Speeches by Ballinger.

“Has there been any impact in our co-operation with the Israeli defence industry?”

“There is lots of concern among UN agencies and human rights organisations that the IDF is using the same tactics in Lebanon that we had serious concerns about in Gaza. There are reports of 10,000 homes being destroyed. According to the WHO, close to 150 aid workers have been killed, and more than 1 million civilians ha…”

“So there are no UK personnel in Israel working alongside the Israeli Government on things outside Gaza or anything like that?”

“Just to confirm, there have been no changes in our defence relationship with Israel after the announcements that were made in 2024?”

“Of course. Israel’s continued breaches are flagrant. They are publicly advertised—there are more journalists in Lebanon to report on them. Does that not show that the steps that we have taken so far have not been effective? Does the sense of impunity that the Chair talks about need some sort of response?”

“What are our personnel in the CMCC doing?”

“Minister, you have talked about some of the breaches of international humanitarian law that caused the partial arms embargo. We have seen lots of evidence, in witness statements from former members of the IDF, lots of UN reporting and the like, of things like the indiscriminate killing of civilians based on their age a…”

“But no specific changes have happened after the conduct of Israel in Lebanon that has been seen this year.”

“T4. I was pleased to see co-operation with the Netherlands on a new amphibious fleet in the defence investment plan. I spent two years of my career working alongside the Dutch marines, and the Royal Marines have a long history of co-operation with them—mostly not fighting each other—but since our amphibious ships HMS A…”

“13. What assessment he has made of the level of threat from Russia.”

“I was concerned to see reports last week of drones launched from Russian shadow fleet vessels overflying critical infrastructure in the UK, including nuclear air bases and nuclear sites, as well as other concerning issues. I welcome the action taken by the Royal Marines to seize the shadow tanker vessels, but will the …”

“Q4. I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s comments on the legacy of Jo Cox. I know that all of us in this place have been following the contest for No. 10 quite closely in recent weeks, but amid the north versus south debate, I think it is about time we had someone from the midlands who was ready to step into th…”

“Sadly, Dudley borough was named in Alan Milburn’s “Young people and work” report as the worst performing borough in the country for tracking 16 and 17-year-olds—for over a thousand 16 and 17-year-olds, it was unknown whether they were working, in school or in college, or what they were doing at all. Can the Secretary o…”

“Last week we heard the very welcome news that the final asylum hotel in Dudley borough has closed. The system set up by the Conservatives was a complete failure. It was very inappropriate to house people in town centres, and it was extremely costly for the taxpayer. I am very pleased that this Labour Government are fin…”

“I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has raised air defence. Does he regret the cuts made to air defence under the last Government, when funding for defence reduced so dramatically, and does he welcome the investment this Government are making in air defence, learning the lessons we are now seeing in Ukraine?”

“I recognise similar circumstances at that time when I served, which was for a shorter period than my hon. Friend, but does she recognise the massive impact on morale of the successive real-terms pay cuts that the Conservatives gave our brave armed forces during that period?”

“Yes. It is a really positive development, because it allows His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, trading standards and the police to investigate properly in those 12 months and build a case so that they can go after not just the shop but the people behind it. On Cradley Heath High Street, there is something that sits rig…”

“I am glad my hon. Friend raised that issue. He shared with me some photographs of paraphernalia that looks just like a packet of Skittles or a packet of sweets. It is completely unacceptable that we allow businesses to market these things, which only encourage illegality, to children. In my constituency, an undercover …”

“I agree, and I hope the Government are looking to close some of the loopholes at Companies House and strengthen oversight of fake directors who are abusing the system. Finally, I am concerned about whether landlords can be complicit in the organised crime that we see. We propose increasing the transparency and accounta…”

“We can see the scale of the problem across the country from how many people have come to the debate today from different nations, cities, towns, seaside resorts and rural areas. It is great to see such interest. I am pleased about the steps the Government have taken so far. I thank the Minister in particular for taking…”