Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con): If he will make a statement
on his departmental responsibilities. The Secretary of State for
Defence (Mr Ben Wallace): Today, I am placing a copy of the
Department’s qualitative whole force inclusivity report in the
House of Commons Library. It will form part of the evidence the
Ministry of Defence is submitting to the Defence Committee’s
inquiry into women in the armed forces. The report helps to
underline the scale of the task we must address....Request free trial
(Brigg and Goole)
(Con): If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Defence ( ):
Today, I am placing a copy of the Department’s qualitative
whole force inclusivity report in the House of Commons Library. It
will form part of the evidence the Ministry of Defence is
submitting to the Defence Committee’s inquiry into women in the
armed forces. The report helps to underline the scale of the task
we must address. Given the significance of the issue, I felt that a
wider readership was important. The armed forces offer a fantastic
career opportunity for men and women alike, but, as the reports
highlights, their experiences are not always equal and in some
cases are unacceptable. I am determined to level up opportunities
for all who work in defence through behaviour and culture change.
While much is being done, including the implementation of the
Wigston and Gray reports, I am grateful to the Defence Committee
for its additional work in this important area.
We take taskforce protection of our service personnel allies
very seriously, and want Iran to engage seriously
with the international community, especially on its nuclear
commitments. We remain concerned over support for militant
proscribed groups. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps as a whole remains subject to UK, EU
and US sanctions. Many associated individuals and entities are also
designated. We review the list of proscribed groups, but do not
routinely comment on specific organisations.
: I
thank the Secretary of State for answering my question before I
asked it, which was excellent and very timely. I thank him for his
answer. In recent weeks, Iran has once again
threatened to crush its enemies. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
has been testing long-range missiles and drones. I am aware
of what my right hon. Friend said in regard to proscribing the
revolutionary guard, but this is a country that continues to
destabilise the middle east so we really must go
further.
Mr Wallace: I apologise to my hon. Friend for
jumping the gun, so to speak. The IRGC and its
activities in the region are destabilising. That is why the United
Kingdom is investing, along with its allies and NATO, in keeping
places such as Iraq stable and secure. We ask the
IRGC and the Iranian Government
to desist from that activity, and to return to the table on the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action now that we
have a new US Administration. Let us try to resolve the nuclear
issue and return to some stability.
(Wentworth and Dearne) (Lab) The Secretary
of State mentions nuclear proliferation in relation to
Iran, but I am disappointed that he makes no
mention of New START—strategic arms reduction treaty—which
President Biden rescued last week, particularly as Britain is a
beneficiary of the stability that it brings to Europe. He made no
mention of New START when it collapsed with President Trump last
year. He was also silent when the US pulled out of the 34-nation
open skies treaty, so why has Britain become a bystander while the
international rules-based order has been breaking down? While it
remains essential to maintain our UK nuclear deterrent, will he
also use the integrated review to reboot Britain’s commitment to
help forge the next generation of necessary arms controls and
security agreements?
Mr Speaker
May I just remind Front Benchers that topicals are meant to
be short and punchy so that we get through the list?
Mr Wallace
First, we did not necessarily write it, but I read the right
hon. Gentleman’s good article over the weekend with the shadow
Foreign Secretary, the hon. Member for Wigan (), calling for
action on a number of these issues. It was not the case that the
United Kingdom did not communicate to the United States
Administration the importance of both the open skies treaty and the
New START agreement. We welcome its return. Sometimes we do things
in public; sometimes we do things in private. It is incredibly
important, and we welcome the steps that are being taken, but we
should not forget that Russia has consistently broken some of these
treaties and played on loopholes, both on chemical weapons and
nuclear weapons.
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