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Donate to our crowdfunderLord Chalfont: My Lords, I begin by thanking the sub-committee for producing these two excellent reports. They are reports of great intellectual distinction, as one might have expected from the members who make up that particular sub-committee. So far there has been a lot of talk, as, indeed, there was on the debate on the gracious Speech, about what one might call the nuts and bolts of the European...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, will the Minister help me by clarifying one point of fact? There seems to be a suggestion that Luton is heavily dependent upon the car industry. I understand that Luton is a highly diversified town with a diverse economic structure. Although, as the noble Lord said, it is a body blow to the industry and a terrible blow to the workers and their families, is it true that it will not...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, if the Minister will give way, XEU structures" is a disarming remark. What EU structures will our intelligence be fed into?
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, in the brief time at my disposal I should like to concentrate on one sentence in the gracious Speech: XMy Government will continue to ensure that NATO remains the foundation of Britain's defence and security". That is an unexceptionable sentiment, but how much does it really mean in the current political environment? As the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford, suggested, we have...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness for repeating the Statement, although I must say that on occasion it sounded rather more like a party political broadcast than a ministerial Statement. However, the one point which most frightened me, but which I believe was meant to be reassuring, was that this is only one step along the road rather than the end of the road. That is what is...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, perhaps I may--
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, I support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Alloway. I have put my name to the second amendment in this group. As a simple Back Bencher, perhaps I may express the view that this is the most bizarre way of conducting the affairs of a serious legislative body. We are sitting after midnight, with fewer than a dozen noble Lords present, and with the two major parties of...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the brokering and trafficking in arms, especially to third-world countries and those with authoritarian regimes, is an extremely destabilising procedure? Can the Minister assure the House that the Government will consider with great urgency the Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire? This is a dangerous process.
Lord Chalfont: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they support the idea of a national flagship which would be of use in Britain's overseas diplomatic and commercial representation.
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that the estimated cost to the Government has recently been reduced in a new plan submitted by those who are putting forward this project? Has that been taken into account? On the other hand, can we take it that the matter is now finally closed or is it subject to further consideration?
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, on behalf of the whole House I should like to thank the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Crosby, for initiating this important debate which, as she said, bears on our national security and, in the long run, perhaps our very survival. However, the noble Baroness will not be surprised to hear that I shall take a position very different from hers on the whole question of the ABM treaty...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness. That leads me on to my point about rogue states and the rhetoric about them. Let us not be infants about this. The United States national missile defence system does not concern itself solely with rogue states or with the possibility of attack from religious fanatics. Let us not lose sight of the fact that by the year 2002 the People's Republic...
Lord Chalfont: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether delivery of the special operations configured Boeing Chinook Mk III helicopters has been delayed; and, if so, what is the reason for the delay.
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, as someone who has never been to the Dome and has no intention of so doing, I had not intended to intervene today. However, I must confess and ask the noble and learned Lord to accept that I am distressed at the way in which this seems to have turned into a party political scrap, and the way in which some of this has been directed at the noble and learned Lord. With the greatest...
Lord Chalfont: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether any legal advice was given to the senior Royal Air Force officers responsible for reviewing the conclusions of the Board of Inquiry into the accident involving Chinook Helicopter ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994.
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, I speak as a relatively new member of this committee. As a simple soldier, I have found myself somewhat perplexed by its proceedings and its organisation. I believe that this is the time for me to say so. The committee seems to have sub-committees that are, apparently, totally autonomous. They do not report, and are not subordinate, to the Offices Committee. Moreover, up until now,...
Lord Chalfont: I am sorry, my Lords; I meant to say Back-Benchers. However, as I am not a candidate for the job, I am sure that noble Lords will accept that as a slip of the tongue. But that is not to say that I believe that such a committee of Cross-Benchers would not be a good one. The committee should comprise Back-Benchers; it should not consist of either Front-Bench Members or others from the usual...
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, in the light of a remark made by the noble Baroness towards the end of her first Answer to the noble Earl, can she confirm that no requirement will be placed on the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, to apply any quotas to the selection made from this trawl, whether they be quotas as regards gender, race, religion or any other category?
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, perhaps the Minister can clear my mind about what seems an important issue. Is it not true that the Echelon network can already intercept any telephone call and any e-mail anywhere in the globe from satellite interception? If so, are not some of the warrants somewhat irrelevant?
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, there is nothing classified about this matter. It has all been in the public domain and public print. I am not sure why the question cannot be answered.