Contribution
My Lords, I begin by expressing my huge admiration for all those personnel involved in the seizure of the “Smyrtos” at the weekend, from the Royal Marine commandos and officers of the National Crime Agency to the sailors of HMS “Sutherland” and HMS “Ledbury” and the airmen aboard the Poseidon P-8 and the Merlin and Wildcat helicopters. They executed their duties with characteristic—indeed, exemplary—professionalism, and I thank all involved.
It is welcome that the Government have finally begun interdicting sanctions-busting Russian ships, and that is the right move to disrupt Putin’s war machine, to degrade Russia’s efforts to undermine Britain’s security, and to help our allies in Ukraine. It is the duty of all political parties to stand by the Government in their efforts to help Ukraine defeat Putin’s vicious invasion. But many unanswered questions remain. The Government announced back in March that they would start boarding and seizing vessels of the Russian shadow fleet, and yet the first instance of such action occurring was this past weekend, so why the delay? The new Secretary of State for Defence failed to answer this question from my honourable friend James Cartlidge in the other place, so I hope the Minister will do better.
Why did it take so long to start boarding these sanctioned law-breaking vessels? Surely it does not take three months to plan for one operation. According to the BBC, there have been at least 94 instances since March of shadow fleet vessels crossing into British territorial waters without being interdicted, and that is in addition to almost 200 that have entered our exclusive economic zone. That is 94 vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil that have been allowed to pass unimpeded through our waters, with the cash flowing directly back to Putin. That is not acceptable.
Shortly after the Government announced that British forces would be boarding these vessels, we heard reports that the Attorney-General, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hermer, was bizarrely concerned about breaching international law. The Government were very coy about responding to that allegation and refused to respond to my honourable friend David Reed when he asked that question on 13 April. Can the Minister confirm whether concerns about international law were holding the Government back and causing this delay, and if so, how has this situation changed? Can the Minister tell the House whether this is a one-off, or will the Government start hitting every ship of the Russian shadow fleet that enters British waters?
There have been further reports that after the operation at the weekend, six shadow fleet vessels that were heading for the channel have now turned round. There seems to be a likelihood that they may head up through the North Sea and around Scotland. This, of course, elongates their journey, but if they are permitted to continue, they will still reach their destination, offload their illegal oil and send that money back to Russia. So will the Government intercept vessels making that journey north?
Finally, this all leads back to resource. The Minister and I have had many exchanges on this topic recently, so he is fully aware of my position, but I have to repeat it. If we are to continue seizing Russian vessels; if we are to play a leading role in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, as the Prime Minister announced today at the G7; if we are to maintain a military presence abroad, particularly in our overseas territories; and if we are to continue to deter our adversaries, our Armed Forces must have the funding they truly require. The funding they truly require far exceeds that which the Government have committed to date. We know that the Chief of the Defence Staff has asked for £28 billion as a minimum. Why will the Government not commit to that level of funding for the defence investment plan?