Lords to quiz ministers on Parliament's role in approving use of armed force
The House of Lords Constitution Committee will this week take evidence from three Ministers in the final evidence session of their inquiry into the constitutional arrangements for the use of armed force. The session will focus on Parliament's role in approving decisions to use armed force overseas.
Giving evidence to the Committee will be Andrew Robathan MP, Armed Forces Minister, Alistair Burt MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Lord Wallace of Saltaire, House of Lords Spokesman for the Cabinet Office.
The session will cover the Government's commitment to a Commons vote before a decision is made to arm the Syrian National Council and whether this will set a precedent for similar situations in the future, especially where the deployment of UK troops is not proposed.
The Committee will also quiz the witnesses on whether the Government plans to introduce legislation formalising Parliament's role in approving military action as suggested by the Foreign Secretary, what role the Government sees for the House of Lords in such a process and in what circumstances the Prime Minister might deploy troops even though the House of Commons was opposed.
The evidence session will take place at 10:30am on Wednesday 26 June in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
