Speeches by Jopp.

“On your relationship with the chain of command—cards on the table, I am not a fan of the Act or the appointment because fundamentally I think it undermines the chain of command. The chain of command should be made to do better. We should not need you, but now that you are in post, I support you, and I hope that you suc…”

“Going back to your example of Cyprus—or indeed, widening it out—have you got any experience of the armed forces complaints system, either as someone who has formally raised a complaint, someone who has had a complaint raised against them, or someone who has had to adjudicate in the complaints process?”

“I associate myself with your comments, Mr Speaker, about the Table Clerk and I wish him happiness in his next steps. I also wish the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) many happy returns. Second Reading of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill took place on 18 November, and the remedial order, which removed the prot…”

“1. What steps he is taking to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.”

“There is no pension?”

“When I was new to this place, I clearly did something very wrong, because the accommodation Whip allocated me an office that is geographically nearer to Trafalgar Square than to this Chamber. There is one compensating benefit, which is that when I look out of the window, I can see the statue of General Bernard Law Mont…”

“As ever, the hon. Member is making an incredibly powerful speech. I know he feels these things incredibly strongly. I am sure we are all looking forward to his closing remarks.”

“With the points the hon. Member has just made, it seems he has forgotten that a year ago his own party suspended seven of its Back Benchers for voting with an SNP proposal to lift the two-child benefit cap. If he is going to be quite so forthright in his criticism of us, could he explain why his Government have done su…”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“Was the hon. Member in the Chamber to hear the Prime Minister make his statement on the war in the middle east, in which he said that British sovereign bases, British troops and British people had been attacked? He said that it was therefore right that we defend ourselves, but that we cannot shoot all the drones out of…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for securing this debate. I also recognise my predecessor as the Member of Parliament for Spelthorne, Kwasi Kwarteng, who sponsored this debate back in 2023. All Members have expressed that they …”

“I am grateful to the Liberal Democrat spokesman for giving way. I think he is warming up to his leader’s new Dr Strangelove plot to have his own independent nuclear weapon. Could he tell us how much it is going to cost the UK?”

“The Minister is very generous with her time, and I am grateful to her for that. She welcomed the research funded by the SUDC UK in Bristol, but I do not think we have heard any commitment to Government-funded research into this area. Will she clarify whether she will take that forward?”

“Yes. If you could break that down by service, that would be very helpful. What can you tell us about retention? Is the situation improving or worsening?”

“In retention, trying to find that relationship between inputs and outcomes is critical. There is a world of good ideas coming from the Department and the services, and that’s great, but you need to weigh it against the overall picture of what is happening outside the wire and the attractiveness of staying in the armed …”

“What is that as a percentage?”

“So the commanders on the exercise either were ignorant of or chose to ignore the operating parameters of the vehicle system.”

“It was zero before, so it would be an increase.”

“Before we move away from recruitment, could you please write to the Public Accounts Committee with the breakdown of what percentage of that 31,000 are 10-day offers, and I think you said—”

“With that in mind, it would be helpful if you could write to the Committee. I think your phrase was “time of flight”, so where are we with rejoiners? What is their 10/30 equivalent? How long is it taking to get back in? What gets measured gets resourced, and if you knew more about it, and could tell us more about it, I…”