Speeches by Lewell.

“Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to present this report on behalf of the Defence Committee. It is important at the outset to say that our report is not focused on the ethical questions that using artificial intelligence in defence raises. That is because noble Lords in the other place complet…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his comments and all his help on the Committee. It is a joy to be once again serving on the Defence Committee with him. He is correct to say that AI is moving rapidly, and the MOD needs to harness it quickly, because our adversaries are. We know from open source data that we cannot allow ours…”

“The hon. Member asks me for answers that are outside the scope of our report. She also asks questions of the Government; I am speaking on behalf of our Committee, and it is way above my pay grade to answer for our Government. However, she raises an important point about the Lords report. I believe that the previous Gov…”

“My right hon. Friend will know that throughout the pandemic, the Conservative Government excluded nearly 4 million self-employed and other workers from financial support. Lives were lost and livelihoods ruined, and many of those workers remain struggling. Will my right hon. Friend please make time for a debate, so that…”

“In South Shields, not only is our public transport expensive, we have to suffer constant metro delays, tunnel closures and replacement bus breakdowns. This Christmas, our roads were completely cut off. Will my right hon. Friend please meet me to discuss these long-standing ongoing issues?”

“Before I call the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) to wind up, I thank all hon. and right hon. Members for their kind words. It is indeed a pleasure to be in the Chair.”

“Order. I remind hon. Members that they should bob if they wish to be called to speak. I will call the first Front Bencher at about 5.10 pm.”

“Order. As hon. Members can see, lots of Members want to speak in this debate. Could you please stick to an informal four-minute time limit, so that everybody gets in?”

“Order. To ensure that all hon. Members get in and we have the Front-Bench contributions, we are going to need to impose a three-minute time limit.”

“Order.”

“Order. I now need to put a three-minute time limit on Back-Bench speeches.”

“Order. I must now impose a four-minute limit. I call Leigh Ingham.”

“Mr Speaker, a merry Christmas to you and all staff. I put on record that my mam is a WASPI woman. My right hon. Friend will know full well the strength of feeling regarding this week’s announcement of no compensation for the WASPI women. The ombudsman was clear that Parliament should make the decision on remedy. Parlia…”

“Today’s news is welcome. My right hon. Friend knows how vital the FSS ships are to our Royal Navy. RFA Fort Victoria, our only remaining solid store support ship, is due to be decommissioned in 2028, yet even before this rescue deal, new FSS ships were not due to enter service until 2032. Is there any scope at all to a…”

“Decisions taken in this place are subject to rigorous scrutiny and accountability, but recent history in several areas shows that that is not always the case with local decision making—not all councillors and mayors are paragons of virtue. As we dissolve more powers, can my hon. Friend explain what levels of scrutiny a…”

“My constituent Jo Pyke is a counsellor at a local cancer charity. She has stage 4 mucosal melanoma. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy, which is only available in the USA, could save her life. Our community is fundraising to get Jo to America, but Jo and many others need that therapy here in the UK. Will the Leader…”

“7. What steps the Church is taking to support people that are housebound due to a disability.”

“Churches Together South Tyneside does amazing work through its Happy at Home hub, providing a range of services to the lonely and the isolated. Will my hon. Friend expand a little more on the Church’s wider pastoral duties towards those in the greatest need?”

“6. What progress he has made on establishing an independent armed forces commissioner.”

“I thank the Minister for all he is doing to improve the lives of our armed forces communities. He will be aware of the deeply distressing accounts of rape and sexual assault from the Defence Committee’s report on women in the armed forces. Will he please revisit our recommendations and those of the Lyons review, so tha…”