Member

If I appear to be nitpicking here, it is because if the base is to operate securely and effectively, as stated in the agreement—and I fully accept the beliefs and undertakings that the Minister and her colleague, the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, are giving—then these issues cannot be left for later discussion when incidents arise and a huddle of lawyers and diplomats try to work out what the treaty provisions actually mean. It would be a supreme irony if a treaty that is intended to remove legal uncertainty ends up perpetuating it.