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Armed Forces: Future Defence Policy

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, mentioned the article in the Guardian by my good friend and colleague Dr Kim Howells, in which he called for a public debate on our mission in Afghanistan. I agree with Kim Howells that we should have an informed debate, but, as a member of his committee, I come to entirely the opposite conclusion from Kim. I will explain why. It is important to remember that our presence in Afghanistan is as part, and only part, of a NATO force with participation by more than 40 countries led by the United States and a mandate agreed by the United Nations. I say to the noble Lords, Lord Lee and Lord King, that that is why it is very different from the mission in the Falklands, where we were very much on our own so the commitment by the United Kingdom had to be absolute. The United Nations rightly considered that a really dangerous threat was posed by the Taliban’s protection for terrorist cells in Afghanistan and that military action needed to be taken against the Taliban as the best way to counter that threat. That is a very different scenario from Iraq, where opponents claimed—in my view, quite wrongly—that our intervention was illegal. That has not stopped the usual suspects, and we all know who they are, in the Stop the War campaign from transferring the opposition to the war in Iraq to the war in Afghanistan, as if it was exactly the same. In some Pavlovian manner, they have moved on. More thoughtful commentators have recognised the difference, which has meant much more widespread support for our action in Afghanistan—although that, as we have seen from our debate today, is now under some threat. The noble Lord, Lord King, will know this from his experience as the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. From the information that I have received as a member of that committee, obviously in confidence, I know that our action in Afghanistan is vital to deal with the terrorist threat. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady D'Souza, that that in no way negates or excludes the work that we need to do in development and trade. I agree with her on that, but it is all complementary. As the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Guthrie, just said, that needs to be co-ordinated, but it is being co-ordinated within the Government. As my noble friend said, al-Qaeda training camps and cells are operational in the lawless areas of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. From there, the terrorists have planned and launched attacks that have slaughtered thousands of innocent people on the streets of London, of New York, of Dar es Salaam, of Madrid and of other cities around the world. Let us not forget that. Sometimes, some people forget about all those thousands of deaths. More innocent people will die unless those terror cells are closed. That needs action in both Pakistan—I say to the noble Baroness, Lady D'Souza, that that is happening now—and Afghanistan where, as I said, the UN has responsibility. Our action as part of the UN force is now being underlined by the growing criticism, much of which I think is based on irresponsible and ill informed coverage in sections of the media that love sensational stories. Of course, the death of every serviceman and woman in Afghanistan is tragic, and we share the families’ grief, but all those in our forces are volunteers, who go in knowing that they face such dangers in the course of their duties, and do so bravely. Every report that I have seen is that they know why they are there and they know what they need to be doing, even if some people here do not. Those on the front line are doing a goo d job, of which they and we should be proud, of defeating the Taliban and training the Afghan police and armed forces so that they can take over at an appropriate time. Much has been said here today about helicopters. I keep hearing that. Some people should check their facts before speaking. I say that with all humility. Between November 2006 and 2009, the Government increased helicopter numbers in Afghanistan by more than 60 per cent, and the helicopter hours available to commanders by 84 per cent. [Laughter.] I do not know why people laugh. Helicopter hours will have been increased by 130 per cent. There has been the conversion of eight Chinook mark 3 helicopters, the redeployment of our Merlin fleet from Iraq, the acquisition of six Merlin helicopters from Denmark and the upgrading of our Lynx light helicopters with powerful new engines to allow them to operate in Afghanistan all year round. Of course more needs to be done, as the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Guthrie, said. We will never have absolutely enough, but there ought to be at least some recognition of what is being done. I remember the tenure of office of the noble Lord, King, in the House of Commons as Secretary of State for Defence. I was there as an opposition Member. In the years of the Labour Government, expenditure on defence rose by £1 billion a year, compared with the last five years under the Tories, when it was cut by half a billion pounds a year. That is the reality. As they say in Scotland, ""facts are chiels that winna ding"." Those are irrefutable facts. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Lee, that defence expenditure is now, at just under 2.5 per cent of GDP, more than 10 per cent higher in real terms than in 1997. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Guthrie, and others must recognise that there are pressures from the health service and education. Those of us who want money to be spent on defence must argue our case effectively. In conclusion, we need to support the effort in Afghanistan and ensure that it is not undermined. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Freeman—I am sorry that he is no longer in his place—about the people who are suffering silently and invisibly, the people with psychological traumas. I have visited Combat Stress at Hollybush House in my former constituency near Ayr and seen the work that is being done there. As a former member of the Territorial Army, I see those who have volunteered as territorials, and who are also suffering. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, about that. I disagree with his complete support for the noble Lord, Lord King. If, heaven forbid, we were to see the return of a Conservative Government, with all the cuts threatened by the leader of the Conservatives, David Cameron, there would be a lot more screaming and squealing about cuts in the defence budget and many other budgets. This is just one more area that would be jeopardised by the return of a Conservative Government.