Results 1-20 of 1,215 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:James Arbuthnot

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Gray Report (2 Nov 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: Page 38 of Bernard Gray's report says that "between £1 billion and £2.2 billion is being lost each year as a result of the failure to control this overheated equipment programme". Does the Minister agree?

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Nimrod Review (28 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: As I listened to the Secretary of State's words and read about the tick-box culture, I thought that he was genuinely sorry. However, I thought that he and, perhaps, all of us have no understanding of the massive job that we face in changing the culture not just of the Ministry of Defence, but of the country. In that respect, I was very pleased to see the Leader of the Opposition in his place,...

Oral Answers to Questions — Work and Pensions: Defence Acquisition (Independent Review) (19 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: This excellent report sets out a state of affairs that, as the Secretary of State rightly says, is not new, but it may have led to events such as the Nimrod crash of 2 September 2006. When will we see the report on that? Now that Bernard Gray's 10-year rolling budget has apparently become a 10-year indicative planning horizon, we should at least be thankful that the Secretary of State has...

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: Yesterday the moving roll call read out by the Prime Minister of those who have died in Afghanistan over the last few months held the attention of the country, and I hope that the poignant letter read out by the hon. Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) about the death of Kyle Adams did the same. These are men and women who will be honoured for ever. I hope that we shall also be able to...

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I must confess that my daughter is at Bristol university, and I shall instruct her to pay due respect to the colonel.

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: My daughter concluded her message by asking me whether I think she should continue with it. I hope she is watching this debate, and if she is I can tell her—I have never communicated with my family in this way before—that I very much hope that she will, because it is one of the best things anyone can possibly do. To the Government, however, I communicate the following: to take the...

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I agree that any party that aspires to be in government should follow all the recommendations on the need to have a strategic defence review. Such a review should take into account precisely the sort of things that the hon. Gentleman mentions. I am sure that he has his press release by now and does not need any further quotations from this debate —[Interruption.] I return to the theme...

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I shall certainly give way to an excellent member of the Defence Committee.

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: Yes, I did get that impression of thoughtfulness. Given the importance of the issue of Afghanistan and Pakistan—I put those both together, despite what the hon. Member for Newport, West said—I do not object to those in the United States doing their utmost to get these decisions right. Yes, we need to do this as speedily as possible, but the key thing is that we need to get it...

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: Bullets and billets, yes. The result of that is that these are the only people who, as a result of Government policy, face the risk of substandard housing because they have the discipline and commitment to fight for their country. There is something intrinsically morally wrong with that. I pose that problem without, I am afraid, being able to suggest a particular answer. I do not know what...

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: What does the second condition—that there should be an agreed approach to burden sharing within the coalition—actually mean? We have been there for the past eight years and have not achieved such an agreement. Why does the Secretary of State think that we might get one in the foreseeable future—that is, in months or years?

Defence Policy (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: By and large, there is cross-party agreement in the House about the priorities for what we devote to defence and about the priorities within defence. However, the Government have taken two profoundly wrong decisions. The first was to reduce spending on research and technology. The second was to cut funding to the reserves. That is profoundly wrong, and it will have long-term consequences for...

Points of Order (15 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am surprised at what the Secretary of State has just said. I read this report in July. I have just read it again as fast as I could, and it has changed by a few words but its entire structure and basis are exactly the same, so for the Secretary of State to say that it was not complete before the summer recess surprises me.

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Afghanistan and Pakistan (14 Oct 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: We have still not been given a proper answer on the request for 2,000 extra troops, so I will not bother to ask about that. One of the key aspects of bringing security to the Afghan people is the training of police who are free from corruption. In Iraq we found that it was of great assistance if the Iraqi army mentored the Iraqi police. Will a similar approach be adopted in Afghanistan?

Bills Presented: Afghanistan and Pakistan (16 Jul 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I shall do my best to stick to six minutes, Mr. Speaker. I profoundly respect the views of the hon. Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn), but I also profoundly disagree with them. He made the same points in relation to Iraq, and I think that he was wrong in relation to Iraq. In Iraq, we have seen what is not at all a comfortable country emerging out of darkness, and we have seen the success...

Bills Presented: Afghanistan and Pakistan (16 Jul 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: The hon. Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) said, perfectly fairly, that because a helicopter contains a large number of people, it can cause a large number of deaths at any one time. That is true. Provided that the helicopters are available to them, commanders on the ground will need to weigh the risks in the balance, and decide whether one method of transport is safer than another.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Afghanistan (13 Jul 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I agree with what the Secretary of State just said, but when the Chancellor of the Exchequer said over the weekend that the Treasury would ensure that the Ministry of Defence was not short of money, what, in practice, did he mean? What new actions will the Secretary of State take to take the Chancellor up on his promise?

Business of the House: Defence in the World (4 Jun 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I want to begin, if I may, by saying that this debate is an absolute disgrace. It is quite wrong that an issue of such crucial importance is always debated before an empty House. We have to find a way of bringing out the debate in such a way as to capture the imagination of the people of this country and, frankly, of this Parliament. At the moment, we are talking to an empty Public Gallery,...

Business of the House: Defence in the World (4 Jun 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, who has put his finger on a most important point. That is one of the matters on which we will concentrate heavily in our inquiry into the comprehensive approach, and I am grateful to him for making that point. I believe that it was my hon. Friend who said that local government in Helmand is making good progress under Governor Mangal, who I agree is an...

Business of the House: Defence in the World (4 Jun 2009) has video

James Arbuthnot: I entirely agree. I pay tribute to President Obama for his speech today in Egypt, in which he said—very effectively—that America is not at war with Islam and never will be. Islam is not the problem; it is a great religion, which we all respect enormously. Next door to Iran is Russia—a wonderful country which is led by a small Government of little democratic validity. It is...