Vol. 755 Friday No. 36 26 September 2014 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Deaths of Members........................................................................................................1675 Iraq Motion to Take Note ..................................................................................................1675 Written Statements ....................................................................................................WS 157 Written Answers .........................................................................................................WA 349 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. 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The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative Con Ind Conservative Independent DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Lab Labour Lab Ind Labour Independent LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2014, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1675 Deaths of Members[26 SEPTEMBER 2014] Iraq 1676 House of Commons today, and the debate for us to House of Lords contribute to, is how we keep the British people safe from the threat posed by ISIL and, in particular, what Friday, 26 September 2014. role our Armed Forces should play in the international coalition to dismantle and ultimately destroy what 11.30 am President Obama has rightly called “this network of death”. Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Derby. There is no more serious issue than asking our Armed Forces to put themselves in harm’s way to Deaths of Members protect our country. I will set out today why the Announcement Government believe that that is necessary. If we are to do this, there is a series of questions that must be 11.37 am answered. Is this in our national interest? In particular, is there a direct threat to the British people? Is there a The Lord Speaker (Baroness D’Souza): My Lords, I comprehensive plan for dealing with this threat? Is the regret to inform the House of the deaths of the noble military element necessary? Is it necessary for us to Lord, Lord Attenborough, on 24 August and of the take part in military action? Is it legal for us to take noble Lord, Lord Bannside, on 12 September. On part? Will we be doing so with the support of local behalf of the House, I extend our deepest condolences partners? Will doing this add up to a moral justification to the noble Lords’ families and friends. for putting the lives of British service men and women on the line? Above all, do we have a clear idea of what a successful outcome will look like, and are we convinced Arrangement of Business that our strategy can take us there? I will address each Announcement of these questions head on. 11.38 am First, on our national interest, is there a threat to the British people? The simple answer to that question Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con): My Lords, with the is yes. ISIL has already murdered one British hostage leave of the House, I should like to say a couple of and is threatening the lives of two more. The first things before we start our debate today. The first is to ISIL-inspired terrorist acts in Europe have already thank all those who have made possible our assembling taken place, with the attack on the Jewish Museum of here today at short notice on recall. We are well served Belgium in Brussels. Security services have disrupted by all who support us here in this House, and their six other known plots in Europe, as well as foiling a professionalism is manifest by the way we are all able terrorist attack in Australia aimed at civilians, including to be here today. I should like to record our thanks to British and American tourists. them. ISIL is a terrorist organisation unlike those with Secondly, turning to today’s debate, there are 58 which we have dealt before. The brutality is staggering: speakers, and there may well have been more. A number beheadings, crucifixions, the gouging out of eyes, the of people decided, as a result of the large number of use of rape as a weapon and the slaughter of children. speakers, to withdraw their names, enabling others to All these things belong to the dark ages, but it is not speak for longer. As it is, with 58 speakers, if contributions just the brutality. ISIL is backed by billions of dollars are limited to four minutes each, we would expect to and has captured an arsenal of the most modern rise by 4.30 pm. This would allow the House to make weapons. In the space of a few months, ISIL has taken its contribution to the debate before the House of control of territory greater than the size of Britain, Commons votes on its Motion, which is expected to and is making millions selling oil to the Assad regime. be at about 5 pm. It has already attacked Lebanon and boasts of its I remind noble Lords that the clocks are set at zero designs right up to the Turkish border. This is not a when they rise, and when the clock shows four, four threat on the far side of the world. Left unchecked, we full minutes will have elapsed so, my Lords, your time will face a terrorist caliphate on the shores of the is up. Thank you. Mediterranean and bordering a NATO member, with a declared and proven determination to attack our country and our people. This is not the stuff of fantasy. Iraq It is happening in front of us and we need to face up Motion to Take Note to it. 11.39 am Is there a clear, comprehensive plan? The answer, again, is yes. It starts at home, with tough, Moved by Baroness Stowell of Beeston uncompromising action to prevent attacks and hunt down those who are planning them. We are introducing That this House takes note of developments in new powers. These include strengthening our ability to Iraq. seize passports and to stop suspects travelling, stripping British nationality from dual-nationals and ensuring The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston) that airlines comply with our no-fly list. In all this, we (Con): My Lords, in debating the Motion before your are being clear about the cause of the terrorist threat Lordships today, I will set out the Government’s position we face. As the Prime Minister has said, that means on developments in Iraq. The question before the defeating the poisonous ideology of extremism by 1677 Iraq[LORDS] Iraq 1678 [BARONESS STOWELL OF BEESTON] to working with their US counterparts. Those are tackling all forms of extremism, not just non-violent some of the reasons why President Obama has made it extremism, so we are banning preachers of hate, clear to the Prime Minister that America wants Britain proscribing organisations that incite terrorism and to join the air action in Iraq, which has been under stopping people inciting hatred in our schools, universities way for several weeks now. But it is also our duty to and prisons. take part. This international operation is about protecting Of course, some will say, “Any action you take will our people, too, and protecting the streets of Britain further radicalise young people”. That is a counsel of should not be a task that we are prepared to subcontract despair. The threat of radicalisation is already here. entirely to the air forces of our allies. Young people are leaving our country to fight with I turn now to the question of legality. The Attorney- these extremists. We must take action at home, but we General has given his advice on the action that we must also have a comprehensive strategy to defeat propose to take. There is a clear legal base for UK these extremists abroad. This involves using all the military action to help Iraq defend itself from ISIL. A resources at our disposal: humanitarian efforts, which summary of this legal position is being placed in the Britain is already leading to help those displaced by Library. ISIL’s onslaught; diplomatic efforts, to engage the The Iraqi Government have requested our help and widest possible coalition of countries in the region as given their clear consent for UK military action.