Lord Strathclyde said Lord Spithead was right that "the key driver is the USA".

BBC: UK has to follow US on troop withdrawal, peers told

Watching repeated trials of the system is Admiral Lord West of Spithead - the Home Office's counter terrorism minister.

BBC: Anti-terror gun stops boats dead

Lord West of Spithead was First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from 2002 to 2006.

BBC: UK has to follow US on troop withdrawal, peers told

Home Office minister Lord West of Spithead warned of "problems" with the European Court of Human Rights if the proposals in the Crime and Security Bill are rejected.

BBC: Lord West urges opposition not to block DNA measures

The castle website claims the building was commissioned by Henry VIII in about 1540 to defend the Spithead, Southampton Water and the Solent from the invasion by the Spanish Armada.

BBC: Ryde Castle Hotel partially collapses after fire