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John Healey

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On the record 2004–2026

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  1. “First, I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman’s two daughters for serving this country. Secondly, I hope that he was able to visit that Coventry firm’s exhibition in this House yesterday to see for himself what it produces. Thirdly, I hope he agrees—I think he does, by his intervention—that first and foremost our duty is to support Ukraine, but I am very conscious of his broader point. We procure for Ukraine and we learn lessons. We need to ensure that our own forces are equally well equipped for the future. On securing the peace for tomorrow, we all welcome the US leading the push for peace, and no one welcomes those efforts more than Ukraine. When the peace comes, which we all hope to see this year, Britain will be ready to help secure that peace for the long term.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  2. “There is no more serious a decision for any Defence Secretary or any Government than committing our armed forces on operations, but I want to be the Defence Secretary who deploys British troops to Ukraine, because that will mean that we will have a negotiated peace and that the war will finally be over. Britain has been united for Ukraine from day one. The House, as the Father of the House said, has been united for Ukraine from day one.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  3. “The detail of the structure and the deployment will become clear and depend on the context and detail of the peace agreement. In the context of a decision to deploy, the Prime Minister has said that the House will have the chance to debate and vote on that deployment, and I suspect that we will be able to set out the detail at that point. The hon. Member and other experts in the House will then have the chance to examine and debate it and, I trust, give it their approval so that any British forces will be deployed into Ukraine in the context of a peace deal with all-party support.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  4. “Four years ago, British people started to open their homes to Ukrainians, and Britain welcomed 170,000 Ukrainians into our own homes. Many are still with those same families. Community, charity, faith and trade union groups have all raised funds or collected supplies, and often driven those supplies out to Ukraine. Our defence industrial links, which several hon. Members from all sides have raised this afternoon, continue to deepen, and we will soon start to jointly produce, in the UK, the new Ukrainian Octopus interceptor drones.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  5. “My hon. Friend is to be applauded for having sponsored the exhibition. I am delighted that she could tell the House about it this afternoon. I pay tribute to her and to the artists for what they are doing and how they are conveying the experience of their countrymen and women to wider audiences. I will go one better: because the debate started rather earlier than we might have expected, I will join my hon. Friend at the exhibition before it finishes at 5 o’clock this afternoon, and I encourage all other hon. Members from both sides of the House to do the same. I am glad that my hon. Friend raised that wider question, because I speak as Defence Secretary but also with pride about the warmth, the welcome and the solidarity of the British people.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  6. “Our UK promise to Ukraine is this: we will keep up the pressure on Putin; we will stand by and support the Ukrainian armed forces; and when peace comes, we will help secure it and ensure that it lasts.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  7. “Four years ago, we all remember those expert commentators largely being in agreement: Kyiv would be captured, Zelensky would flee, the Ukrainian command would collapse and a pro-Russian regime would be installed while the world watched on. If this war has taught us anything, it is never to underestimate the will of the Ukrainian people. They remain outnumbered and outmatched in every domain, and yet they have recently retaken territory, they continue to strike deep into Russia and, in some parts of the frontline, over 25 Russians have been killed for every Ukrainian life lost. After four years of this brutal Russian aggression, of unbreakable Ukrainian courage and of enduring solidarity with those who stand with them, this must be the year that peace is agreed.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  8. “Four years ago, Putin’s invasion sent inflation into double digits; indeed, our energy prices are still 40% higher and our food prices are still 30% higher, as we all daily pay the price of this war. The British people also know that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he will not stop in Ukraine. They see the Ukrainians fighting for the same values that past generations in Britain have fought for: the right of a free people to decide their own country’s future. Like the Father of the House, I am proud that Britain remains united for Ukraine, I am proud that President Zelensky calls us one of his very closest allies and I am proud of the UK’s leadership on Ukraine, started under the previous Government and stepped up further under ours. Let me end where I began, by paying tribute to the people of Ukraine.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  9. “At the Munich Security Conference, I chaired a meeting of the joint expeditionary force nations, with Defence Ministers brought together to discuss conducting further operations against shadow shipping vessels. Today, I confirm that the MOD is now leading a new joint operational taskforce to advance those plans. After four years, weariness with the war would be understandable, but in Britain our solidarity endures. It is a solidarity grounded both in deep respect for Ukrainian courage and in clear recognition that the defence of Europe starts in Ukraine. The British people understand that the cost of conflict always outweighs the price of preventing war.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  10. “The Government have frozen nearly £30 billion of Russian assets in the UK and imposed over 3,000 sanctions on Russian individuals, organisations and ships, including a package of 300 new sanctions announced yesterday by the Foreign Secretary. We know that Russia’s vast shadow fleet bankrolls much of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, and sanctions by the UK and our partners have already forced around 200 ships to anchor out of use. We have seen the impact on Russian oil reserves, which fell by a quarter last year, but we need to do more and shift up a gear, with our militaries playing a greater role. That work has begun. The UK has already supported both the US and France in conducting maritime interceptions.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  11. “The hon. Gentleman is right, first, about the outstanding firm in his Horsham constituency and, secondly, about the impact of Putin on Ukraine. It has not built a new sense of national identity because that was strong before Putin’s invasion—as I said, Ukrainians have suffered and fought occupation by Russian forces for 12 years—but it has deeply strengthened that identity and the determination that Ukraine will remain a sovereign nation in future. Whatever briefings Putin gets in the Kremlin, he is being misled to think that he is winning. He is failing, and it is our job, with other allies, to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Part of that is the military aid that this country has been providing to Ukraine, but it is also action on other fronts.”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  12. “I am really impressed and pleased that the right hon. Lady has laid such stress on Putin’s abduction of Ukrainian children and his attempt to brainwash them, about which there are strong sentiments from Members of all parties. Will she recognise that my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) is in Ukraine at the moment, and has just been presented with the Ukrainian Order of Merit for her work on exactly this concern?”

    House of Commons25 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  13. “This is a Labour Government delivering for defence and delivering for Britain.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  14. “Can I associate the Government side of the House with your tributes to Lord Wallace and Lord Flight, Mr Speaker? I pay tribute to Captain Philip Gilbert Muldowney of the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, who died on 25 January. He was an outstanding young officer. I convey the condolences of the whole House to his friends and family. I also inform the House—as you know, Mr Speaker—that my hon. Friend the Armed Forces Minister is in the Norwegian High North on reservist training. When we said we would boost the reserves, this is the Defence team delivering in person. Turning to the question, my message to Great British businesses of all sizes is that we want the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a defence business. That is why we have set a target to spend an extra £2.5 billion with SMEs by 2028. That is an uplift of 50%.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  15. “I am grateful to my hon. Friend for championing Impcross in his constituency. I think he will accept that it is right that when British companies deliver the sort of sovereign UK capabilities he mentions that we scrutinise hard any sale to foreign firms. Impcross does indeed play an important role in the Typhoon and F-35 supply chains, and my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry would be happy to meet him.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  16. “The hon. Gentleman points to a firm in his constituency, and it is true that for too long too many small firms have felt locked out of MOD contracts. It is also true that the last Government, his Government, missed their own targets for SME defence support. Our new office for small business growth, which opened its doors for the first time last week, will help turn that around. At the risk of overburdening my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, I am sure that he would be willing to meet the hon. Gentleman.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  17. “My hon. Friend and his Committee know a great deal more about this than The Times does. He will know that a competitive contract process is under way for the new medium-lift helicopter. He will also know that we are working flat out to finalise the defence investment plan. And he will know that, as part of that plan, we are dealing with a programme of record—a previous commitment to equipment—that was hugely overcommitted, underfunded and, in some cases, unsuited to the threats we face. For the first time in nearly 18 years, the Ministry of Defence is taking a line-by-line approach to building up our plans for the future.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  18. “Firms such as Leonardo are getting defence contracts. I was in Edinburgh just the week before last to award a £450 million contract to Leonardo for a really important part of upgrading our Typhoon jets for the future. Of course, the hon. Gentleman is right that the supply chain to smaller and medium-sized firms is often mediated by primes such as Leonardo, which is why it is important that, since the election, we have let over 1,100 major contracts in defence, 84% of which have gone to British-based firms.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  19. “We are working flat out to complete the DIP, and the hon. Gentleman above all, having been responsible for defence procurement in the last Government, will appreciate just how overcommitted his own programme is. He will appreciate the truth of his former boss saying that, over 14 years, the Conservatives had “hollowed out and underfunded” our armed forces. We will deal with that overcommitment, we will deal with the underfunding and we will deal with the fact that his plans were unsuited to many of the threats we face.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  20. “I remember when the hon. Gentleman’s predecessor stood in this House after the election to argue, like the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) did, for this country to invest 2.5% of GDP by 2030—the hon. Member for South Suffolk called for it 13 times before the Prime Minister said, a year ago, we would do it three years earlier. We will look at any way of raising the level of investment going into defence, but the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) could start by recognising that this Government have made a commitment to record investment in defence—the largest increase since the end of the cold war. I note in passing that he seems to be against how we will fund this to reach 2.5% and 2.6% next year.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  21. “Three weeks ago I was in Kyiv. I saw for myself the savagery of Putin’s brutal assault on the Ukrainian people and I saw also their extraordinary defiance. Next week I will co-chair the 50-nation strong Ukraine defence contact group in NATO, and the UK is providing more military support now than ever before, and we will continue to stand united in this House, will continue to stand united in this country, and will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  22. “My hon. Friend is right to raise this, and as a nation and a Government the UK will not hesitate to act against those supplying and funding Putin’s war economy. We have sanctioned a range of organisations that operate in third countries over economic and military support for Russia, including 50 Chinese companies. We will continue to work across other nations with other nations and to bolster the support for Ukraine and the principles of the UN charter.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  23. “My hon. Friend is right that politicians of any party are judged on what we do, not just what we say, and the performance of Reform-led councils will certainly come home to roost, I suggest, for their party. But my hon. Friend is right: in this new era of Russian threat, we must ensure that our Royal Navy has the innovation it needs to detect, to track and to deter threats beneath the waves, and so today we have announced a new £40 million contract with a British-based SME to buy new sonobuoys, exactly to be deployed and used beneath the waves to track Putin’s subs.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  24. “The right hon. Gentleman is entirely right: a strong Ukraine is the key to a long-term secure Europe. He is also right that British defence, British innovation and British financial muscle can help Ukraine in the medium term. I think he would also recognise that we can contribute to Ukraine in a unique way, having been, since the start of Putin’s brutal invasion, Ukraine’s closest and most reliable ally under both Governments.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  25. “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is at the heart of our determination to stand with Ukraine, and we are determined to step up our support for Ukraine. The House will recognise the brutal attack on those mineworkers, who were going to work to mine the coal that keeps their own Ukrainian citizens warm in this period of unprecedented cold in Ukraine.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  26. “As the strategic defence review sets out, the High North is becoming more important to the UK and our NATO allies, as it becomes more accessible through climate change. We have Royal Navy deployments in the High North and Royal Marines undertaking cold weather training in Norway, as well as Ranger exercises in Sweden and Finland. We will continue to step up on Arctic security alongside our NATO and JEF allies.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  27. “We deeply value the role that Shetland—and Scotland in general—plays to reinforce the security of the United Kingdom. That is demonstrated by the fact that there are 9,500 full-time troops in Scotland; the fact that there are around 3,000 civilian defence personnel based in Scotland; and the fact that, as a Government, in the last year we put over £2 billion into the Scottish economy to support defence and the role that Scotland plays in general. It is not only part of keeping this country safer but of defence driving economic growth throughout the UK.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  28. “My hon. Friend quite rightly points to a growing level of Russian activity in particular that monitors and potentially threatens our critical undersea infrastructure. He will see the way in which we have demonstrated that we see, understand and track those Russian threats. We are working, particularly together with JEF allies, to deal with those threats, and we will step that up further in the months ahead.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  29. “The Government are already making the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war; we plan to hit 2.6% of GDP being spent on defence in April 2027, and 3% in the next Parliament.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  30. “I note the arguments that the hon. Gentleman and his party are now making, but it was just in autumn 2024 that the Lib Dems were calling for this Government to set a pathway to 2.5%. We went further than that, with the largest increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war, three years before he was calling for it. We have a plan to hit 3% in the next Parliament.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  31. “In the first instance, I would welcome support from the hon. Lady and her party for the fact that in this Parliament, we will invest £270 billion in defence to keep Britain safe and our alliances secure for generations to come. This is a Government who are delivering for defence, and delivering for Britain.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  32. “This month marks four years since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian people continue to fight with huge defiance and courage, recently retaking parts of the city of Kupiansk, striking military targets deep in Russia, and reporting a Russian casualty rate of 25 to 1 in some parts of the frontline. Putin is increasingly under pressure. He has thrown 17,000 North Korean troops into the fight, and has recruited thousands more from Africa and other nations. Four years on, the Ukrainian courage will be matched by our UK determination. Next week I will travel to NATO and will co-chair the 33rd meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group, where 50 nations will step up the provision of military aid and support to keep the Ukrainians in the fight.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  33. “The hon. Lady makes an important point. The doubling in this Parliament of our investment into autonomy will be directed in significant part towards marine technology. Her part of the world—the south-west—plays a leading role in that. She urges action across Government, so I hope she will see that the shipbuilding and marine autonomy plan that we will publish shortly will show exactly what we are doing on a number of fronts.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  34. “Mr Speaker, you above all people will recognise the importance of the contract we let to Leonardo 10 days ago, worth £450 million, to upgrade British Typhoon radars. As my hon. Friend will understand, those radars will be a big part of how we sell Typhoons, which will be made and assembled in Lancashire, to other nations such as Turkey.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  35. “I take that as an early indication that the hon. Lady might want to serve on the Bill Committee, in which case we welcome her stepping forward. I think she will recognise that the legislative framework, which allows us to take action to bring down malign and menacing drones over UK defence sites and defence bases, is long overdue. I look forward to her support in introducing that.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  36. “The hon. Gentleman will recognise that, for the first time, we have in place a security and defence partnership agreement with the European Union. That is part of our stepping up our willingness to work with the European Union. He knows that the SAFE negotiations did not come to a successful conclusion. That was quite simply because it was not in the interests of the British taxpayer and the British defence industry. We will do a great deal more to support the wider security of the European Union and European nations through NATO.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  37. “The 10 JEF nations, led by the UK—JEF was established by the previous Government—have stepped up their leadership, with support from Members on both sides of the House. JEF is an important part of NATO and allows us to act ahead of unanimity in NATO. From critical infrastructure to exercising in the High North, JEF has led the way and will continue to do so.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  38. “I can, indeed; I welcome my hon. Friend’s constituent in the Gallery today. This Government are on the side of those who serve and on the side of those families who support those who serve.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  39. “I can, indeed. Taskforce Kindred has been at the heart of the UK’s rapid response and our reliability as Ukraine’s closest ally since Putin first invaded Ukraine nearly four years back. It will continue to play a central role in the future, and it has lessons for the procurement and provision of our own kit and systems for our forces.”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  40. “Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I will set the record straight, including the right hon. Gentleman’s remarks before the House this afternoon — [ Interruption. ]”

    House of Commons2 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  41. “At the general election, we pledged to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve, and I am proud to say that we are delivering on that promise: the largest pay increase for our armed forces in more than two decades, expanded wraparound childcare support, an independent Armed Forces Commissioner and a funded plan for a safe, decent home for every forces family. Through this legislation, we continue the work of renewing that commitment, with better housing, better services and better protections for those who serve.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  42. “That is why our Government have committed an extra £5 billion to defence spending this year and committed to the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war, switching funding directly from overseas aid. It is why we are proposing, through this Bill, to increase our warfighting readiness and homeland security, and why we are putting the men and women in our armed forces at the heart of defence plans. In the coming years, we will ask more of our service personnel, and it is only right that they expect more of their Government. The Bill takes significant steps to improve service life and strengthen the bond between society and our forces.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  43. “I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. It is a rare privilege to open this debate. This is only the second ever Labour Armed Forces Bill, yet the provenance of this legislation reaches all the way back to the Bill of Rights, and more than three centuries on, granting authority to maintain our armed forces remains one of the most important—if not the most important—formal constitutional responsibilities of Members of this House. This is a substantial Bill—a reflection of just how much the world has changed over the past five years. It is more dangerous and much less certain, and this new era of threat demands a new era for defence.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  44. “There is a general support for the right hon. Gentleman’s comments on both sides of the House. This Armed Forces Bill, as I will go on to say, commands all-party support, and it is a shame that we have not got all parties in this House to demonstrate that. The bond between the British people and those sworn to defend them is a proud part of our nation’s security. The purpose of the armed forces covenant is to strengthen that bond. The policy and principles underpinning the covenant were first set out in a Command Paper in 2008 under the last Labour Government, and to this day—this relates to the right hon. Gentleman’s point—the covenant maintains strong cross-party support across this House and across the UK.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  45. “I welcome the leader of Plaid in this House welcoming the Bill and her support for the forces. She is right that the record of the Welsh nation in supporting our armed forces and recruiting some of the best of our armed forces is long and proud. She also knows that the Barnett formula has already delivered a record increase in NHS spending in Wales, and I will go on to speak about the role of the devolved nations in the implementation of the covenant.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  46. “Just as the Armed Forces Act 2001 required a degree of discussion, agreement and devolution to the devolved Governments, including in Northern Ireland, so too will this Bill. Our officials are in deep discussion with Northern Ireland Office officials. The Minister for the Armed Forces has written to Ministers in the devolved Administrations, and I am confident that, following the passage of the Bill, we will have arrangements in place allowing the proud armed forces covenant to be fully implemented in legislation at every level of government: the UK national Government, devolved Governments and local authorities across the UK.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  47. “The right hon. Gentleman knows that he is speaking about the legislative provisions of a different Bill that is before the House. We will deal with that and strengthen protections for veterans. Successive Governments have failed because it has been too difficult, but, with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland leading the way, we will finally have a settlement that allows the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  48. “My hon. Friend is right. The short answer is that there is record funding to support the mental health and wellbeing of veterans; there are record levels of support for veterans’ groups, with a new wave of Valour centres shortly to be announced by the Minister for Veterans and People; and there is, of course, a commitment to ensure that no veteran loses out on their right to social housing because of the local connection test, which was in place until this Government removed it after the election.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  49. “I know about the right hon. Gentleman’s good news and bad news. We will return to that discussion when we return to Committee stage of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. When we do so, we will have in place strengthened protections for veterans, and that will be a result of the detailed discussions that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces, military leaders, the Prime Minister and I have had in recent weeks with representatives of the forces and special forces, and with former military chiefs, who have a point of view on this—”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  50. “Quite honestly, I was unable to be in the House at the time. That is an important piece of legislation because it paves the way for the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. It removes the immunity that the right hon. Gentleman’s Government tried to put in place for terrorists. They removed the right of 200 families whose loved ones were killed by terrorists in the troubles to get the same access to truth, information and a degree of justice. Now, if the House will permit me, I will return to the Armed Forces Bill, which is the legislation before us this afternoon.”

    House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗