Louise Sandher-Jones
MP for North East Derbyshire · Labour · United Kingdom
“We are rightly proud of the work that we are doing with partner nations in the JEF. In July this year, the carrier strike group deployed to the High North, working alongside 19 NATO allies, and is due back this autumn.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend how vital it is that we stand with Ukraine; Ukrainian security is our security. As part of that, he will be aware of the many wide programmes that we have with Ukraine—whether Operation Interflex or our equipment and industry partnerships—which we will continue.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The UK is stepping up its defence of the High North. This year, our carrier strike group operated in the region, alongside 19 NATO allies, and 1,500 of our Royal Marines have trained in Arctic conditions.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important topic. Protecting the vital sea routes on which Britain depends is a fundamental task of the Royal Navy.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“At a time when Europe faces the most dangerous security environment since the cold war, defence co-operation is key. The UK-EU security and defence partnership agreed in May last year is delivering on that.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Low flying plays an indispensable role in achieving and maintaining our warfighting capability. I understand it can be disruptive, but it is spread throughout the whole of the UK to minimise that disturbance.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
The complete record
Every one of 492 lines we hold for Louise Sandher-Jones, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 10.
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“We will shortly start our single living accommodation review to address exactly those points—the sometimes shocking state of such accommodation and what we can do to support the people who live in it.”
House of Commons3 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Member for raising the case of her constituent. If she writes to me with the details, I will look into exactly why it has taken that long.”
House of Commons3 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I share my hon. Friend’s disappointment. Valour is a £50 million programme that will bring together a network of regional hubs to ensure that there is a physical location where veterans can go to seek help. I urge every region of the UK to get involved.”
House of Commons3 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Member for raising an important point. Making sure that service personnel who leave under the medical discharge are fully set up for success in their post-service life is fundamental and a huge priority for me.”
House of Commons3 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It was clear to see how much that event meant to the LGBT+ veterans, many of whom had suffered terribly under the ban. Many said to me that they never thought this day would come. I hope that the event itself and the memorial will serve as a lasting reminder of our responsibilities going forward.”
House of Commons3 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I served in the Army and I have worked alongside many soldiers and officers who were injured and who today carry the physical and mental scars from their service. Many are able to carry those as part of their day-to-day life, but many really feel the impact on their personal lives.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I very much welcome this debate on disabled veterans. It is a hugely important topic, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis) for securing it and for speaking so passionately about the subject, which I know is dear to so many. I thank her for her excellent speech and everybody else for their thought-provoking contributions. As she rightly stated, almost a third of UK veterans have some form of disability, so this is an issue that affects every constituency and every community across the country. I will always welcome scrutiny of what we are doing to support disabled veterans and how we deliver the very best care and support for those who have served. This is not just a professional imperative for me; it is personal.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Veterans will gain trust and comfort from that, and therefore find it easier to talk about the issues they face and the support they need. I hope we will be able to announce more details soon, because I believe those hubs will help significantly.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For example, where military compensation is received through the independence payment, there is a principle of duplication with regard to the personal independence payment. A lot of military compensation allowances do not necessarily directly affect entitlement to benefits and have different impacts on tax. The hon. and gallant Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) made a point about veterans not always reaching out to seek help. I hope he is aware of the recently announced Valour scheme, which will be a regional network of physical hubs. I passionately believe in the strength of those hubs because a veteran will be able to go in with absolutely no obligation, have a cup of tea and speak to people who understand.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member is absolutely right to draw attention to the importance of a trauma-informed response. If she is able to write to me with details of the case, I will take a look at it. I was speaking about those I served alongside and about veterans across the country. They answered when our country called them, so it is now up to us to renew the contract with those who served. I would like briefly to address some of the points that hon. Members have made. A point was raised by a couple of hon. Members about the interplay of military benefits, compensations, allowances and pensions, and the existing benefits system. As I am sure they are aware, there is a complex range of benefits, and the way in which they interact with the benefits system can be complicated. It is important to note that there is a principle about duplication.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are fortunate to have a wonderful charity sector made up of charities both large and small, some with quite broad remits and some, as my hon. Friend mentions, very focused. I am always blown away by people’s dedication to supporting our veterans, and I applaud their valuable work.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the hon. Member knows, I spent some time in his constituency while at Sandhurst. It is an area with deep connections to the armed forces, and I certainly join him in applauding them and the charities that he mentions. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and, I believe, the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) spoke about the challenges of making sure that the covenant is applied fairly across the country. As I am sure they are aware, we are extending the armed forces covenant into law. Part of that is about preventing a postcode lottery so that we can set clear expectations about how the covenant affects a range of policy areas, particularly those delivered by local government, but also across areas such as housing.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for Eastleigh will know, all benefits, including the personal independence payment, have certain conditions attached; some are means-tested or based on the number of contributions paid in relevant tax years, and a past presence test may be applied. The administration of those benefits is a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions. However, if she wishes to write to me, will ensure that the details of the case are shared with colleagues in that Department. Anyone who has followed defence policy over the past 16 months will know how hard this Government are working to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve. We are delivering the largest sustained increases in defence spending since the cold war, as well as the biggest pay increases for over two decades.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend raises an important point about how we make sure that the armed forces covenant, when it is put into law, is delivered consistently, and that those working across our country are held to account for their delivery of it. I hope to update him with more details soon. On the covenant, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore) for the point he made, and I would appreciate it if he wrote to me about the case he mentioned. Finally, I thank the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for mentioning the troubles permanent disablement payment scheme, and for raising awareness of it. Mark Houghton served his country with honour and courage, so I was shocked to hear about the horrific extent of the injuries he sustained in an e-scooter crash. As the hon.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I applaud the work that Doncaster council is doing to take the needs of veterans into account. As the armed forces covenant is put into law, I hope that that is exactly the sort of thing that we will see rolled out across the country. Although the data shows that almost a third of veterans are disabled, we must always remember that behind every statistic is a person who trained, deployed and served. Every one of those veterans will have a unique story, and faces unique and different challenges. To provide an effective support network, we must ensure that the service is tailored and flexible and responds to each individual’s needs.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and means test. Indeed, this Government have boosted funding for the disabled facilities grant by £86 million annually—”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Op Restore, the veterans physical health and wellbeing service, supports veterans if they have a physical health problem of any type or severity that resulted from their service, if they are based England, no matter when the problem first appeared or when they left the armed forces. A GP can refer veterans to Op Restore. The Ministry of Defence veterans welfare service delivers one-to-one support through a network of welfare managers across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It does a fantastic job and I commend the hard work of those managers. We also have integrated personal commissioning for veterans, which has already been raised. For many veterans, being able to live independently in a safe and suitable environment is of paramount importance, as hon. Members have said.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member raises an important point. In common with any veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I find it interesting how the experience changes as we move away from it. There are many pathways to support. GP surgeries are often the first point of contact. I urge every veteran to flag with their GP that they are a veteran, so that it is added to their medical record, as that will help primary care services understand their needs. I know that many GP surgeries and NHS trusts have gone further and ensured that they have developed veteran-friendly GP practices and veteran-aware NHS trusts. There are other schemes that provide support.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a huge honour to be here, and I am very honoured. We inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention. This Government are renewing the contract with those who serve by giving them the largest pay rise in 20 years, allocating an extra £1.5 billion to fix forces housing and establishing a new Armed Forces Commissioner. It is clear that our actions are having an effect. On recruitment, inflow continues to improve and is up 13% year on year, and applications to join the armed forces and intakes to basic training both remain high. On retention, morale had been falling year on year with more people leaving than joining, but we have started to reverse that decline, with an 11% reduction in outflow year on year.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have served overseas and observed this issue at first hand. Discussions with the Cabinet Office are ongoing, and I hope to update the hon. Member in due course.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend has rightly mentioned the largest pay rise in 20 years. I am particularly delighted that we can now say that no member of the armed forces is paid less than the national living wage. Of course we have much more to do; I look forward to getting to work on it, and I hope to have a meeting with my hon. Friend to discuss that.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Member for her congratulations and for her question. She makes a valid point and is absolutely right that we need to do more in this regard. I am afraid I cannot provide a specific timeline here, but I will keep her question in mind and hope to update her in due course.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The armed forces welfare support policy, JSP 770, underwent a full review and was published in January 2025. It now includes updated information and guidance to ensure that welfare support structures are appropriate, accurate and informative for service personnel and their families. Welfare support lies within the chain of command, with commanding officers overseeing the delivery of welfare support within their units.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As my hon. Friend rightly notes, the Armed Forces Commissioner Act, as I can now refer to it, received Royal Assent last week, which is a fantastic step forward. As she highlights, there is more to do; there are many aspects of service life where even small changes could make a massive difference to the overall experience of service personnel.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We must recruit the absolute best to serve in the armed forces. As the hon. Gentleman will know, an intelligent strategy for recruitment will seek to reach every single community across these British isles. Perpetuating a narrative that women and those from ethnic minorities—many of whom have proven time and again on service that they absolutely deserve to be a part of our armed forces—are recruited because of some woke policy does them a huge disservice.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think the hon. Member has answered his own question. We are talking about indicators, and indicators are very different from targets. An intelligent recruitment strategy seeks to reach out to all communities across these islands, and we need to monitor how well our narratives are succeeding. If we are to have a truly professional strategy, we have to monitor its success in reaching different communities. That is why we refer to an indicator.”
House of Commons8 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Having recently married—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!]— I have elected to change my surname. Despite having been warned in advance, I am horrified by the sheer number of bodies, organisations, Departments and agencies that I need to inform. Will the Leader of the House update us on whether any consideration of digital ID will include making it far easier for people in my position, or who have changed their surname for other reasons, to do so quickly and easily?”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Yes, we have had to make some difficult decisions, but we have seen NHS waiting lists fall month after month, and I know that my constituents have already begun to feel the effects of that. Why? Because they have told me so.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have seen real wages rising faster than prices for the first time for ages, and I cannot stress enough how important that is. Three million people have seen the minimum wage rise. This is exactly the sort of thing that led me to join the Labour party, and it is one of our proudest achievements. We are seeing a rise in the wages of the very poorest in society, including those under 21 who are starting out in their very first job. Let me highlight another of our massive achievements. We in the Labour party believe that taxes are what we take to ensure that we can deliver public services. Lower taxes and lower public services will not result in a rise in living standards.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This means that people who are starting out—they have their mortgages, they have their homes, and they just want to get on and live their lives—are being subject to, in many cases, charges amounting to thousands of pounds each year by a company that is not delivering the services that they deserve, and the same problem is occurring elsewhere. We have heard horror stories of charges and ground rents rising exponentially. None of these problems— I think we can all agree that they are problems—were dealt with by the Conservative Government. I did not notice any particular concern being raised about them at the time. However, we will continue to fight hard for solutions on this side of the House. Let us look at what this Labour Government have achieved since coming to office.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They say that they are concerned about yearly charges on people who are just starting out in life and have just bought their first homes—and yes, I would love to talk about charges that have no connection with service. I am thinking particularly of “fleecehold” and charges from estate management companies that bear no relation to the services that they provide. That is a real problem in my constituency, and I know that many of my hon. Friends have raised it repeatedly. In Wingerworth, in my constituency, FirstPort has raised service charges repeatedly, but the charges are for services that my constituents have not received and have been imposed for very spurious reasons. I have also heard that some residents have been forced to pay for a play park when no such play park has been provided by FirstPort or any other company in the area.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The upshot of that in my constituency has included GP waiting lists that are far too long, and bus routes disappearing from rural villages that badly need the opportunities they provide in, for instance, connecting families. We have seen NHS waiting lists increase, whether the waits are for serious surgery, dentistry or GP access. That has resulted in serious ill health issues, restricted opportunities for young people, and, throughout the constituency, a restriction of opportunity and growth for the very people who will drive growth in the economy: those who start and drive small businesses. We have heard from Conservative Members again and again about the 1%, and they have come out fighting for that 1% very hard today.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think the record that we, the Labour Government, had to deal with when we took over last year bears repeating. We have heard theories propounded on the relationship between tax and growth and public spending, and we have heard that if we only lowered taxes, we would enter a glorious period of growth and even better public services, but the fact is that the impact of those theories and that ideology over the last 14 years has been clear to see. Austerity cut the engines of our economy, leaving us with public services that were not delivering for British people. Investment in our services and our country was cut, which left us at the mercy of global shocks that we were less well prepared and less well placed to withstand.”
House of Commons3 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“El Fasher has been under siege for over 500 days, and famine and cholera—all man-made problems—are rife. It has been described as the “epicentre of child suffering”. What is the UK doing to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid can reach those who need it?”
House of Commons2 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The famine in Gaza is clearly man-made and it is abominable. That tens of thousands of civilians have been brutally killed is abominable. The retention of the hostages by Hamas, and even the retention of the bodies of those who have passed away, is equally abominable. We can all see what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in the west bank, and this cannot be allowed to continue. What more messages can we send to Netanyahu and the Israeli Government to say that the two-state solution is the only way forward? It is the only way to guarantee peace and security in the middle east, which every single innocent civilian deserves, and to stop the increased illegal settlements in the west bank.”
House of Commons1 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Just this morning, I was absolutely disgusted to see reports of a sewage leak in the River Hipper in my constituency, so I welcome the Secretary of State’s ambition to tackle this issue. That leak is particularly galling, because it comes after massive hikes to the bills of those who, like myself, live in North East Derbyshire. Can the Secretary of State explain how the new water ombudsman will help us when we seek to challenge unfair bills?”
House of Commons21 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I was appalled to watch the chaotic mismanagement following the fall of Kabul that left Afghans who served alongside our troops and who worked so hard for a better Afghanistan, dangerously exposed. This was a situation that I feared would happen and could see coming even when I served in Afghanistan in 2017. The fact is that the previous Government had plenty of warning that that situation could happen and failed to plan properly for it. This data breach joins a litany of other data breaches, delays and failures of our allies. Does the Secretary of State agree that we must give our fullest support to those Afghans, so they can rebuild a new life in the UK?”
House of Commons15 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In 2014, as part of the Stormont House agreement, the UK and Irish Governments agreed a way forward to deal with legacy investigations, which had broad support from—crucially—victims and political parties. Instead, in 2020, the Conservative Government decided to push on, by themselves, in a completely different direction, and introduced legislation that made false promises to veterans that could not be kept, introducing chaos to the system, and which has immediately failed in the courts.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I begin by acknowledging the outstanding service of the many British service personnel who worked so hard on an incredibly difficult operation to protect the communities of Northern Ireland. We should be in no doubt that they upheld British military ethics to the highest standard and rigorously trained, with operations carefully planned and professionally carried out. As a veteran, I was honoured to serve with other veterans of that conflict, albeit at a later time. We must never forget the 722 veterans who paid the ultimate price and did not return. We must never forget their sacrifice, or that of those who were injured. We must remember them and honour their service with pride. The Northern Ireland legacy Act is a prime example of how to get legislation very wrong.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will make some progress and then come back to the right hon. Gentleman. It was a law that was forced through to try to curry favour in a desperate attempt to save the dying Administration of Boris Johnson. Among all the complicated arguments around how best to properly deal with the impact of the troubles, there is one huge, incontrovertible fact, which was ignored in the previous speech, and which no amount of clever talk or posturing can obscure: the legacy Act, as it stands, gives immunity to terrorists. That is abhorrent.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There was an article in The Guardian today about the family of Tony Harrison, a British para who was murdered in east Belfast. He was shot while at home with his fiancée. He was not on military operations—there was no firefight. He was shot in the back in his own home. He was just 21 years old. Under the Northern Ireland legacy Act as it stands, there is no route for his murderers to be held to account. No wonder his family have now launched a legal challenge to the Act, because they refuse to have Tony be denied justice. We must never forget, but always remember, the 200 personnel whose families are being denied justice because of this Act and how it stands. That is fundamental to why the legacy Act must be repealed and replaced.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“To address that point, the head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said that the letters that the right hon. Gentleman refers to grant no immunity. The only thing that grants immunity to former members of the IRA is the Northern Ireland legacy Act as it stands. That is a simple fact. If we want to protect veterans—I know that everybody in this room wants to—we must remember those who were murdered in cold blood by terrorists. Those terrorists now sleep soundly in their beds, free from the threat of prosecution—the threat of justice—precisely because of the Northern Ireland legacy Act. They were given that by a British Government. A British Government have given terrorists who have murdered British personnel complete immunity.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think that is a bit of a moot question when we are debating repealing the Act. The right hon. Gentleman is asking me if we opposed it in Parliament before I got elected—I am stood right here making the case to repeal parts of the Act and replace it. [ Interruption. ]”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I say to anybody who signed the petition or is here today because they fear the raking over of every firefight, weapon discharge or contact from 50 years ago: that fear is false. I say again: it is complete scaremongering spread by people who are at best naive—perhaps they do not know the details of the legislation or are ill informed on the content.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I find abhorrent the idea that any veteran should be at risk of malicious lawfare simply for doing their job on a very difficult operation. I call on the Secretary of State to explain how we will protect any veteran who is accused of any wrongdoing in Northern Ireland.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have said—the hon. Gentleman can read back—that scaremongering has been spread by people who should know better. They know fully the details of the legislation and the context of Northern Ireland and have gone out to these veterans and said, “There’s going to be lots of malicious lawfare against you if this Act is repealed”, when everybody here knows that is not the case at all. They are pushing a cynical political agenda. I and my colleagues who are veterans are vehemently opposed to spurious prosecution, to dragging people through the courts where there is absolutely no case to answer and to malicious lawfare. I cannot repeat that enough. I do not want to see a single veteran who has not committed a crime in any sense being hounded. Op Banner was an incredibly complex campaign.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“All I have heard is a very strong defence of the Act as it currently stands. I more than welcome a discussion about how we can move forward and repair what several Members have already said are the inadequacies in the current Act. That is the key point: there are inadequacies in the current Act.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will make a little progress, and then I will. The hard truth to acknowledge here, as others already have and others no doubt will, is that a very small number of military colleagues did commit a crime. None the less, it is a central belief of mine that it does not matter who you are or what you do, you should be held accountable without fear or favour if you commit a crime. That is a hard truth. I know that every single veteran here would say that any person who has been a member of the military and committed a crime should be held to account.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I agree with the hon. Lady. I am a former officer, and one thing that was really drummed into us at Sandhurst is the responsibility we have for those who serve under us. It is often the lot of those of lower ranks to make the most difficult of decisions, and the responsibility is on officers to make sure that when soldiers go into a difficult situation, they have the training and the cover that they need. It is right that officers be held to account for any role that they play, and it is definitely something that I will be keeping a close eye on. I say, as a proud veteran of the British Army, that we do ourselves a huge disservice if we do not hold ourselves to the highest standards and ensure accountability when or if a comrade has failed those tests.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the right hon. Member for making that point. It is important to note that only one soldier has been convicted in the past 13 years. I do not have time to go into the details of that case, but I urge him and anybody present to look into them. Whether or not a prosecution was in the public interest there, I note that he served only a suspended sentence. The legacy Act has been found to be unlawful. It gives immunity to terrorists. No more needs to be said: it gives immunity to terrorists, and it denies justice to the families of the 200 service personnel who were murdered by terrorists during the troubles. It is not supported in its current form by victims, it is not supported by any Northern Irish party and many veterans are troubled by it. It must go and be replaced.”
House of Commons14 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗