Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill

For the sake of time, I will not speak to every single amendment.

Go on!

My hon. Friend says, “Please do,” but I am sure that other Members want to contribute to this deb...

I concur with much of what my right hon. Friend is saying. He has always been a champion of the a...

Indeed. Time and again, supposed Government witnesses went against the Government. My hon. Friend...

The right hon. Gentleman has a long track record of supporting the armed services here. Is he con...

I am, and I will come onto part 2 in a minute. The hon. Gentleman has hit on an issue relating to...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will let the Minister intervene, even though he is very reluctant to give way to me. I asked hi...

I just wish to intervene briefly. It is a litany of accusations and they are complete rubbish. Wh...

Order. That is a perfectly reasonable question, but, although it is not exactly unparliamentary l...

It is better than he did in Committee when he called me a hypocrite, Madam Deputy Speaker, but if...

I have put in three written questions about this Bill, and yesterday I had answers to them. Two o...

The right hon. Gentleman is correct. That came out in evidence that we took throughout the Commit...

My right hon. Friend has always been a strong supporter of the armed forces. Does he agree that, ...

But it really does not matter, because if my hon. Friend wants to see the attitude of the Ministe...

I have a lot of sympathy with what the right hon. Gentleman is saying, but may I drag him away fr...

It would. That and judicial oversight would improve the Bill tremendously. It would then actually...

I am sure the right hon. Gentleman will agree that the officers who served under Operation Banner...

The hon. Gentleman makes a clear point: do I feel it right that, frankly, people in their 70s or ...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments. The fact is this will end up in Northern Irela...

I defer to the hon. Gentleman’s knowledge of Northern Ireland politics, but I will say that this ...

Order. Just for clarification, in the silent exchange that the right hon. Gentleman and I have ju...

On one occasion, I spoke in Committee for an hour and 10 minutes.

Could the right hon. Gentleman take a moment to reflect on what he said in his opening remarks, w...

Order. Let us get this straight. Interventions will also be brief this afternoon. We want interve...

I made a mistake this morning, because I was going to count the number of interventions. There we...

Order. I do not care how many interventions there were in Committee. This debate is not about Com...

Sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I was being polite in replying to the hon. Member for Derbyshire...

Surely the right hon. Gentleman realises that the proposed six-year time limit applies from the p...

He who waits it all comes to. I was going to answer that point in a minute.

The MOD argued ...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

If I must.

My right hon. Friend does not have to if he does not want to.

Will the passing of the Bill ...

It does. The Bill’s provisions will also mean that prisoners will have more right to sue the MOJ,...

I had been hoping to manage this afternoon’s proceedings without a time limit, but I do not think...

The right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) set me a target of 30 minutes, Madam Deputy Spe...

I like the hon. Member, but he is talking complete nonsense. If he has read the Smith case, which...

I am sorry, but the right hon. Member is completely wrong. If he reads “The Fog of Law” written b...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will carry on.

It is also an issue for the human rights of some of the people we are figh...

The hon. Gentleman, who is a good Member and a friend, is making a really interesting argument, b...

I am sorry that the hon. Member is failing to see it, because I thought I explained it quite clea...

Will the hon. Member give way?

I will not give way any more; I had two interventions and they are done. We see again and again h...

I declare an interest as a veteran. It is a pleasure to be called in the debate and a pleasure to...

My hon. Friend is making points with which I absolutely concur. The prohibition on torture is abs...

My hon. Friend raises an incredibly valuable point. That is a real risk and an unintended consequ...

There is nothing in the Bill that prohibits any investigation within or after the five years for ...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the comments towards the end of his remarks. There is a weight of ...

When the Defence Committee was looking at the matter in the previous two Parliaments, it recommen...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. I certainly assume that all of us attend t...

It is a privilege to follow the gallant and hon. Gentleman, who is a co-signatory with me to amen...

Article 3 of the Geneva conventions covers torture and crimes against humanity, and there is a co...

My hon. and gallant Friend is exactly right, and I want to see the reputation that comes from tha...

I agree with my right hon. Friend that the prosecution system is not out of control, but does he ...

I will tell my right hon. Friend in a moment exactly why I am not reassured by that, but he is qu...

Order. I will let the right hon. Member read the quote before finishing.

I will read the quote:

“Would we be content that a member of the Iraqi Government’s consent...

It is a pleasure to contribute to the debate on Report, and to do so early, following the right h...

Does the hon. Member recognise that there is already an international agreement—it is called the ...

The hon. Member’s contribution is timely. We know what commitments were given during the New Deca...

The hon. Gentleman is making an incredibly strong and important point. Does he not also agree tha...

The hon. Gentleman is right that there is a huge danger. The Government are not tearing up our in...

We will have to introduce a five-minute limit now, because of the pressure of speakers.

I will address briefly some of the points raised in this excellent debate. First, I would like to...

I will speak to the amendments and new clauses tabled by my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Op...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell-Buck), who is a fellow p...

The hon. Lady brings up a pertinent point. Obviously, the Bill provides protection, but there doe...

I am just about to say that they, too, should be afforded certainty that the unique operational p...

I am grateful to you for the opportunity to take part in this debate, Mr Speaker. As the hon. Mem...

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for being a tireless advocate for veterans and making this Bi...

I was not in the Chamber when that was said earlier, but it is fair to say that I made over 40 in...

It was indeed an honour to serve on the Committee, because I myself, although not serving in the ...

Will the hon. Member give way?

Not at the moment.

The issue of derogation before an overseas conflict or an overseas missi...

Since this Bill came before us, I have had serious misgivings about its aim and its effectiveness...

It is important to correct the record. The claims that the hon. Lady refers to have not happened ...

As has been raised many times by Members on both sides of the House, we would like to know exactl...

It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) in this debate.

My...

Having been spared the commitment of serving on the Bill Committee, I am fortunate also to have b...

Not only the ambulance-chasing lawyers, but it is really good that we will not ever see the Iraq ...

I could not agree more.

I am aware that several amendments were tabled in Committee, but no...

We all agree that the aims of the Bill are noble, and that the idea of revolving investigations o...

During last year’s general election campaign, the protection of our service personnel and veteran...

Elizabeth Wilmshurst, the former deputy legal adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, say...

I am sure that I will have a different view to the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittom...

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate and to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton...

May I say at the outset that I am extremely proud of our armed services and their conduct, their ...

It may be helpful if at this stage I restate to my hon. Friend the commitment in the Conservative...

I thank the Minister for getting to his feet and making that commitment again from the Dispatch B...

I support exactly what my very great friend is saying, but may I point out to the House that no B...

I thank my dear friend, who has travelled widely in Northern Ireland, both as a soldier and as my...

I rise to support amendments 1 to 10 in particular. I thank my hon. and gallant Friend the Member...

When the Government brought this Bill forward, their aim was to end vexatious claims against form...

I am grateful to be called in this important debate.

I believe that this House should promo...

I thank my good friend the Deputy Speaker and the hon. Lady for allowing me to intervene. I do no...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making his point, but I disagree with him. The point I am making i...

Wind-ups will begin at 5.26, so I will ask whoever is on their feet at that time to resume their ...

I have co-sponsored a number of amendments in the hope—perhaps it is naive—that some of the rough...

I rise to oppose that comment. The Bill does not decriminalise torture. Torture remains a major c...

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his comments. I very much respect his service, and his commi...

Order. We must come to the winding-up speeches. I call Stewart Malcolm McDonald.

I am grateful, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I am only sorry we did not get to hear the end of the speec...

I will not give way, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind. I am going to deal with some of the poi...

I appreciate all the contributions made this afternoon, some of which were very thoughtful.