The comments made by Stephen Morgan, the Shadow Armed Forces Minister, on 7 September 2020.
The worrying increase of over seven thousand application withdrawals this year continues this Government’s decade of decline in failing to support our country’s Armed Forces and its recruits.
Whilst the Minister claims to be looking to improve the Armed Forces ‘offer’, its failing recruitment contract is clearly not working.
Comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 5 August 2020.
VJ Day is sometimes seen as the forgotten victory, but this year, on its 75th anniversary, our celebrations are rightly focused on paying special tribute to the Greatest Generation and their service and sacrifice in the Far East. I will be thinking of the unique hardships faced by those who served, and thanking them for all they did for us.
The partnerships forged during the Far East campaign continue to thrive today. It’s a unique honour for me as Defence Secretary to meet Second World War veterans in person at important commemorations such as these. As a former Army officer, I understand just how much today’s troops are inspired by those who came before them.
I am proud we have put together such a full programme of events and look forward to paying tribute to our amazing Asia pacific war veterans.
Comments made by Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 5 August 2020.
We must never forget the bravery and sacrifice of our greatest generation. On 15 August we will come together as a nation to remember, give thanks and pay tribute to the endurance of those who served around the world and finally secured peace for us. These commemorations will inspire a new generation to learn about them and ensure their stories of heroism and sacrifice live on.
The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 5 August 2020.
When the Second World War ended 75 years ago with the surrender of Japan, British soldiers, sailors and airmen were serving in the Far East, fighting hard to achieve victory – and were among the last to come home.
On this anniversary I want to remember what we owe the veterans of the Far East campaign. They brought an end to the Second World War, they changed the course of history for the better, liberated South East Asia, and many paid the ultimate sacrifice.
That’s why on this remarkable anniversary – and every day hereafter – we will remember them.
The comments made by Alok Sharma, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on 20 July 2020.
We have an incredible aerospace industry right here in the UK that defines the way aircraft are manufactured globally.
This £400 million ATI investment will help secure our world-leading position in developing new flight technology to make air travel safer and greener into the future.
The text of the comments made by Amanda Solloway, the Science Minister, on 19 July 2020.
Space technology plays an important role in supporting our military and keeping us safe, while also boosting the UK’s economy and enabling world-leading science and research.
With this major investment in Skynet 6A, the development of the National Satellite Test Facility and the launch of a dedicated innovation programme, we are setting a bold new ambition for the UK in space.
The text of the comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 19 July 2020.
To safeguard our military on operations around the world we need to ensure that we protect their communications on land, sea or in air. The newest contested frontier is space and so we need to provide resilience and better communications for our forces. SKYNET 6A is one of many solutions we shall be investing in over the next decade. This Government recognises the urgent need to defend and promote space capabilities.
The text of the comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 17 July 2020.
Our Armed Forces work incredibly hard to keep our nation safe, and so it is only right that they have a place they feel proud to call home.
From introducing a generous Forces Help to Buy scheme to piloting a new rented accommodation model, we have made enormous steps in recent years to offer flexible housing for a modern workforce.
This latest investment will benefit thousands of our personnel and their families, providing the standard of living they deserve.
The text of the comments made by Julian Lewis on 16 July 2020, following his expulsion from the Conservative Party.
Because the ISC (Intelligence and Security Committee) is a special committee, I feel constrained in what I can say. However, the following points are relevant.
1 – The 2013 Justice and Security Act explicitly removed the right of the Prime Minister to choose the ISC chairman and gave it to the committee members. I remember this well, as I served on the committee from 2010 to 2015 and took part of the legislation through the Commons myself on behalf of the committee. There is no other Conservative MP in the House of Commons with any past experience of working on the ISC.
2 – It was only yesterday afternoon that I received a text asking me to confirm that I would be voting for the Prime Minister’s preferred candidate for the ISC chair. I did not reply as I considered it an improper request. At no earlier stage did I give any undertaking to vote for any particular candidate.
3 – In recent days, the official Number 10 spokesman explicitly denied that the Government was seeking to ‘parachute’ a preferred candidate in to the chair, stating that it was a matter for the senior parliamentarians on the committee to decide. It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the Government’s preferred candidate.
The text of the speech made by Greg Hands, the Minister for Trade Policy, in the House of Commons on 13 July 2020.
The Secretary of State has retaken the licensing decisions, as required by the Court of Appeal. All existing and new applications for Saudi Arabia for possible use in the conflict in Yemen will be assessed against the revised methodology, which considers whether there is a clear risk that the equipment might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
The revised methodology was developed to address the Court of Appeal’s judgment. It considers all allegations that are assessed as likely to have occurred and that have been caused by fixed-wing aircraft, reflecting the factual circumstances that the court proceedings concerned. It remains the case, however, that it can be extremely difficult to reach firm conclusions as to whether specific incidents violate the principles of international humanitarian law. Therefore, where an incident is assessed as a possible breach, it is regarded for the purposes of the relevant analysis as if there were breaches of IHL. I emphasise that that analysis is just one part of the assessment.
In retaking these decisions, the Secretary of State has considered the full range of information available to the Government. Some of that information is necessarily sensitive and confidential. I am therefore not able to go into detail about individual assessments. The crucial point is that we have assessed that there were a small number of incidents that have been treated, for the purposes of this analysis, as violations of international humanitarian law. However, these were isolated incidents and our analysis shows that Saudi Arabia has a genuine intent and the capacity to comply with international humanitarian law and the specific commitments it has made.
It is on that basis that the Secretary of State has assessed that there is not a clear risk that the export of arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.