To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Coaker on 16 July (HL1645), whether any aircraft other than the 11 Hawk were deployed for transport, spares and support; and how all personnel were transported.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Coaker on 16 July (HL1645), whether any aircraft other than the 11 Hawk were deployed for transport, spares and support; and how all personnel were transported.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the then-Minister for the Armed Forces on 12 March (HC117754), what is the status of the updates being made to the Exchange of Notes between the UK and USA to facilitate the UK's primary legislation on the Agreement concerning the...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the then-Minister for the Armed Forces on 12 March (HC117754), what is the status of the updates being made to the Exchange of Notes between the UK and USA to facilitate the UK's primary legislation on the Agreement concerning the...

Lords private notice question on what steps they are taking to assist in opening the Strait of Hormuz to merchant traffic; and what advice is being given by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre to UK merchant shipping.

Lords private notice question on what steps they are taking to assist in opening the Strait of Hormuz to merchant traffic; and what advice is being given by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre to UK merchant shipping.

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total cost of the operation of the Red Arrows display team visit to the United States of America, and whether it is funded in total or in part by the American government.

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total cost of the operation of the Red Arrows display team visit to the United States of America, and whether it is funded in total or in part by the American government.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many aircraft, specifying the type, and how many personnel have been deployed as part of the Red Arrows display team visit to the United States of America.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many aircraft, specifying the type, and how many personnel have been deployed as part of the Red Arrows display team visit to the United States of America.

To ask His Majesty's Government what information they have about the reasons and justification for transferring of the sexual assault case against US pilot Captain Jacob Wulfson from the UK civil justice system to the UK military one; in how many other cases has such a transfer been made in...

To ask His Majesty's Government what information they have about the reasons and justification for transferring of the sexual assault case against US pilot Captain Jacob Wulfson from the UK civil justice system to the UK military one; in how many other cases has such a transfer been made in...

Lords debate on King's speech (sixth day) on foreign affairs, international relations and defence. Motion on royal address agreed to nemine dissentiente.

Lords debate on King's speech (sixth day) on foreign affairs, international relations and defence. Motion on royal address agreed to nemine dissentiente.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of purchasing the Patriot anti-missile system from the United States.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of purchasing the Patriot anti-missile system from the United States.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have authorised any strikes on Iranian civilian medical facilities by US planes using UK military bases.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have authorised any strikes on Iranian civilian medical facilities by US planes using UK military bases.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have been briefed on all targets in Iran allocated to United States planes taking off from UK bases; and whether there is an assessment process to ensure that those targets are defensive targets.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have been briefed on all targets in Iran allocated to United States planes taking off from UK bases; and whether there is an assessment process to ensure that those targets are defensive targets.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many military bases operated by the government of the USA are located in the UK, and how many (1) military, and (2) civilian, personnel are employed at these bases.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many military bases operated by the government of the USA are located in the UK, and how many (1) military, and (2) civilian, personnel are employed at these bases.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Executive Order “Prioritizing the warfighter in defense contracting”, published by the President of the United States of America on 7 January; and whether a similar decision in respect of stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions would be appropriate...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Executive Order “Prioritizing the warfighter in defense contracting”, published by the President of the United States of America on 7 January; and whether a similar decision in respect of stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions would be appropriate...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that F-35 aircraft purchased by the Royal Air Force contain a ‘kill switch’ controlled by either the manufacturer or the US government that can render them useless.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that F-35 aircraft purchased by the Royal Air Force contain a ‘kill switch’ controlled by either the manufacturer or the US government that can render them useless.

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given in Project Troubler and Project Grayburn to the decision by the US Army to standardise their rifles and light machine guns on a common 6.8-millimetre calibre.

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given in Project Troubler and Project Grayburn to the decision by the US Army to standardise their rifles and light machine guns on a common 6.8-millimetre calibre.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with their counterparts in the United States about possible future support by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force for US boarding of sanctioned vessels.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with their counterparts in the United States about possible future support by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force for US boarding of sanctioned vessels.

My Lords, any future requests from the US for Royal Navy and Royal Air Force support for operations will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This includes appropriate consideration of the legal basis for any proposed activity. The MoD will continue to step up action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy and global stability, but we cannot comment on hypothetical future operations.

My Lords, any future requests from the US for Royal Navy and Royal Air Force support for operations will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This includes appropriate consideration of the legal basis for any proposed activity. The MoD will continue to step up action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy and global stability, but we cannot comment on hypothetical future operations.

The unity of purpose between His Majesty’s Opposition, the Government and all Members of this House sends a hugely important and significant signal to Russia and our adversaries, so I very much welcome the first part of the noble Baroness’s question. I anticipated her question. I do not normally do this, but I want to read something because if I am not careful, I will stray into areas that would not be appropriate. I apologise to the House, but I think it is important to read something, so please forgive me if I take a little bit longer than I would normally, because the noble Baroness has made an important point.

“As we have made clear in our recent statements regarding the US military operation to interdict the MV ‘Bella 1’, the UK will not stand by as malign activity increases on the high seas. Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response against shadow vessels, and we will continue to do so. We are fully committed to tackling the threat posed by the shadow fleet and are working with partners to maximise efforts. We will use the range of tools at our disposal to crack down on sanctions evasion and illegal maritime activity”.

I hope that goes some way to answering the noble Baroness’s question.

The unity of purpose between His Majesty’s Opposition, the Government and all Members of this House sends a hugely important and significant signal to Russia and our adversaries, so I very much welcome the first part of the noble Baroness’s question. I anticipated her question. I do not normally do this, but I want to read something because if I am not careful, I will stray into areas that would not be appropriate. I apologise to the House, but I think it is important to read something, so please forgive me if I take a little bit longer than I would normally, because the noble Baroness has made an important point.

“As we have made clear in our recent statements regarding the US military operation to interdict the MV ‘Bella 1’, the UK will not stand by as malign activity increases on the high seas. Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response against shadow vessels, and we will continue to do so. We are fully committed to tackling the threat posed by the shadow fleet and are working with partners to maximise efforts. We will use the range of tools at our disposal to crack down on sanctions evasion and illegal maritime activity”.

I hope that goes some way to answering the noble Baroness’s question.

My noble friend heard the careful Answer that I gave to the noble Baroness; I hope that went some way to answering the question that he has posed. It is not as though we have not been doing anything. Let me set out the facts for my noble friend; I asked for them and mentioned them a couple of days ago. As a consequence of sanctions, Russia’s oil revenues are down 27% compared with October 2024 and 544 vessels have had sanctions imposed on them by us, with 200 of these sidelined through actions taken by ourselves and our partners. So I take the noble Lord’s point about the need to go further and faster, but we are taking action, and that action has had some consequence on the Russian war machine.

My noble friend heard the careful Answer that I gave to the noble Baroness; I hope that went some way to answering the question that he has posed. It is not as though we have not been doing anything. Let me set out the facts for my noble friend; I asked for them and mentioned them a couple of days ago. As a consequence of sanctions, Russia’s oil revenues are down 27% compared with October 2024 and 544 vessels have had sanctions imposed on them by us, with 200 of these sidelined through actions taken by ourselves and our partners. So I take the noble Lord’s point about the need to go further and faster, but we are taking action, and that action has had some consequence on the Russian war machine.

The noble and gallant Lord will know that we await the defence investment plan, which will lay out the capabilities that the Government believe that we need for war-fighting readiness. The noble and gallant Lord will also know that we have taken action in the Baltic to protect underwater critical infrastructure, with “Proteus” and other capabilities. He will also know that, with respect to the interdiction of the shadow vessel between Iceland and Scotland, we used RAF surveillance aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as the RFA ship. It is also worth pointing out that, notwithstanding the might of the United States, it asked for our support and help in doing what it did, and we were happy to give it.

The noble and gallant Lord will know that we await the defence investment plan, which will lay out the capabilities that the Government believe that we need for war-fighting readiness. The noble and gallant Lord will also know that we have taken action in the Baltic to protect underwater critical infrastructure, with “Proteus” and other capabilities. He will also know that, with respect to the interdiction of the shadow vessel between Iceland and Scotland, we used RAF surveillance aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as the RFA ship. It is also worth pointing out that, notwithstanding the might of the United States, it asked for our support and help in doing what it did, and we were happy to give it.

What we are doing is trying to make sure that we get it right. Even if you increase the budget by £3 billion, £4 billion or £5 billion, there will be debate about the correct way to spend that money. What is the war-fighting readiness that we need? What is the capability that we need to tackle the threats that we face? We as a Government are determined to ensure that we can fight the war of the future—that we are ready to fight the war of the future, not the war of the past. That takes decisions, that takes debate, that takes discussion, and that is what is going on.

What we are doing is trying to make sure that we get it right. Even if you increase the budget by £3 billion, £4 billion or £5 billion, there will be debate about the correct way to spend that money. What is the war-fighting readiness that we need? What is the capability that we need to tackle the threats that we face? We as a Government are determined to ensure that we can fight the war of the future—that we are ready to fight the war of the future, not the war of the past. That takes decisions, that takes debate, that takes discussion, and that is what is going on.