Over 130,000 motor vehicles are now stolen every year in the UK; there has been a 75% increase in England and Wales in a decade. Much of that theft happens through the exploitation of weaknesses in remote key fobs. Does the Minister agree that this crime trend is a major risk for users of motorised vehicles on our roads, and what steps will her Department and its agencies take to improve vehicle and fob design standards and regulation, as well as driver awareness, to prevent such crimes?

Given Operation Nova, should a veteran who fought for his country and ends up in court due to circumstances be entitled to put his defence in front of a jury?

When will the work commence, when will the crossing be open to traffic, and which banks and companies will fund it?

The former Labour Security Minister Lord West said recently that we “shouldn’t be doing” this. Lord Glasman, the founder of Blue Labour, said: “We must reverse it as soon as possible.” The hon. Member for Blackley and Middleton South (Graham Stringer) said that to continue this against one side makes no sense. With a Labour rebellion clearly brewing, and given that many Northern Ireland veterans were initially recruited from red wall seats, why are Labour Ministers insisting on driving their Back Benchers into the Division Lobby just to do Sinn Féin and their old comrades in the IRA a favour?

As General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff, said at the weekend, “if potential recruits to our Armed Forces do not believe that their government will stand by them when performing their duties in a lawful manner, why risk joining at all?” He was speaking about Labour’s new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which could see Northern Ireland veterans, without whom there would never have been a Good Friday agreement in the first place, in the dock again by next year. The Minister called opponents of this “naive”. What is her response to the former head of the British Army and the brave soldiers he led—were they all naive, too?

The Government could have appealed to the Supreme Court on this but deliberately did not. I do not doubt the Secretary of State’s personal sincerity however, at Prime Minister’s questions on 15 January the Prime Minister promised veterans: We are working on a draft remedial order and replacement legislation, and we will look at every conceivable way to prevent these types of cases from claiming damages it is important that I say that on the record. Why then despite the PM’s solemn promise is the order still unchanged surely he is not expecting to order his own MPs many of whom represent red wall seats from which those veterans were originally recruited through the Aye Lobby just to do Gerry Adams a favour he is not going to do that, is he?

According to the 2021 census there are more than two million veterans living in Great Britain clearly some of them have been busy lately their parliamentary petition entitled “Protect Northern Ireland Veterans from Prosecutions”, with support from the Daily Mail, the Express and others now has more than 160,000 signatures and will be debated in Parliament on July 14th. Which Minister will respond to that debate so that we can ask them why the Government’s current remedial order is drafted to help the likes of Gerry Adams sue the British taxpayer while throwing our veterans to the wolves?

Our local paper reported that Labour-led Southend council and Lib Dem-led Rochford council plan a new town with up to 10,000 houses on their border by 2043, which is unsustainable given current infrastructure constraints. Would these houses be additional or part of the housing targets?

Veterans who served in Northern Ireland will no doubt welcome the Veterans Minister’s decision—first suggested by the shadow Defence Secretary—that the MOD should judicially review the recent coroner’s verdict regarding the shooting of several IRA terrorists at Clonoe. Well done, I say, but why not go further to protect veterans, and drop the plans to revoke large parts of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which would only serve to facilitate yet more inquests of this type?

Talking of access, several years ago, Greater Anglia demolished half of Wickford station to extend some of the platforms. However, after nearly three years of endless excuses, missed deadlines and, frankly, broken promises, it still has not rebuilt it. I regret to say that I have lost all confidence in the senior management of Greater Anglia. If they told me today was a Thursday, I would double-check it. Can I go over their head and ask the Secretary of State for a personal meeting with the Rail Minister so that we can finally get Wickford station rebuilt, despite Greater Anglia, rather than because of it?

On what day did the MOD submit its response to that key consultation—presumably in defence of service families’ interests—and will the Minister place a copy of that response in the Library?

On defence industrial strategy, the new amphibious multi-role support ships are several years away—a point the Armed Forces Minister obviously appreciated when, in opposition last January, he wrote to his local paper to say that scrapping HMS Albion and Bulwark would be bad for our national security, for the Royal Navy and for Devonport. When the Defence Committee looked at this issue a few years ago, it firmly concluded that the decision would be “militarily illiterate”, yet today the Ministry of Defence is all for it. Even if the Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry does not agree with the Defence Committee, does she at least agree with the Armed Forces Minister that these vital ships should be retained?

During debates on the Bill in Committee I raised the worrying issue that under the Treasury’s proposed inheritance tax changes, service personnel who are unmarried but in a long-term relationship could have their partner’s service benefit taxed should they die while in service. The Forces Pension Society has rightly highlighted that that would be totally contrary to the spirit of the armed forces covenant. Has the Minister yet raised this with the Treasury, as we strongly suggested last month he should, and if so what progress has been made?

How can we persuade people to remain in armed forces when they sense that the new Government do not really have their back? Will the Ministry of Defence start defending its veterans within Whitehall and argue against repealing the Northern Ireland Troubles Act 2023?

Many military personnel began their journey as cadets. The previous Government established hundreds of new cadet units in state schools. However, this Labour Government has withdrawn £1 million plus grant that supports cadet instructors. Will the Government urgently review this decision?

How much has been offered to pay Mauritius for renting back a military facility, and which department will cover this cost?

When will the outcome of the strategic defence review be announced?