Results 1-20 of 1,290 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Patrick Mercer

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: Will the Secretary of State give way?

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I am most grateful to the Secretary of State. He is making some extremely good points, but he keeps using one word that is wrong. He keeps referring to "operations", but surely we have gone beyond that. What is happening in Afghanistan now is war, and the mistake is that, by trying to divide the Territorial Army from the regular Army, the Government will not be on the war footing needed to...

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

Patrick Mercer: The Secretary of State has seen this outstanding report, but it addresses merely equipment. Given the number of wounded coming back from Afghanistan, and the appalling nonsense in the training mechanisms to get the troops through the system, when is he going to produce a similar report on the awful state of recruiting, particularly to the combat arms?

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: G8 Summit (13 Jul 2009)

Patrick Mercer: The Prime Minister said that the hard-won gains in Afghanistan must be fully consolidated. People at my former battalion, 2 Mercian, talk to me all the time, and they say that there simply are not enough troops to hold the ground after the current operation. Notwithstanding his careful answers to my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron), can he confirm that troop numbers will...

Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism (9 Jul 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: May I answer the question asked by the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Ms Taylor)? I have certainly received representations from the small but influential Muslim community—Sufis, who are remarkably balanced, sensible and loyal people—in my constituency, asking me to explain the implications of the order. Sources that I handled in Northern Ireland in years gone by have also...

Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism (9 Jul 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: The Minister mentions the number of individuals who were released during the 27-day period. We have discussed this extension ad nauseam in this House and in Committee. Can he indicate any level of dissatisfaction among the security services, the police and so on about having to release these individuals, because none has come my attention?

Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism (9 Jul 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I am grateful to the Minister, but he has not answered my question. As he knows, I head up the counter-terrorism sub-committee, and I am not aware of any great tensions or worries among the police or security services about the individuals who had to be released at the last moment. Am I wrong, or has he, or the Home Secretary, been under pressure about the individuals who have gone to the...

Opposition Day — [15th Allotted Day]: Identity Cards (6 Jul 2009)

Patrick Mercer: It is a pleasure to follow my neighbour, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer). I wonder what the good folk of Manchester have done to have this wretched scheme visited on them. This whole argument bores me stiff, because I have been over-exposed to a policy and theory that should have been settled a long time ago. I have no doubt that Labour Members will point out my voting record,...

Women and Equality: National Security Strategy (25 Jun 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: The Minister will be aware how critical the counter-terrorism sub-committee has been, despite the slowness of establishing the new operations centre, and, similarly, how concerned we have been at the slowness of establishing the counter-terrorism units in the various regions up and down the United Kingdom. Can he assure us that there will be proper and sensible liaison between the two bodies,...

Opposition Day — [14th allotted day]: Iraq Inquiry (24 Jun 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: Will the Foreign Secretary give way?

Opposition Day — [14th allotted day]: Iraq Inquiry (24 Jun 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: Will the Foreign Secretary give way?

Opposition Day — [14th allotted day]: Iraq Inquiry (24 Jun 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I am most grateful to the Foreign Secretary. The Chief of the General Staff has made clear in the newspapers this morning that there were not enough troops to dedicate to Iraq, and that, even if there had been, the political will would not have been there. Will the Foreign Secretary guarantee that the balance of our fighting power, how and when it is deployed, and the mistakes that were made...

Oral Answers to Questions — Children, Schools and Families: Iraq (15 Jun 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: Thank you, Mr. Speaker; I am most grateful. The events of the Iranian elections at the weekend will demonstrate just how unstable the region is likely to become. Will the Prime Minister assure the House that plans and resources exist for a British military re-engagement should the Iraqi Government ask for it, and that things will not just be left up to the Americans?

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Human Rights Legislation (1 Jun 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: Can the Secretary of State confirm that military lawyers and senior commanders have already started work fully to appreciate the tactical and strategic implications, should the judgment pass into law?

Intelligence and Security Committee (7 May 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I speak in this debate every year, and it is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Wirral, South (Ben Chapman). This is the first time that I have risen to speak as chairman of the counter-terrorism sub-committee. On that note, I thank the Home Secretary and draw attention to the outstanding work of a little-known organisation, which has, in fairness, been mentioned today—that is,...

Intelligence and Security Committee (7 May 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: Of course, and I am most grateful to the hon. Lady for that intervention. The fact remains, however, that while we are doing parish notices some extraordinary work has gone on in Ulster and I believe that it deserves to be recognised. I underline the work of the OSCT, as well as that of the PSNI and others. Let me return to the second 7/7 report and posit a number of questions that fall...

Intelligence and Security Committee (7 May 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I am extremely interested to hear what the hon. Lady—the diminutive young lady opposite—has to say. All that we have heard about in the debate about Project Contest so far is the prevent strand, while the other three strands have not been mentioned in any detail whatever. What makes this House so obsessed with that strand? Is it because it is politically correct; is it because it...

Olympics: Operation Pathway (20 Apr 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I am interested to hear the Home Secretary express confidence in the border security regime of this country. However, last week on the BBC, the former Mayor of London said that "whatever changes you make to student visas...They"— I assume that he means our enemies— "will find a way round it. If it isn't students coming in it will be tourists." Why does Mr. Livingstone not share...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Topical Questions (31 Mar 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: I know that the Foreign Secretary was as saddened as I was by the death of two young soldiers and a policeman in Ulster recently. I wonder whether he is therefore as disappointed as me by the indecent haste with which the security apparatus in the north seems to have been dismantled. Will he assure me that initiatives are in place to drive forward intelligence sharing with the Eire...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Air Trooping Arrangements (30 Mar 2009) has video

Patrick Mercer: The Secretary of State will be aware that a fortnight ago I was with my old battalion, the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, as it deployed to Afghanistan. The worries of the families clearly revolved around the possible death or injury of their husbands, boyfriends and so on, but, above and beyond that, on the regiment's previous tour they deeply resented the delays caused to...