---

Defence Policy

I welcome the nods of assent that I am getting from those on the Conservative Benches. My hon. Friend also referred, completely erroneously, to a claim that 80 per cent. of Afghanistan is controlled by the Taliban. That claim is simply and palpably untrue, and it serves the interests of nobody to try to pretend—[Interruption.] Eight of the 13 districts in Helmand are controlled by the Afghan authorities and the coalition. The situation is challenging, but we are making real progress. The hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), who leads for the Liberal Democrats, raised concern, as did and a number of other right hon. and hon. Members, about the fact that MPs did not have longer to read and digest Bernard Gray's report. The Secretary of State has apologised for that, and I apologise too. We received the final printed versions of the report only this morning, having spent the summer discussing with Mr. Gray both the content of his report and his conclusions. The hon. Member for Woodspring asked for a further opportunity to discuss the report. The Secretary of State has considered that and we are more than open to having such a further opportunity, at the earliest convenience of the House—I am making our position very clear. The right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) made a very interesting speech. He talked about the impact of the 24/7 media on our mission and on the enemy. A number of senior military figures have said to me that if we had had that kind of 24/7 media coverage during the second world war, they doubt that we would have got beyond the first 18 months. That is a chilling observation and I hope that everyone can reflect on that fact. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, South-West (Mr. Davidson) made a very effective speech. He rightly praised Glasgow Rangers for their excellent initiative of providing tickets for our forces. I congratulate him on supporting it. He also, interestingly, referred to the position of General Dannatt. Let me make it clear that during the time I have been at the Ministry of Defence I have worked well with General Dannatt, but I was intrigued that when my hon. Friend said that General Dannatt would be appointed a Minister in a Conservative Government, there were strenuous denials from those on the Opposition Benches. "No, he wouldn't be," they said. Well, that is not what General Dannatt says. He says that he has been told by the Leader of the Opposition that he will be appointed a Minister in a Conservative Government. His appointment and his handling says much more about the Leader of the Opposition's judgment than it does about General Dannatt. My hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Alison Seabeck), who is a doughty defender of her constituency and its interests, asked in particular about the decision on the movement of Royal Marines and whether that would be delayed by the strategic defence review. Let me make it clear that the project time scales have not been delayed to wait for an SDR, although of course the SDR will have to consider all defence issues. I hope that that gives her some reassurance. I respect the role played by the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) in the all-party group and the substantive work that he does on reserve issues. We met during the summer—as has happened with the Secretary of State on previous occasions—and my office, as he knows, is urgently trying to agree dates with him and his group. I understand the concern. We need to talk and I will hear his representations. I also very much agreed with his underlying point about the lack of predictability of 9/11, Iraq and the Falklands. One thing that I think we should learn from history is that we have not been very good at predicting the military future. I think that that was the point that he was trying to make. That lesson should be borne in mind for the future SDR. The hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) said that we constantly need to remind people why we are in Afghanistan, and I fundamentally agree with that. He said that we have to find a political solution, and I agree with that too. He also said that if members of the Taliban are prepared to renounce violence, we should reintegrate them. The evidence at the moment—I agree with the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) on this point—suggests that there is no huge momentum in that direction. The hon. Member for Billericay also made an erroneous point about IEDs and the percentage of US casualties from IEDs being significantly lower than ours. There is a reason for that. A much larger percentage of our troops are in Helmand, which is the centre of the Taliban insurgency and the IED threat. I do not think that any purpose is served by putting forward spurious comparisons of that nature, which undermine the huge job that our forces are undertaking.