Lords debates AUKUS nuclear agreement
18 January 2022
On Monday 17 January, members of the Lords debated the agreement between the governments of Australia, the UK and the USA (AUKUS) for the exchange of Naval Nuclear Propulsion information.
Debate
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour), chair of the Lords International Agreements Committee, put forward the debate.
This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.
Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Members debated the new agreement to enable the 18-month scoping phase of the AUKUS submarine programme to proceed, following the announcement of the tri-lateral security and defence partnership on 15 September 2021.
Members speaking
Members speaking included:
- Former First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Lord Boyce (Crossbench) and Lord West of Spithead (Labour)
- Lord Hannay of Chiswick (Crossbench), former member of the UN Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
- Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke (Labour), former British High Commissioner to Australia
- Baroness Smith of Newnham (Liberal Democrats), former senior lecturer in international relations, University of Cambridge.
Baroness Goldie (Conservative), Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence, responded on behalf of the government.
Get involved
Watch and read the debate
Catch up on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.
Explore background information
Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the House of Lords Library briefing.
Learn more about how the House of Lords checks and challenges government.
Lords scrutiny of agreements
Read the House of Lords International Agreements Committee report on the AUKUS Information Exchange Agreement.
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