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Defence in the World

It is a pleasure to commence the wind-ups at such an early hour. We have had a series of good contributions—a total of 11 from right across the House—and, although I tend to get rather cynical sometimes, especially after six hours of sitting in the Chamber, I have to say that they have all been of exceptional value. I must add, however, more in sorrow than in anger, that it is a pity that we did not get any Back-Bench contributions from the Liberal Democrats. If they want to be taken seriously on this subject, as on any other, they need to show a bit more interest. It is particularly good to be debating defence on the Ides of March, perhaps slightly portentously.