The comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 13 September 2021.
The creation of the National Shipbuilding Office and the appointment of Rear Admiral Rex Cox marks a further demonstration of this Government’s ambition to supercharge the UK’s shipbuilding industry across all four corners of the UK.
The newly formed Office will be the strategic centre that drives transformative change across the shipbuilding industry and wider maritime sector and supply chains.
A section of the Private Eye article on OneWeb, published in Issue 1554 in August 2021.
CABINET Office efforts to suppress information don’t get much more cynical than those designed to frustrate efforts to find out about the dubious government decision to invest £400m in bankrupt satellite business OneWeb last year.
The Eye first asked several months ago for details of Boris Johnson’s meetings and calls to set up what appeared to be a deal done on his and Dominic Cummings’s whim. On no fewer than four occasions the Cabinet Office’s coverer-up-in-chief, Nicholas Howard, told the Eye it would take an extra month to weigh up the public interest in disclosing information.
Only when forced to do so by the information commissioner did Howard provide the response he was obviously always going to: saying anything would harm the company’s commercial interests.
The comments made by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 25 August 2021.
I recognise that the experience of conflict can affect the physical and mental wellbeing of our veterans, and that the events currently taking place in Afghanistan may have a detrimental impact on the mental health of those who served there.
I am committed to ensuring our veterans can access the support they need. The NHS already provides incredible mental health support for our veteran community, but I know there is more to do.
I encourage any veteran who is struggling to cope to reach out for help. Services like Op COURAGE and the Veterans’ Gateway helpline are there for you, so please come forward.
The comments made by Jeremy Quin, the Minister for Defence Procurement, on 30 July 2021.
As our adversaries advance their space capabilities, it is vital we invest in space to ensure we maintain a battle-winning advantage across this fast-evolving operational domain.
The stand-up of Space Command is an exciting and important step in our commitment to operate in space effectively.
The speech made by Jeremy Quin, the Defence Minister, at RAF High Wycombe on 29 July 2021.
It’s great to be here and I was delighted to have the privilege of cutting the ribbon which formally and officially stands up our Space Command.
And it’s not a moment too soon. Space is in the news like never before.
As scientists test the limit of our abilities to conduct space travel and billionaire entrepreneurs explore the commercial potential of space tourism, our competitors are trying to assert their dominance by recklessly testing anti-satellite missiles.
And this is why our dependence on space has never been greater. Satellite constellations in low-earth orbit link up almost every aspect of our daily lives, from mobile phones, the internet and television to transport networks, and even banking systems.
Militarily, our Skynet satellite system is critical for communication and reconnaissance, weather tracking and navigation.
But with dependency comes vulnerability.
That’s why in our recent Integrated Review we recognise space as a major strategic challenge.
And that’s also why our Defence Command Paper set out our determination to invest in space capabilities over the coming years, backed by around £1.4bn funding on top of the £5bn already being invested in Skynet.
We’re using that money to set up a National Space Operations Centre, so that we can track activity and ensure our awareness.
And we’re developing a UK-built Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance satellite constellation.
We’ll shortly be handing out our first ever space badges to these pioneers.
But the key part of the plan is our Space Command. It will allow us to do three things:
First, it will strengthen the military’s command in space, helping to coordinate commercial space operations and leading to the development of new space-based capabilities.
Second, as a corollary of that, it will open up exciting new opportunities for industry.
Our nation has bold space ambitions that will require the most imaginative and innovative companies to come forward with cutting-edge solutions; solutions that enhance our reputation as a science superpower.
Third, this Command will help us bolster our bonds with key partners like Australia, France and, especially, the US.
I’m delighted Air Vice-Marshal Godfrey has already welcomed his US counterpart General Dickinson here to discuss joint operations.
And we’re also delighted to welcome Lt Gen Shaw, Deputy Commander of US Space Command, here today, further emphasising our close cooperation in the Space Domain.
I know they are acutely aware that, at a time when there is limited international agreement on how to regulate satellites and a lack of clarity on international standards to encourage their use, we have a joint responsibility to safeguard the space commons.
That means properly understanding this complex domain, protecting our whole space enterprise – be that on Earth or in orbit – and stopping our upper atmosphere becoming a cosmic junkyard.
In the coming months, we’ll be publishing a Space Strategy and alongside that will be a Defence Space Strategy, with both setting out our plans in more precise detail.
But, before I hand over, perhaps there is another aspect to what we’re doing in the space domain.
It is now 30 years since Helen Sharman became the first British person to go into space.
After 18 months of intensive training, the then 27-year-old embarked on an eight-day mission to the Mir satellite.
She inspired a generation, in the same way Tim Peake is doing so today.
And so, I hope Space Command’s work will have a similarly inspiring effect of the next generation.
Filling them not just with a sense of wonder and majesty for our universe but a sense of the boundless possibilities for their future, because the sky is literally no longer the limit.
And the dawn of a new space age starts here.
The comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 23 July 2021.
My visit this week to the Indo-Pacific region was a fantastic opportunity to engage with our Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese partners and deepen our enduring defence relationships.
Exemplified by the deployment of the Carrier Strike Group, Global Britain continues to step forward with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to address shared security challenges and changing global threats.
The statement made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, in the House of Commons on 19 July 2021.
On Friday 16 July 2021 my noble Friend the Minister of State, Baroness Goldie, made the following written ministerial statement in the House of Lords:
On 28 June, the Minister for Defence Procurement noted that an investigation had been launched into the loss of MOD classified documents; and undertook to inform the House of its conclusions. That investigation has now concluded. The investigation has independently confirmed the circumstances of the loss, including the management of the papers within the Department, the location at which the papers were lost and the manner in which that occurred. These are consistent with the events self-reported by the individual. We are confident that we have recovered all the Secret papers. The investigation has found no evidence of espionage; and has concluded there has been no compromise of the papers by our adversaries. The individual concerned has been removed from sensitive work and has already had their security clearance suspended pending a full review. For security reasons, the Department will be making no further comment on the nature of the loss or on the identity of the individual. The Department takes protection of its information extremely seriously and will continue to take firm action in response to such incidents.
The comments made by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, on 16 July 2021.
The Carrier Strike Group deployment marks the start of a new era of defence cooperation with allies in India and the Indo-Pacific.
By visiting 40 countries and working alongside our partners, the UK is standing up for democratic values, seizing new trading opportunities and tackling the shared threats we face together.
The deployment will interact with India, strengthening our already deep ties for the benefit of both our peoples’ security and prosperity.
The comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 16 July 2021.
The UK Carrier Strike Group deployment is a major moment for UK defence as we develop this cutting edge capability across the globe.
The group is sailing the Indian Ocean and will shortly conduct exercises with the Indian Navy, building on our already strong partnership with an important ally and friend.
The deployment illustrates the UK’s enduring commitment to global defence and security, strengthening our existing alliances and forging new partnerships with like-minded countries as we face up to the challenges of the 21st century.
The comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 13 July 2021.
It was great to meet up with Lloyd Austin again after our meetings in London and Brussels.
The US continues to be the UK’s most important defence partner and we are working together, across all domains, to confront future threats. There is much to do but the extension we agreed will ensure that we can cooperate even more seamlessly with our forces across the globe.