Committees

International Relations and Defence Committee

Lords Select Committee

The International Relations and Defence Committee is appointed to consider the United Kingdom’s international relations and defence policy

Follow the Committee on X (formerly Twitter) using @LordsIRCom

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Reports, special reports and government responses

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1st Report - Our friends in the North: UK strategy towards the Arctic
Inquiry The Arctic
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HL Paper 8
Report
Response to this report
Government Response to the International Relations and Defence Committee’s Report ‘Our friends in the North: UK strategy towards the Arctic’
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288KB
Government Response
2nd Report - UNCLOS: the law of the sea in the 21st century
Inquiry UNCLOS: fit for purpose in the 21st century?
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1MB
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HL Paper 159
Report
Response to this report
Letter from Lord Goldsmith to the Chair dated 5 May 2023 regarding the International Defence and Relations Committee Report, UNCLOS: the law of the sea in the 21st Century
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161KB
Correspondence
Response to this report
Letter from the Chair to Lord Goldsmith, dated 17 May 2023, regarding a follow up to the International Relations and Defence Committee report: UNCLOS : the law of the sea in the 21st century
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672KB
Correspondence
Response to this report
Letter from Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park to Baroness Anelay of St Johns extending the government response to the report UNCLOS: the law of the sea in the 21st century dated 17 October 2022
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546KB
Correspondence
Response to this report
Letter from Baroness Anelay of St Johns to Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on the government response to the report UNCLOS: the law of the sea in the 21st century dated 19 July 2022
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194KB
Correspondence
Response to this report
Goverment response to the UNCLOS: The law of the sea in the 21st century? report
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61KB
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277KB
Government Response
1st Report - UK defence policy: from aspiration to reality?
Inquiry Defence concepts and capabilities: from aspiration to reality
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1MB
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HL Paper 124
Report
Response to this report
Letter by The Lord Ashton of Hyde to Ben Wallace MP on the Government response to the UK defence report dated 23 March 2023
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89KB
Correspondence
Response to this report
Government response to the UK defence policy: from aspiration to reality? report
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322KB
Government Response

Correspondence

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Letter from Lord Robertson of Port Ellen to the committee, regarding the Strategic Defence Review, dated 6 August 2024
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211KB
Correspondence
Letter from the Chair to the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (MoD), regarding Committee scrutiny, dated 25 April 2024
Inquiry Implications of the war in Ukraine for UK Defence
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102KB
Correspondence
The Chair to the Rt Hon the Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (FCDO), House of Lords inquiry into the UK and the Western Balkans, dated 25 January 2024
Inquiry The UK and the Western Balkans
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497KB
Correspondence

Oral evidence transcripts

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29 January 2020
Inquiry The UK and Sub-Saharan Africa
Witnesses Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Department for International Development
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265KB
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366KB
Oral Evidence
1 May 2024
Inquiry Implications of the war in Ukraine for UK Defence
Witnesses Air Chief Marshal The Lord Peach GBE KCB DL (Former Chief of the Defence Staff at British Armed Forces), and Nick Childs (Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security at The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS))
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159KB
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907KB
Oral Evidence
30 April 2024
Work Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Non-inquiry session)
Witnesses The Rt Hon Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), and Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE (Permanent Under-Secretary at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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175KB
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147KB
Oral Evidence

Written evidence

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Northrop Grumman UK (IUD0007)
Inquiry Implications of the war in Ukraine for UK Defence
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90KB
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31KB
Thales (IUD0016)
Inquiry Implications of the war in Ukraine for UK Defence
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77KB
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39KB
Ministry of Defence (IUD0015)
Inquiry Implications of the war in Ukraine for UK Defence
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128KB
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81KB

Other publications

Government Responses
The Government has undertaken to respond to most committee reports within two months, although there are exceptions to this rule.
15 published
Declarations of interest
Members of the House of Lords must declare relevant interests in committee work.
1 published
Engagement documents
Documents relating to committee engagement activities, such as forums, surveys or ‘roundtable’ events with experts and stakeholders that the committee has chosen to make public.
1 published
Older evidence
Written evidence and oral evidence transcripts transferred from our archive website.
11 published
Other documents
Other documents connected to the committee's work.
7 published

Contact us

  • Email: hlintlrelations@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 7412 (committee staff) | 020 7219 8659 (Press Officer)
  • Address: International Relations and Defence Committee, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW