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Queen’s Speech

My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, that this has been an excellent debate. I also welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, to the Dispatch Box for the Queen’s Speech debate. However, one name is missing from the speakers’ list—my noble friend Lord Hurd. Like others, I wish him a speedy recovery. I shall concentrate on defence issues. I start by paying tribute to those who serve in the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Army and the Royal Air Force, and remember those recovering from injuries, some life changing. I also pay tribute to their families, especially to those who have lost a loved one, and to our veterans. We on these Benches welcome and support the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill. I echo my noble friend Lord Howell in complimenting my noble friend Lord Elton and the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, for the excellent and hard work that they have done on this issue. Cluster munitions have caused far too many indiscriminate casualties over the years. However, it is essential that the operational capability of our Armed Forces and their safety in a battlefield situation are not compromised. Some key countries have not signed the agreement. What progress has been made regarding negotiations with these countries? The US Administration have made some moves, but what about Russia, which, it is claimed, used cluster bombs against Georgia? As I shall concentrate on defence issues, I am only sorry that I shall not have time to challenge many of the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire. I always listen carefully to his thoughtful speeches, so I was rather surprised that most of his speech today was spent criticising, mostly inaccurately, my party. Despite what the noble Lord said, I have never known relations between the French and my party to be as good as they are at the moment. I have been patron of the Conservatives in Paris for seven years and I cannot remember being approached, as I have been on numerous occasions this year, by so many French politicians asking to meet David Cameron and other senior members of my party. Our defence debate earlier this month proved that Afghanistan remains the greatest challenge confronting our nation. The noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, rightly said that our presence there is a necessity, not a choice. I am proud to say that we on these Benches will continue to maintain our support for British troops in Afghanistan, and I hope that the Liberal Democrats will stick to their stance, too. We recognise the cost of failure in Afghanistan. This means that our goal should be an Afghanistan capable of managing its own security. NATO tactics are evolving. Despite recent casualties, our forces are getting better at using smart optics to detect IEDs and at building up intelligence on the networks responsible for planting them. The battle for Helmand can be won. I was fortunate enough to go out to Afghanistan this year; indeed, I travelled out sitting next to the noble Lord, Lord Dubs. I agree with the noble Lord that all the Afghans we met pleaded with us to stay, feeling very vulnerable to the Taliban. I also agree with him, and my noble and learned friend Lord Mayhew, about the importance of getting on top of corruption there. The soldiers to whom I spoke in Afghanistan were unanimous in their belief that it is in the national interest that we succeed there. We can make our contribution by ensuring that the Government give them the tools to finish the job. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Guthrie, said that the Armed Forces need to know that the Government and the people are with them and for them. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Bramall, said that morale was high at the 2 Rifles medal parade and that he did not come across any discordant note. However, there is a growing sense of unease in the Army that the determination shown by troops on the front line is being undermined by the sense of gloom at home. Politicians need to understand the inherent dangers of war. I agree with my noble friend Lord Howell that continuous talk of an exit strategy is unhelpful. We cannot have a situation where soldiers on the ground start thinking, "What’s the point of losing your life for a cause that we’re abandoning?". This is not a reason to give up the fight, but a call for stronger leadership and clearer communication of military strategy from our Government. On the one hand, the Prime Minister says that our troops’ presence in Afghanistan is vital for our security and safety at home; on the other, he says that he will not, ""put the lives of British men and women in harm’s way for a government that does not stand up against corruption"." Either their presence is a national security imperative, or it is not. Which is it? The Afghan Government must trust that we are committed, but how can our own soldiers trust our commitment when the Government cut funding to Territorial Army training during wartime, and pledge 500 additional troops but set heavy caveats? I hope that the Minister will say something about where we stand at the moment with the three conditions that the Prime Minister mentioned. The Prime Minister said very clearly that the request for 500 extra troops follows from, ""clear military advice from our chiefs of staff and our commanders on the ground on implementing our strategy and reducing the risk to our forces".—[Official Report, Commons, 14/10/09; col. 302.]" Yet a month after these words, those 500 soldiers and their families are still waiting for the Government to make up their mind. Having set a new target date for the training of Afghan forces, the Prime Minister has delayed the very means by which that acceleration can take place. To achieve success, we on these Benches endorse NATO’s fully fledged counterinsurgency strategy, crafted by General McChrystal. Implicit in the general’s strategy is the training of Afghan forces. No counterinsurgency is successful without a capable host nation force comprised of military and police forces. The Afghan Defence Ministry’s army fielding acceleration plan now advances the full-sized ANA fielding target date to December 2011. What can be done to ensure the achievement of this goal? No less important are the Afghan police. The launch of the Afghan national development strategy last year and the subsequent Ministry of Interior police reform are two steps in establishing robust and capable police forces. However, as General McChrystal's recent assessment states, ""the ANP suffers from a lack of training, leaders, resources, equipment and mentoring. Effective policing is inhibited by the absence of a working system of justice"." Can the Minister say what the Government are doing to incorporate the development of the ANP into the current strategy? What of other local auxiliary forces? Already there is a public protection programme in Wardak province that uses local citizens as static security forces for checkpoints and roadblocks. Has any consideration been given to establishing such a programme in Helmand, at least in the interim? While it is the most pressing issue, Afghanistan is not our only challenge. Today, the British Armed Forces are participating in 15 international operations. We have 41,000 troops in 32 countries and overseas territories. It is therefore vital that we train and prepare ourselves for a wide range of conflicts. In the MoD, they speak euphemistically of "capability holidays", which means that such things as air-to-air refuelling and unit-level para drops are being neglected. What message does that send to those around the world who wish us ill? On equipment, the recently published Gray report reveals the Government's management of the equipment programme as haphazard at best and scandalous at worst. However, it is not all bad news on the equipment front. I am happy to see that, as a result of an initiative that I and the noble Lord, Lord Drayson, launched, the motorsport industry is applying its skills—and it is particularly adept at getting things done quickly—in support of the MoD’s urgent operational requirements. Some of these motorsport companies and their factories are now on a real war footing, and I congratulate the noble Baroness and the noble Lord, Lord Drayson, on encouraging this important initiative. On helicopters, the Government have told us that we have enough; then they admit that we do not. So, additional Chinooks are apparently being purchased in a hurry. Can the Government confirm the number? Is it 10, or is it 20? When will they be available? The future medium-lift helicopter, which would bring new aircraft into the inventory, seems to be a low priority; instead, we have an upgrade in Romania of the Puma, which can charitably be characterised as a tired airframe. Are the Government convinced that this expenditure is the best use of public funds, reported to be in the region of £300 million? My noble friend Lord Selsdon mentioned sea lanes. During this Government’s term in office, the number of front-line ships has been reduced. We now see RFA ships undertaking the role properly ascribed to warships; the recent hijacking of the Chandlers’ yacht by pirates, which the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, mentioned, illustrates this point. There have been media reports that the MoD is planning to sell one of the new aircraft carriers to India. Could the Minister comment on that? Finally, we have the prospect of a Green Paper at some point in the new year. That will address many of the issues that we have been discussing today, and I very much hope that it will finally acknowledge that this country is engaged in a war.