Speeches by Martin.

“I am coming to a conclusion, Madam Deputy Speaker. What we ask for in the motion is simple. It is not to seize the assets, although we think the time for that has come, and it is not to act unilaterally, as the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) asked about. We ask the Government to investigate wi…”

“I agree. This is a war crime of stupendous scale, breadth and width. There is a question of not only justice, but getting those children back to their families in Ukraine. That is part of the work that we all must do once the war is over, with Russia defeated and Ukraine victorious.”

“I quite agree. In Tunbridge Wells, I have been heartened by the number of families who have taken in Ukrainian refugees. We also have a Ukrainian school, to continue the important work of enshrining and protecting Ukrainian culture, because when people commit genocide, one of the things they do is destroy the culture o…”

“My hon. Friend is right: it is about not just actions that lead to practical outcomes but the signals that we send to our geopolitical opponents.”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. In the light of my overrunning speech earlier, I will not take up the full two minutes allocated to me, so I can give you back some time in a congested parliamentary timetable. I will focus on two things. One is unity. We have demonstrated that unity tonight throughout the House. This i…”

“This is a timely statement, because I have been conversing with Anne, one of my constituents. Anne is a visual artist and dress designer, and she has exactly the concerns that you set out.”

“I beg your pardon, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will recommend to Anne that she contributes to the consultation. However, the Minister hits on the nub of the problem, which is the international element. For me, the key example is China, a country that has a history of stealing IP and is a key player in the international AI …”

“In my constituency of Tunbridge Wells there is only one noise monitor, in the village of Rusthall. Although we are all in favour of airspace modernisation—the Minister makes some great points about it—how can we know that it will not merely move the noise problem around, or even make it worse? Will the Government commi…”

“I note that the Minister thinks that the absence of the word “pharmacy” from her statement was an omission. I wonder whether she also thinks that the absence of the words “general practice” was an omission. I have been visiting some of my local GP surgeries, and one told me that, as a result of the NIC rises, it is fac…”

“rose—”

“The right hon. Gentleman talks about a more sensible tax strategy, and we all agree that the change to NICs is an extraordinarily bad idea, particularly given the hit to growth. Where would he raise that amount of tax from?”

“Absolutely. Can I ask if the debate will be in the morning or afternoon on the 9th? Do we know?”

“Understood, Chair.”

“Thank you, Chair. I will ask my colleagues to introduce themselves.”

“As you know, Chair, currently British Government policy is that the interest on frozen Russian assets is used to fund the war effort in Ukraine. There is a further argument, which we would like to explore with this debate, which is the seizing of the assets themselves to fund the war in Ukraine rather than just the int…”

“That is absolutely right; I think we would all agree with that. The UK has a role to play in that as well. Do you think the UK and NATO could deliver its mission in the Euro-Atlantic area without the support of the United States?”

“Would you commit to share that review with this Committee at the same time that you share it with allies and partners?”

“I was struck by your comment earlier that defence reviews tend to come unstuck for one of two reasons: either the world changes or ambition and resources are not matched. There is obviously very little we can do about the former, because it is impossible to predict the future. Can you categorically guarantee that this …”

“It is absolutely down to the Government, but will the actual review document be fully costed, and will that ambition match that resource? Obviously, it is out of your hands how the Government choose to implement it, but, in terms of the bit you are responsible for, can you guarantee that ambition and resources will be …”

“If I may push you gently on this, if we are setting it to a 2.5% envelope, that implies that you are going to be arguing in the report for a reduction of our ambitions.”