Results 1-13 of 13 for trident speaker:John Spellar

Radioactive Discharges (River Tamar) (17 Jan 2001)

Mr John Spellar: ...dockyard. The first of those refits, on HMS Vanguard, is due to start in 2002, and the only facilities in the United Kingdom that can undertake that work are at Devonport. Vanguard submarines deploy Trident missiles, and the refitting of the submarines is essential to the maintenance of our independent strategic nuclear deterrent. The work can therefore be done only at Devonport. I have...

Defence and the Armed Forces (2 Nov 2000)

Mr John Spellar: ...groups. Seventeen ships are at sea in home waters, including four involved in fisheries protection. Two are in the Gulf, five are in the Atlantic and two are in the Caribbean. As ever, we have a Trident submarine on deterrent patrol. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State explained to hon. Members yesterday, those vessels have not been affected by the technical difficulties which...

Hunter-killer Submarines (24 Oct 2000)

Mr John Spellar: ...are that the defect may have arisen from the original construction of the submarine and that it is present in other submarines, albeit at an early stage. Let me stress that Vanguard class Trident submarines, which are of a different design, have not been affected. Until the inspection programme is completed, it is not possible to finalise the repair programme or to quantify the...

Orders of the Day — HMS Gannet (23 Nov 1999)

Mr John Spellar: ...operations, with aircraft deploying there for short periods as and when required. I assure my hon. Friend that we will provide—as we obviously should—the necessary protection for our Trident submarine fleet. I also assure her that HMS Gannet will continue its vital search and rescue rule, with two Sea King Mark 5 helicopters based there for the foreseeable future. I thank her...

The Royal Navy (12 Nov 1998)

Mr John Spellar: ...strategic importance of the new role for our forces, in particular the Royal Navy, and the Navy's part in joint operations. Across the piece, the Royal Navy is being modernised. The Vanguard class Trident missile submarine programme took another major step forward this year with the roll-out and naming of HMS Vengeance, the fourth and final vessel in the class. That was mentioned by the...

Prayers: Black Watch (28 Oct 1998)

Mr John Spellar: ...TA. There will also be provisions concerning travel allowances. We recognise the geographical problems in Scotland to which the hon. Member for Perth drew attention. The hon. Lady also referred to Trident. Given the Scottish National party's opposition to Trident, it is slightly ironic that it campaigns vigorously on where Trident submarines should be refitted. Perhaps that is a further...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: RAF Procurement (3 Nov 1997)

Mr John Spellar: ...by policy."—[Official Report, 27 October 1997; Vol. 299, c. 623.] That article in The Guardian dealt almost exclusively with Eurofighter. Only two items are excluded from the review. One is Trident, which I presume the right hon. Gentleman was not referring to. The other is Eurofighter, which is enormously important for the future of our armed forces and the RAF and is at a delicate...

Bills Presented: Defence Policy (28 Oct 1997)

Mr John Spellar: ...to be—and always will be—strong on defence. Our strategic defence review, therefore, has at its roots firm principles, including commitment to NATO, strong armed forces, retention of Trident coupled with progress on arms control, and support for a strong defence industry. That should be a welcome message not only in this country but with our allies. I am delighted to say that...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Defence Procurement Budget (14 Jul 1997)

Mr John Spellar: Again, I would have hoped that my hon. Friend had listened to the comments of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence about Trident and our need to maintain the minimum deterrent. We shall obviously carry out an evaluation during the defence review.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Trident Missile System (16 Jun 1997)

Mr John Spellar: Remaining acquisition costs for the Trident system, as at September 1996, stood at just under £1.5 billion. Operating costs will average £200 million per annum over a 30-year in-service life.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Trident Missile System (16 Jun 1997)

Mr John Spellar: .... of the defence budget over the next 30 years. I should also point out that both my hon. Friend and I stood at the last election on a manifesto in which we said very firmly that we would retain Trident.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Independent Nuclear Deterrent (9 Jul 1996)

Mr John Spellar: ...probably familiar to the Minister; they are from the Conservative Government's Defence statement in 1994. Does he accept that Labour policy clearly states that a new Labour Government will retain Trident and that we will press for multilateral negotiations towards mutual balanced and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons? Is not it about time that he stopped trying to score cheap party...

Royal Navy (1 Feb 1996)

Mr John Spellar: ...Forces will be more forthcoming in his reply. We cannot adopt a policy of wait and see. My hon. Friends the Members for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) and for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) raised the question of Trident with firm personal conviction. Mention of Trident has a Pavlovian effect on Ministers and there was considerable noise in support. Their problems on defence policy make them look for...