Lords debates situation in Libya and the Middle East
4 April 2011
The current situation in Libya and the Middle East was debated in the House of Lords on Friday 1 April. The debate covered follow-up to the London conference on Libya on 29 March, as well as February's UN Security Council Resolution 1973, which demanded an immediate ceasefire and authorised a no-fly zone
Foreign Office Minister, Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative), opened the debate.
Three former defence chiefs took part in the debate:
- Lord Stirrup, (Crossbench), former chief of defence staff
- Lord Craig of Radley, (Crossbench), former chief of defence staff
- Lord West of Spithead, (Labour), former chief of defence intelligence.
Other Members who gave speeches during the debate included:
- Former Secretary-General of NATO, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Labour), who is also a former secretary of state for defence, and a vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Iraq and the region.
- Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat), chairman of the EU Sub-Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development Policy, which last week questioned Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt, on current events in North Africa.
- Lord Hannay of Chiswick (Crossbench), chair of the UK United Nations Association and former head of the Middle East departments at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- Lord Trefgarne (Conservative), chair of the Libyan British Business Council and director of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce.
- Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour), leader of the Labour party in the House of Lords.
- Former members of the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Lord Anderson of Swansea (Labour).
- Legal expert, barrister Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Labour).
Baroness Turner of Camden, Lord Stone of Blackheath, Lord Soley, Viscount Slim, Lord Selsdon, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, Lord Parekh, Lord Hughes of Woodside, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Lord Boyd of Duncansby, Lord Alderdice, Lord Risby, Lord Dobbs, Baroness Dean of Thornton-Le-Fylde, Lord Bates, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Palmer of Childs Hill also took part.
Lord Howell of Guildford responded on behalf of the government.