Commenting on Quentin Davies’ report on public attitudes towards the military, which recommends creating a national Armed Forces Day, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
 
“Many of these proposals are good common sense and should be welcomed. It is essential that the British public understands the huge sacrifice and commitment made by our servicemen and women.
 
“But we must never let pageantry obscure the hard facts about the way the current Government treats our Armed Forces.  Read more »

Arriving today for a two-day visit to Afghanistan, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has emphasised the vital importance of success in the ‘conflict of our generation’.

Warning that a failure to ensure peace and stability will see Afghanistan reverting to a haven for terrorism, he aims to find out what Britain can do to ensure the international effort in the country is put back on track to success.

Nick Clegg said:

“Afghanistan is the most important conflict of our generation. If we fail to secure lasting peace and stability, Afghanistan will revert to a pariah state, feeding the international drugs trade and offering a haven for terrorism that will threaten global security for the conceivable future. The consequences of failure would be devastating.

“Yet the success of our mission in Afghanistan hangs in the balance. International efforts have not yet delivered the stability and security that the people of Afghanistan deserve. So we must ask tough questions, of ourselves and our allies, to ensure we succeed. Read more »

Commenting on today’s statement by Des Browne on the MoD’s Spring Performance Report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
 
“This damning report adds to the growing sense that Gordon Brown doesn’t care about the military.
 
“The report is a catalogue of woes for the MoD. There is a recruitment catastrophe, dangerous levels of overstretch and a crisis in the defence equipment budget. Read more »

Commenting on General Petraeus’ comments today on British troop levels in Iraq, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said: 

Gordon Brown last year announced reductions to our presence in Basra which have yet to materialise. The sad truth appears to be that our troops are being used to serve the increasingly desperate political strategies of the White House and Number 10.  Read more »

Commenting on a written statement to the House yesterday that put forward new plans to send a British battalion of 600 soldiers to Kosovo as part of a NATO mission, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary Nick Harvey MP expressed his concerns:

With our troops already overstretched by operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, this further deployment will push the Army to its limits. Read more »

Monday saw Defence Questions in the House to the Secretary of State for Defence.

Concerned over the increasing strains placed on our Armed Forces and the detrimental impact ongoing operations on two-fronts might have on our future capabilities and the welfare and morale of our troops, Nick raised the following question:

 Nick Harvey (Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

The Government argue that our troops are stretched but not overstretched, yet the drawdown from Iraq has been postponed and serious recruitment difficulties cannot be entirely masked by a massive increase in recruitment from the Commonwealth. For how much longer can we operate beyond defence planning assumptions without doing damage to our future capabilities? Do we really have the spare capacity to undertake further commitments—in Kosovo, for example—and if we do, what lessons have we learned from Iraq and Afghanistan about making it clear that we are going in for a time-limited shift and not taking on another open-ended commitment? Read more »