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If the United States had been more sensitive and even-handed in the Middle East, things might have been very different. America, as the superpower, has done much good in the world, but it has made many mistakes—Vietnam, the Middle East, backing many unpleasant right-wing regimes in South America and, more recently, its policy in Iraq. Thankfully, things seem marginally to be improving there.
We now face a very dangerous situation in Iran, which was referred to a few minutes ago by the noble Lord, Lord Gilbert. We all pray that a peaceful solution will be achieved. The United States had an opportunity for dialogue some years ago, but spurned it. Iran is pursuing not only nuclear ambitions, but appears to be quartermaster to a wide range of insurgent activity. But we must remember that President Ahmadinejad and the mullahs do not represent all Iranians in a complex Islamic state. There is a significant reformist movement in Iran. More than 100 publications have been closed since 1997. Recently, 170 journalists released an open letter to the managing directors of newspapers, urging them to maintain professional ethics and to resist the regime’s pressures and illegal demands in news coverage. It is vital that we in the West talk and communicate with a wider Iran, parallel to more formal discussions with its Government. It is particularly good news that the BBC has obtained funding for a Farsi TV channel, which should be operational next year. The necessary staff are being trained. I only wish that this had been up and running somewhat earlier. I hope that President Bush consults
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On Afghanistan, there is cross-party consensus that the deployment is in Britain's security interests and is a tough but necessary mission. Everyone agrees that our forces are doing a magnificent job given their numbers and circumstances. Clearly there are insufficient troops for operations in such a vast country. With some honourable exceptions, too many countries have failed to deliver and too many have caveats about what they will do and where they will go. The noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, referred to 37 countries. Numerically that is correct, but one would wish that they were all pulling together and contributing in equal numbers. Similarly, if the ideas of the noble Lord, Lord Jopling, of NATO and Europe coming together were to be achieved, that would be extremely helpful. It is intolerable for our troops to take positions after fierce fighting only to know that, with too few troops to hold them, they are likely to have to retake them again in the future. I welcome the improvement in equipment, but as the Defence Select Committee said in its 7 July report, the United Kingdom helicopter operations in Afghanistan are not sustainable at present intensity.
My noble friend Lord Ashdown recently pointed out in an article that we are putting one twenty-fifth of the troop numbers and one fiftieth of the amount of aid per head of population into Afghanistan than we put into Bosnia and Kosovo. The state of emergency and the crisis in Pakistan, referred to by a number of noble Lords, is extremely worrying. It makes the anti-Taliban operations in the border and tribal areas of that country much more difficult and uncertain. It is quite clear that, at present, we have no clear policy on how to tackle opium production. If the Minister can contradict that I would be very grateful. When we debated the subject a fortnight ago the policy was not clear to me. I also ask the Minister where the Government stand on the appointment of a high-profile individual to co-ordinate the international effort, called for repeatedly, not least by the Defence Select Committee and many others.
Many Members of your Lordships’ House have talked on Europe. My noble friend Lord Wallace set out our position. On these Benches we have been consistently the most pro-European party. The noble Lord, Lord Howell, talked of the Official Opposition as having been “very good Europeans”. He did smile slightly. That is not the vision that I recognised in the mid to late-1990s when Conservative anti-European attitudes were one of the prime reasons for me bidding them farewell. I have always favoured the approach of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, with his progressive European policy.
I want to focus my later remarks on the overstretch of our forces. Currently, we cannot go on as we are. The nation has to match commitments to resources. The noble Lord, Lord Drayson, said in July:
“The sustained operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan test our ability to maintain this level of operations over a period and I accept that this is beyond the planning assumptions”.—[Official Report, 25/7/07; col. 845.]
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The think tank Demos reported extensively in this Monday’s media that the Armed Forces are “running on empty”. They need,
- “a sustained period of time—perhaps a decade—to recover from the intensity of operations undertaken since 2000”.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, has warned of painful spending decisions. The reality must be appreciated across the political divide: it is that we have reduced our defence expenditure—which is now just over 2.4 per cent of GDP—and our Armed Forces just too far. About 70 countries now spend a greater proportion of their GDP on defence than we do. The policy was started by the previous Government and was continued by the present one, but it cannot go on. I recall that when I was a defence Minister more than 20 years ago, I spent hours trying to defend the size of the Navy against opposition and many Conservative MPs, and deciding whether we should say that the running fleet was “approximately 50” or “broadly 50” or “about 50”. We searched for a form of words to put the best interpretation on the situation, and I am sad to say that there has been a steady decline since then.
Let us look at some examples of overstretch. The majority of United Kingdom troops do not currently benefit from the Army standard two-year tour interval between each six-month tour. In 2006-07, 10 per cent of training events were cancelled, some on the grounds of cost. The number of helicopters is virtually the same as it was in 1997, and many helicopter crews are below strength. A number of people have suggested to me that had helicopters been under the control of the Army rather than the Royal Air Force—I am ignoring naval helicopters in this—they would have been given far greater priority. There is currently great concern about the safety of our Nimrod fleet, and a number of articles have been written about it. It is flying well beyond the original expectations. We have only 15 per cent of the Harrier GR7 flying instructors we need, 20 per cent of the radiologists, less than 50 per cent of the surgeons and 65 per cent of the nurses. There is widespread speculation that the MoD is facing a shortfall of £1 billion over the next three years. There has been a 1.5 per cent rise in the budget, but equipment and manpower costs are increasing at a much higher rate.
The former Secretary of State for Defence, the noble Lord, Lord King, passionately questioned the commitment of this Government to defence, and he was right. There are rumours of RAF cuts—a quarter of its front-line bomber force and the closure of two bases—and of naval cuts—all four Type 22 frigates and one destroyer. It was interesting that the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, questioned the need for the two new carriers. I muse about whether the go-ahead for the carriers would have been given had the Prime Minister not represented a constituency fairly close to Rosyth. Now there are suggestions that within the overall defence budget there should be adjustments and reallocation with equipment amounting to about 40 per cent of the budget.
Demos, the think tank I referred to earlier, suggests diverting expenditure on high-tech equipment from antisubmarine warfare and high-level interceptors to
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I have a specific question for the Minister about US missile defences, which were referred to by my noble friend Lady Williams. Was the United Kingdom consulted before negotiations on placing US missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic started? I would be grateful for a specific answer to that question.
By all means let us have another defence review, but we must always be ready to deal with the unexpected. In this dangerous and uncertain world, our international responsibilities are unlikely to diminish. We cannot ignore the threats that international terrorism and, possibly, Iran pose, nor can we ignore the significant increases in Chinese and Russian defence expenditure.
In a changing world, we have to recognise that the role of our Armed Forces also has to change. There are increasing peacekeeping, humanitarian and rescue roles. Perhaps we should consider broadening the title of Ministry of Defence, maybe to something like Ministry of Defence and Rescue, or Ministry of Defence and Humanitarian Relief, or Ministry of Defence and Peacekeeping. Similarly, we should look at how we in the Palace of Westminster acknowledge and recognise the achievements and bravery of our service personnel. Perhaps we should consider an annual Armed Forces day at Westminster where both Houses debate defence policy and MPs and Peers host representatives of the units which have returned from conflict and operations overseas. It is time for greater resource and greater recognition for those who defend us.
10.10 pm
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, the House has been treated to some outstanding speeches today. My noble friend Lord Howell has, in a characteristically well thought-out speech, covered important aspects of foreign, Commonwealth and European affairs and international development. I shall focus my remarks primarily on defence matters, but first I must pick up on one of a number of inaccurate comments made by the noble Lord, Lord Clinton-Davis. My party has absolutely no plans for this country to leave the European Union.
I, too, welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton. She comes to this position with a distinguished background and a real understanding of intelligence and security. I look forward to working constructively with her.
The noble Lord, Lord Drayson, will be a very hard act to follow. He brought a fresh and commercial perspective to defence procurement. He will be remembered for the defence industrial strategy and for reforming various aspects of defence acquisition. He was responsible for the speedy introduction to operations of some vital equipment, and his departure will be
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As the noble Lord, Lord Gilbert, said, I know how much the whole House feels the loss of Lord Garden from this debate. I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, as the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman.
The debate has given us the opportunity to join in paying tribute to our Armed Forces, which we as a nation have sent to engage on our behalf in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our expression of support and appreciation for members of our Armed Forces, for their courage and their professionalism as they put their lives at risk in this way, is, I believe, absolute and unqualified throughout the House. The noble Lord, Lord Rogan, rightly said that our Armed Forces continue to be a source of national pride. Sunday is Remembrance Day. We will remember, among many others, those who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We should also remember those who have been injured, some very severely, as the noble Lord, Lord Williamson, pointed out. I also pay tribute to our reserves and their employers. The reserves have had their fair share of operations and I am proud to declare an interest as honorary colonel for the TA regiment.
We on these Benches are disappointed that the Government have dropped the coroners Bill from this parliamentary Session. The Government pledged in May 2006 to deal with outstanding inquests but, despite those promises, we now have the highest backlog ever. Will the Minister assure us that that will be dealt with swiftly to remove that unacceptable burden on forces’ families?
My noble friend Lord Selsdon mentioned the verdict of the coroner today in the case of Fusilier Gentle. I trust that the Government and the MoD will take on board the coroner’s comments and rectify any failings of the past. I should be grateful if the Minister could confirm—if necessary, by letter—that the specific recommendations of Fusilier Gentle’s board of inquiry have been acted on.
Many issues have been raised today, and time does not allow me to refer to every speaker. A number of speakers mentioned Iraq, and assurances were sought on the protection of our Armed Forces. As the hour is late, I shall save my questions on Iraq for the defence debate later this month. However, in a very eloquent speech, the noble Lord, Lord Gilbert, pointed out the seriousness of an attack on Iran.
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On Afghanistan, several noble Lords commented on the lack of military support by other NATO members, which is undermining NATO. Our allies are not accepting their responsibilities. Twenty-three per cent of the British Army is committed to operations generally and 21 per cent of the American army is committed to operations generally, but the figure is only 5 per cent among other NATO members. The noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, mentioned NATO members’ different rules of engagement and caveats. Concern was expressed over civilian casualties, especially from American bombing and increasingly sophisticated IEDs. That is very worrying, as the Taliban is now apparently using $10 million of South Korean ransom to buy sophisticated weapons from Iran.
My noble friend Lord Lyell mentioned the All-Party House of Lords Defence Group; I compliment him on the hard work that he does as its secretary. The noble Baroness, Lady Symons, and the noble Lords, Lord Ahmed and Lord Thomas of Gresford, drew the House’s attention to the perilous situation in Pakistan. The noble Lord, Lord Luce, made some very interesting observations about the Gulf region and the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, spoke on Burma and Sudan. My noble friend Lord Jopling was rightly concerned at the lack of co-operation between NATO and the EU. My noble and learned friend Lord Howe of Aberavon mentioned the revival of Russia. The re-emergence of its armed forces is an area that we will need to keep our eyes on in future. My noble and learned friend also gave us a fascinating insight into discussions with the Chinese over Hong Kong before 1997. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Winchester spoke emotionally about the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On the Armed Forces, the Minister painted a very rosy picture. However, as my noble friend Lord King pointed out, there is a real crisis of morale among our troops. The pressure on them is greater than at any other time. The noble Lord, Lord Addington, pointed out graphically the real problems caused by overstretch and the noble Viscount, Lord Brookeborough, spoke of the large number of service personnel needing welfare support.
The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, was concerned that the CSR settlement will not be enough and that something will have to be delayed or abandoned. He questioned the wisdom of going ahead with two aircraft carriers. We on these Benches support the carrier project. We believe that they will project our power and influence in the world for many years to come, but will they go ahead? There are concerns that the money to pay for short-term fixes will have to come from the equipment programme. The noble and gallant Lord is right to say that there are likely to be cuts. Cost reduction exercises are going on at the moment within the MoD. I understand that the Future Lynx programme is at risk of being cancelled. Will the Minister comment on this? What about FRES?
There is similar concern that the defence budget will not allow all the proposed naval programmes to be fulfilled to the level that service chiefs would like and that more frigates or destroyers will have to be
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On Army equipment, the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, mentioned the Mastiff, which has been very successful on operations. Will the noble Lord, Lord Malloch-Brown, give an assurance, if necessary by letter, that the suspension problems have now been sorted out? On the Royal Air Force, I was pleased to see that Typhoon has recently begun trials with heavy weapon loads. There have been safety concerns about Hercules and Nimrod, which I believe the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, mentioned. We will return to this important issue in the defence debate later this month.
We welcome the Government’s current consultation proposals on limiting executive powers on war and treaties, and look forward to working with them on this vital issue. Will the Minister say when we are likely to see a draft Bill? Yesterday, as the noble Lord, Lord Addington, said, we learnt that there will be a 30 per cent increase in PAX life assurance premiums. Fifty-eight thousand members of the Armed Forces have taken out insurance with PAX. In light of the real concern about this issue in the Armed Forces, I should be grateful if the Minister could say something about it in his winding-up speech.
The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, and the noble Lord, Lord Rogan, mentioned the military covenant, which is being cynically broken again and again by a Government who will wars but refuse to accept responsibility for their consequences, whether political, moral or financial.
The troops need something just as important: respect. The public, and worse the Government, all too often fail to understand or appreciate the sacrifices that our service men and women are making. Take the case of the Secretary of State for Defence and for Scotland, an appointment that was described by the noble Lord, Lord Gilbert, as most disgraceful. If the Secretary of State cannot devote his entire attention to working on his troops’ behalf, how can he expect them to give him their loyalty? No Prime Minister who truly understood and respected our Armed Forces would have reduced the great office of Secretary of State for Defence to a part-time job. As Chancellor, the Prime Minister showed himself to be indifferent to the needs of our Armed Forces. However, we read in the Daily Telegraph that he admires courage and the exploits of military heroes of the past, so I hope that he will now have the courage to ensure that the military heroes of today and their families are properly looked after in return for their sacrifices in the line of duty.
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10.23 pm
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): My Lords, this has indeed been a very rich debate. I had been warned that responding for the first time to the gracious Speech was an experience, the like of which one would not see again. I expected to have to answer questions on many subjects; I must say that I had not expected motor racing to feature as prominently in this debate as it has. I will return to the remarks of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, about China later. As he said that he had first been to that country in 1978, let me remind him of how Chinese banquets were in those days. There were endless courses one after the other—each exquisite, many rather hot and spicy—which reminds me of the debate this evening; when you aggregate all the courses, it is rather long. With that in mind, I will try not to detain your Lordships for too long.
I begin by joining those of you who have welcomed my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton back to the Front Benches, but now in this House. On her behalf, I thank all noble Lords who said such kind things about her this evening, and I assure you that we will pass on to my noble friend Lord Drayson the many kind remarks that were made about him. I reassure noble Lords that, as is clear from the exchange of letters between my noble friend and the Prime Minister, there is every hope that he will return at a later date to the Front Benches; perhaps as Minister for Sport given his new skills. I assure those who see a conspiracy in the timing of his departure that only at the end of October did it become clear that this gentle Peer during the week was such a ruthless driver at the weekends that he succeeded in the UK GT series and therefore qualified for the Le Mans series in America starting next year.
I now turn to pick up the theme begun by the noble Lord, Lord Howell—that foreign policy is in many ways now global policy. In addition to our old bilateral agenda we now have to deal with so many issues to which old solutions are not easily applied—problems such as climate change or migration. Equally, there is a sense in which not only must we find new alliances and new ways of doing business abroad in the area of foreign policy, but even here at home the old distinctions between defence policy, foreign policy and development policy have broken down. We are now very much joined up. Issues such as terrorism and failed states, migration and many others are no longer amenable to old single-department solutions. Both abroad and at home, we work within a much more complex web of relations.
The noble Lord, Lord Wallace, defied anyone in the Chamber tonight to think of an international issue on which we would benefit from acting alone. The noble Lord, Lord Howell, talked about how foreign policy had metamorphosed into a network of states rather than the old bilateral approaches. We all recognise that we are dealing with a more complex world. One point made in that context was not to overlook one of the easiest and already formed networks—the Commonwealth. I completely endorse that point of view. It was pointed out that Prince
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