Speeches by Lewell.

“Minister, you will be aware that, last year, the previous iteration of this Committee did a report called “Ready for War?”, which highlighted that we are significantly lacking in kit and personnel. That was only around 12 months ago. At the time, we also said that you cannot just keep saying, “We will rely on our allie…”

“We are not ready yet, are we, Minister?”

“Just to expand it a little bit, the territory that Russia seized with its bite-and-hold operations in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine has so far proved impossible to recover. Should the UK enhance our deterrence by denial by forward-deploying more military capabilities to deter Russia from crossing the threshold from hybr…”

“In what other ways can defence use deterrence to counter hybrid threats? That is one example. What other ways are there?”

“Just following on from my colleague Derek’s questions, what we know is that, in the last six weeks, Russian ships have been in UK waters three times. Is our approach of deterrence working there or not?”

“I rise to speak to new clause 6 tabled by children’s food champion, my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson), and to amendments 212 to 220 in my name. I also put on record my support for new clause 1 tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), new cl…”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I rise to speak to new clauses 43 to 47, standing in my name and those of my hon. Friends. New clause 43 is yet another attempt to put my Healthy Start Bill into law. When I first introduced that Bill, 200,000 eligible pregnant women, babies a…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the powerful way he is introducing his Bill. My constituent Steph is just 29 years old and is a mam to two little girls. She was diagnosed with grade 4 glioblastoma, known as astrocytoma, on her birthday last year. For months prior to her diagnosis, she was treated for migraines by her GP. St…”

“I remind Members that if they wish to be called to speak, they should bob. I ask Members to try to keep their contributions to around four minutes so that everybody who has put in to speak can get in.”

“Q15. My lovely grandad John Henry Richardson passed away in 1998 from work-related asbestos exposure. Today, in South Shields, we have one of the highest death rates from this silent killer in the United Kingdom. Will the Prime Minister look at introducing a national digital register so that we know where the asbestos …”

“I thank the Prime Minister for his statement, and for his continued strong leadership. In contributing troops, drones and munitions, Russia’s allies remain active participants in Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. Will the Prime Minister please assure the House that alongside our allies we are closely monitoring Russia’s…”

“My right hon. Friend knows how much I value and enjoy our hospitality industry in South Shields. It is a major employer, contributing more than £80 million to our local economy, so we must keep it in business, but she will know that many in the industry are worried about upcoming tax changes. I know that this Governmen…”

“21. What steps she has taken to help increase economic growth in the north-east.”

“As my right hon. Friend knows, South Shields is a gorgeous coastal tourist town. We pride ourselves on our small businesses and our strong hospitality industry, but she will also know they are struggling after years of neglect by the Conservatives. To help those businesses, will she outline what consideration she has g…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I need to say at the outset that my mam is a WASPI woman. Her generation entered into a contract with the state, which the state reneged on and then stole from them. But this debate is about more than the injustice these women continue to suffer: it is abo…”

“The hon. Member is right to raise that point, as we very much took note of the noble Lords’ report, which is referenced in our inquiry’s final report. We urge progress on AI in defence, but on the understanding that the progress is always in line with a strong ethical and accountable framework, and that there is a huma…”

“I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. Today’s announcement from the Government has shown that they are taking AI and its potential very seriously. As our report shows, there are steps that they can take when it comes to defence to ensure that the Department is more AI native and has AI running through it.”

“One difficulty was that not all the information that the Sub-Committee wanted was readily available to us, and we still do not have a clear picture of exactly what is happening in the MOD when it comes to artificial intelligence. We recommend more clarity, and that the Department be clearer about the skillsets it needs…”

“I thank the Chair of our Committee for his question, and for his work in getting our report to publication. He is right to highlight the gap between what the MOD wants to do and how it plans to achieve it. That runs through our entire report and is something that the MOD needs to get a handle on. I am sure that he woul…”

“I could not agree with the hon. Member more. A section in our report addresses in detail SMEs and their engagement with the Department, and we should carry forward the work that he did in government, especially on the integrated procurement model.”