I meet them, whether in this country or abroad, I realise that they are young men and women carrying huge burdens of responsibility. In my first contribution to one of these debates, I said that I would like to continue the bipartisan approach in the House, which we certainly had in the Defence Committee, so that we are united in thanking and supporting the members of our armed forces who are doing very difficult jobs on our behalf. Question put and agreed to. Resolved,"That this House has considered the matter of defence in the UK."