Speeches by Twigg.

“Those needing to know in what state the last Government left the armed forces should look at the report on readiness for war by the Defence Committee, on which there was a Conservative majority. I really welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, particularly on waste and on the recruitment and retention of key people…”

“That is why we have you here, given your vast experience and knowledge. How can the MOD make this more transparent for the Committee?”

“Do you think they were trying to be more transparent?”

“Just to be clear, I am sure you weren’t suggesting that the MOD were concerned that they were not being transparent to the Committee, were you?”

“In the past, Parliament has been able to monitor spending on the capability programmes via the equipment plan. There is some uncertainty about whether there will be an equipment plan this year, with the MOD considering whether it is fit for purpose. What is your view on that? How serious a concern is it?”

“I remind Members to bob if they wish to speak—I am pleased to see that they are doing so.”

“I will call Sonia Kumar to move the motion and the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates.”

“I thank Members for their co-operation in terms of the time they are taking for their speeches. I say to the Front-Bench speakers that I am keen that the hon. Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) should get a chance at the end of the debate to wind up for a minute or so.”

“Order. If hon. Members can keep speeches to not more than four minutes—that precedent has been set well so far—I will not have to impose a time limit at this stage. Interventions will obviously extend the limit.”

“I welcome my right hon. Friend’s comments about North Korea and the growing alliance of aggression that needs to be confronted. I hope that we will have a strong response to that. I also welcome the extra £2.26 billion. My right hon. Friend made the important point—one of many—that the Ukrainians are being outgunned th…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for the work he is doing to support Ukraine. It is very important that we have a united front, and that we are there for the long term to support Ukraine, as we have already heard this morning. What is his view about the determination of our allies to see this conflict through right to th…”

“I will call Sir Ashley Fox to move the motion and then the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates. At least one other Member has indicated that they wish to speak, and there may be interventions.”

“If Members want to be called in the debate, they need to bob.”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and the 100% commitment to supporting Ukraine, as we have seen previously. I welcome his statement about the investment in LMM defence. Can he say a bit more about the scope of that?”

“The defence industry manufacturing base is, of course, vital to this country, not least in the engineering jobs it provides. We know that steel is crucial to building armoured vehicles and ships, for instance. It is very important that we have a regular and guaranteed supply of steel, and we want to see more UK steel u…”

“I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. She touched on stockpiles of armaments and missiles; as she knows, we have had a long-standing problem in that regard. Will she say more about what work is being done now to ensure that those stockpiles are increased and that we can supply more to Ukraine?”

“I welcome the statement by the Foreign Secretary. He referred to countering the Iranian threats; in his short time in office, has he made any assessment yet about how successful they have been?”

“Under the previous Government, there was at least a £17 billion black hole in defence, and of course they had hollowed out the armed forces. However, it is a surprise to find out today that not enough money was set aside in reserve to fund all the military assistance needed for Ukraine. Would the Chancellor say a bit m…”

“I congratulate the Lord Chancellor on her appointment. As has been mentioned, reoffending has been a major problem. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation services are at a premium and need looking at, but another key factor is ensuring that when prisoners leave prison, they get a job. What work is being done to ensure that t…”

“I understand the hon. Member’s pitch for extra resources for Northern Ireland, but I think he will recognise that there is now a major recruitment crisis in the armed forces that has been ongoing for many years. It is not just an issue of recruitment; it is also about retaining good, experienced people. That is what we…”