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Category: Defence

  • James Heappey – 2024 Statement on Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy Eligibility for Afghan special force

    James Heappey – 2024 Statement on Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy Eligibility for Afghan special force

    The statement made by James Heappey, the Minister for Armed Forces, in the House of Commons on 1 February 2024.

    I am grateful for the opportunity to update the House on developments relating to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy scheme, and to answer the specific question raised by the hon. Gentleman in relation to former members of commando force 333 and Afghan territorial force 444.

    Many colleagues across the House are passionate advocates for applicants to the ARAP scheme—whether they served shoulder to shoulder with them in Afghanistan, or represent applicants and their family members who are residents in their constituencies. We owe a debt of gratitude to those brave individuals who served for, with, or alongside our armed forces in support of the UK mission in Afghanistan. Defence is determined to honour the commitments we made under the ARAP scheme, which is why we have robust checks in place and regularly review processes and procedures.

    Although many former members of the Afghan specialist units have been found eligible under ARAP and safely relocated to the UK with their families, a recent review of processes around eligibility decisions demonstrated instances of inconsistent application of the ARAP criteria in certain cases. The issue relates to a tranche of applications from former members of Afghan specialist units, including members of CF 333 and ATF 444—known as the Triples. Having identified this issue through internal processes, we must now take necessary steps to ensure that the criteria are applied appropriately to all those individuals.

    As such, I can confirm that the Ministry of Defence will undertake a reassessment of all eligibility decisions made for applications with credible claims of links to the Afghan specialist units. The reassessment will be done by a team independent of the one that made the initial eligibility decisions on the applications. The team will review each case thoroughly and individually. A written ministerial statement to that effect was tabled this morning, and I commend it to colleagues. A further “Dear colleague” letter will follow by close of business tomorrow.

    It is the case, however, that ARAP applications from this cohort present a unique set of challenges for eligibility decision making. Some served in their units more than two decades ago, and some while the Afghan state apparatus was still in its infancy or yet to come into existence all together. It is also the case that they reported directly into the Government of Afghanistan, meaning that we do not hold comprehensive employment or payment records in the same way as we do for other applicants.

    I fully understand the depth of feeling that ARAP evokes across this place and beyond. I thank Members from across the House for their ongoing advocacy and support for ARAP. We have that same depth of feeling in the MOD and in Government, and we will now work quickly to make sure that the decisions are reviewed, and changed if that is necessary.

    Luke Pollard

    Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question.

    The Triples Afghan special forces, trained and funded by the UK, are some of the top targets for Taliban reprisals. Around 200 Triples face imminent deportation from Pakistan to Afghanistan, and at least six members of the Triples are reported to have been murdered by the Taliban since the withdrawal from Kabul. Ministers have allowed media speculation to build for almost a week before setting out to Parliament today the Government’s plan to U-turn and look again at the applications.

    The Minister highlighted inconsistencies in processing the applications—failures, flaws. How was that allowed to happen on his watch? How long will the reviews take, and what new information will be factored in? Tragically, today’s decision could be too late for many. Does the Minister know how many of the Triples who were wrongly denied support have already been deported to Afghanistan, tortured or killed? What conversations has he had with Pakistan to halt deportations of those who could now be granted sanctuary? There is no time to waste.

    The least the Triples deserve is clarity over ARAP policy, but for months a public spat has played out between the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Minister for Armed Forces. We should all remember that the people who matter here are those Afghans who have been left in limbo, fearing for their lives and their futures. That is why clarity matters. Britain’s moral duty to assist Afghans is felt most fiercely by those in the UK forces who served alongside them, many of whom sit on both sides of the House. British personnel who have offered references to former Triples say that they were never even contacted by the Ministry of Defence. Many of their ARAP applications were denied. Will such basic errors happen again, or will that be reviewed properly?

    The British public do not understand why Afghan special forces personnel who served and fought alongside our troops and who are eligible for safety have not yet received sanctuary here. Will the Minister now sort this out?

    James Heappey

    I know that the hon. Gentleman, who has been advocating for some cases and is as passionate about the matter as anybody, will feel aggrieved, as will many colleagues around the House. The responsibility of any Minister is to own any failure of process that happens in their Department, and I accept that responsibility.

    The reality is that these are very difficult decisions to make. The hon. Gentleman said that the Triples were funded by the UK Government. That is not entirely accurate; they were funded as a donor alongside many other donors, into the Government of Afghanistan, who funded the units. As he will well know from colleagues on his own Benches who commanded units that worked closely with the Triples, top-up payments were made in order to generate loyalty and, frankly, to avoid the Triples being poached by other coalition partners, which had similar forces of their own.

    The records of those top-up payments were very ad hoc. I take my responsibilities for accuracy to the House seriously, and I can tell the hon. Gentleman in all seriousness that we have looked for employment records and none of those ad hoc records of additional payments is available to us. We have spoken to colleagues who have experience of these matters in the House and beyond, to ask for any records that they have, but even then a lot of the records produced are those that are put together by charities advocating for the Triples, rather than contemporary records of those top-up payments.

    The reality is that whatever the challenges have been, some decisions were made in an inconsistent way. That is why they must be reviewed. We will aim to get the review done as quickly as possible—we anticipate that it will take around 12 weeks. Before that, we need to put in place the people who will do the review, who will be independent of everything that has gone before. In the first instance, it will be a review of the robustness of the decisions themselves, and where it finds that decisions were not robust, we will, of course, seek new information both from the applicant and from colleagues in the House who have advocated for them.

    The shadow Minister makes some good points about what this means for people who are in Pakistan. It is impossible to say who, of those who were not already in the pipeline as approved applicants, has been deported. We do not track that, so I cannot answer his specific question but, of course, we will alert the Government of Pakistan to those who are included within the review, so that they can enjoy the same protection from deportation as those who have already been approved and are awaiting their onward move to the UK.

    The shadow Minister necessarily points to the politics and the alleged disagreement among Conservative Members —that is the nature of his role—but I am simply not motivated by such things. The reality is that we are trying our best to bring as many people to the UK from Afghanistan as possible. Some decisions are relatively straightforward, because we hold the employment records, but others are far more complicated. Although there have undoubtedly been some decisions that are not robust and need to be reviewed, I put on record that the people involved in making those decisions, across the MOD, have been working their hardest and doing their best. I stand up for their service and for what they have done, and I take responsibility for their shortcomings.

  • Grant Shapps – 2024 Speech at the World Defense Show

    Grant Shapps – 2024 Speech at the World Defense Show

    The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Defence, in Saudi Arabia on 4 February 2024.

    60 years ago, the skies above Riyadh bore witness to a remarkable demonstration as a supersonic aircraft shot into the atmosphere at twice the speed of sound.

    Just two years later and 40 of those iconic English Electric Lightning jets were heading to Saudi Arabia where they became as revered an icon of the skies over here as they were back in the UK.

    Yet that special flight also seemed to send our own partnership into the stratosphere.

    1964 saw the first British military mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, and 14 years after that we brought across a project team which has been supporting you with advice, information and communications service ever since.

    So that one pioneering flight demonstrated ours is a partnership built from the strongest of frames. An understanding of the value of Defence, an appreciation of the merits of innovation, and a desire to keep working together.

    And how fitting then that 60 years on, here at this fantastic World Defense Show, we are once again celebrating a partnership that’s putting on the afterburners.

    Not only can we reflect on a mutual commitment to combat air that’s taken us from Lightning, to Tornado, to Typhoon – with hundreds of UK military personnel now committed to Saudi programmes.

    But we have also stepped up the pace on the ground as well, with our Defence Cooperation Plan catalysing deeper cooperation between our Land Forces.

    However, my purpose in attending this great exhibition is not to reminisce about our past, nor even to reflect on our present, it is to talk about our future.

    Because if the incredible story of the Lightning tells us anything, it’s that when an opportunity arises in our mutual interests, we know how to seize it together.

    And frankly, when I look around me, I see opportunity abounds.

    Yours is a nation buzzing with energy. Creating new cities out of sand, redefining sport by hosting the World Cup in E-sports. Spearheading the charge towards a greener future.

    Yet if there’s one event that seemed to encapsulate your sense of ambition, it was what happened last year, when Saudi fighter pilot and astronaut, Ali Al-Qarni, and his crew member, Rayyanah Barnawi, became the first two Saudi astronauts to visit the International Space Station.

    Proof – if it were needed – that you are nation in fast forward.

    You’ve bottled lightning, and now you’re accelerating towards the future with increasing velocity.

    The UK wants to be on that journey with you. But there’s only one thing that can pull us back down to earth.

    Instability.

    For decades our prosperity and progress has been underpinned by the international rules-based order, yet today we live in a far more dangerous world. Our once reliable order is under threat from the likes of big state aggressors and from rogue states, whose terrorist proxies are hell-bent on destroying our freedom and damaging our wealth.

    So now is the time to tighten our ties.

    How? First by working together – in the words of your conference, to be equipped for tomorrow.

    Once upon a time we showcased a jet in your skies. Today we’ve brought more than 30 of our finest UK firms to your show, including a Wildcat helicopter, delivered by one of our Royal Air Force’s A400M transport aircraft.

    Demonstrating our skills not just in the air, but on land, sea, cyber and space. Our delegation are experts in power and engines, in critical components and complex weapons, in state-of-the-art surveillance and next generation electronic warfare.

    Our people know everything there is to know in mine counter-measures and military suspension and durable materials, 3D sensors, sonars, and uncrewed systems.

    But my second point is that we are looking for much more than a transient transaction.

    We want to build an even deeper industrial partnership.

    Saudi Arabia quite rightly wants to develop its own defence industrial base – and we want to help you get there – developing mutually beneficial capability programmes to support regional security.

    Already we have a deep industrial partnership stretching across air, land, sea and cyber.

    To take just one example, BAE’s workforce here in Saudi Arabia is almost 75 per cent Saudi.

    Which brings me to my third and final point: Both our nations share pressing strategic priorities.

    We both seek to calm conflicts. We both desire de-escalation. And even as Saudi Arabia aims for the stars, so its influence on terra firma is increasing too.

    It has a critical role to play in this region as interlocutors, as mediators and as leaders.

    So I see us doing more together to help shore up our international rules-based order. Doing more to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law. Doing more to prevent a breakdown in regional security, so we guarantee the safety and security of all people.

    Sixty years ago, we brought Lightning to this great Kingdom and helped transform our partnership.

    Sixty years on, we’re now looking to elevate our relationship to even greater heights.

    I, for one, am a strong believer that Lightning can strike twice.

  • Grant Shapps – 2024 Speech on Defending Britain from a More Dangerous World

    Grant Shapps – 2024 Speech on Defending Britain from a More Dangerous World

    The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Defence, at Lancaster House in London on 15 January 2024.

    Thirty-five years ago, Margaret Thatcher gave a short speech here in Lancaster House.

    She spoke of her optimism about the changes taking place between East and West. Barely two weeks later the Berlin Wall fell.

    It was the dawn of a new era. Existential threats were banished. And a new global feel good factor spread to Defence.

    This was the age of the peace dividend. The notion that while our defences should be maximised at times of tension they could be minimised in times of peace.

    Conflict didn’t disappear of course. But with no great power menacing the continent, peace gave the impression of being just around the corner.

    Yet, not everyone got the memo. In fact our adversaries were mobilising.

    The belligerent autocratic state was making a comeback – having got away with the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine eight years later.

    And as Russia continues its illegal campaign in Ukraine, China is assessing whether the West loses its patience.

    Today, Russia and China have been joined by new nuclear, and soon to be nuclear, powers.

    North Korea promising to expand its own nuclear arsenal.

    And then there is Iran, whose enriched uranium is up to 83.7%, a level at which there is no civilian application.

    Back in the days of the Cold War there remained a sense that we were dealing with rational actors.

    But these new powers are far more unstable, and irrational.

    Can we really assume the strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction that stopped wars in the past will stop them in future, when applied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or North Korea?

    I am afraid we cannot.

    Particularly since there is now another new worrying consideration: Our adversaries are now more connected with each other.

    For example, we have seen how Iranian proxies are causing havoc from Israel to the Red Sea.

    That Russia has what the two countries describe as a “no limits partnership” with China – with whom they conduct regular joint exercises.

    Meanwhile, Putin is relying on Iranian drones and North Korean ballistic missiles to fuel his illegal bombardment in Ukraine.

    With friends like these, the world is becoming more dangerous and has done in recent years.

    But the other threats that plagued the start of the 21st century haven’t gone away.

    The spectre of terrorism and threats from non-state actors, as October 7 showed, still haunts the civilised world.

    Put it all together, and these combined threats risk tearing apart the rules-based international order – established to keep the peace after the Second World War.

    Today’s world then, is sadly far more dangerous.

    With the UN reporting that we are facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War.

    Now some argue these threats are not existential to the UK.

    And yet, what happens elsewhere, quickly happens here.

    In the past few years we’ve seen terror attacks on the streets of London, attempted assassinations in Salisbury, theft of Intellectual Property, attempted interference in our political processes, a cost-of-living crisis, brought to you by Putin, that’s hurting families here at home.

    And now, our trade. 90 per cent of which comes by sea, is the target of terrorists.

    Proving that not only do our adversaries have the intent to target us but they have a widening array of weapons with which to wreak havoc.

    In our online world our adversaries don’t need to jump in a tank board a sub or strap into a fighter jet to hurt us.

    Cyber warfare simply means hacking into our networks and watching the economic carnage unfold.

    Last year, almost a third of businesses in the UK suffered a cyber breach or attack. And the total cost to the UK economy runs into billions.

    We know significant numbers of these attacks come from Russia and China where they are also developing satellite killing technology, capable of degrading us from space.

    Even mass migration can be cynically used against us as a weapon of war, as Poland, Norway, and Finland have been experiencing.

    In other words, nation states plus non-state actors with greater connections between them plus more creative weapons all adds up to more trouble for the world.

    Over the last decade this government has made great strides to turn the Defence tanker around.

    The refreshes of the Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper have been instrumental in ensuring Britain is defended in this more dangerous world.

    We’ve uplifted our defence spending – investing billions into modernising our Armed Forces and bringing in a raft of next generation capabilities, from new aircraft carriers to F35s; from new drones to Dreadnought submarines; from better trained troops; to the creation of a national cyber force.

    And when the world needed us, we have risen to the moment.

    Giving Ukraine our unwavering support and galvanising others to their cause, including with our biggest ever funding package, announced last week.

    Taking action, we work to stamp out the global ambitions of Daesh.

    We’ve acted at the forefront of global responses to maintain regional stability after October 7th by sending a Royal Navy Task Group, a company of Royal Marines, surveillance planes and lifesaving aid to Gaza.

    And taking a lead role within global forces to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

    Not only that but we’ve strengthened Britain’s place in the world with expanded partnerships from the Gulf to the Indo-Pacific.

    We’re playing a major part in stirring the West into a renewed commitment to defence, using our 2014 NATO summit in Newport to bring Alliance nations together to stop the rot, by committing to spending 2 per cent of GDP on Defence.

    Today, for the very first time this government is spending more than £50bn a year on Defence in cash terms, more than ever before.

    And we have made the critical decision to set out our aspiration to reach 2.5% of GDP spent on defence.

    And as we stabilise and grow the economy, we will continue to strive to reach it as soon as possible.

    But now is the time for all allied and democratic nations across the world to do the same.

    And ensure their defence spending is growing.

    Because, as discussed, the era of the peace dividend is over.

    In five years’ time we could be looking at multiple theatres involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

    Ask yourselves – looking at today’s conflicts across the world – is it more likely that the number grows, or reduces?

    I suspect we all know the answer – it’s likely to grow. So, 2024 must mark an inflexion point.

    For Ukraine, this will be a year when the fate of their nation may be decided.

    For the world, this will be the greatest democratic year in history with nearly half of the world’s population going to the polls.

    And for the UK it must also be a moment to decide the future of our national defences. The choice is stark.

    Some people, especially on the left, have a tendency to talk Britain down.

    They believe Britain can no longer have the power to influence world events.

    That we should somehow shrink into ourselves and ignore what’s happening beyond our shores.

    I passionately believe these unpatriotic, Britain belittling doom-mongers are simply wrong.

    Their way would lead us sailing blindly into an age of autocracy. So we must make a different choice.

    And the history of our great island nation shows us the way.

    Britain has often accomplished the seemingly impossible before. Our history is littered with moments when we faced down the threat and triumphed.

    But looking ahead, we are in a new era and we must be prepared to deter our enemies, lead our allies, and defend our nation.

    In terms of deterrence, it’s about the UK gaining a strategic advantage over our enemies.

    The foundation of that advantage is, of course, our nuclear enterprise.

    At a time of mounting nuclear danger, our continuous at sea deterrent provides the ultimate protection.

    And that’s why we are spending around £31bn to bring in next generation Dreadnought submarines and upgrade our deterrent.

    In a more contested world, we need to bring that same goal of deterrence to our conventional forces – so we have made modernisation a critical priority.

    Taking the long-term capability decisions we need to transform our Armed Forces into a formidable deterrent.

    Enabling them to maintain the UK’s strategic advantage and empowering them to be able to deliver the outcomes we need in multiple theatres at once.

    The growing success of that work was powerfully shown last week when, in less than 24 hours, the UK was able to both take action to defend ourselves against the Houthis and uplift our support to Ukraine to new record levels.

    If Putin thought we’d be distracted by the events in the Middle East then last week, because of the long-term decisions this government has taken, his hopes were surely dashed.

    In a complex world, no nation can afford to go it alone, so we must continue strengthening our alliances so the world knows they cannot be broken.

    Defence is in many ways the cornerstone of our relations across the world.

    Our world leading Armed Forces, cutting-edge industrial base and willingness to support our allies is the reason why Britain is the partner of choice for so many.

    And among our partnerships, NATO remains pre-eminent. 75 years after its foundation, today NATO is bigger than ever.

    But the challenges are bigger too.

    That’s why the UK has committed nearly the totality of our air, land and maritime assets to NATO.

    But, in 2024, I am determined to do even more.

    Which is why I can announce today that UK will be sending some 20,000 personnel to lead one of NATO’s largest deployments since the end of the Cold War, Exercise Steadfast Defender.

    It will see our military joining forces with counterparts from 30 NATO countries plus Sweden, providing vital reassurance against the Putin menace.

    Our carrier strike group will be out in full force, with our magnificent flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth leading the way.

    And flying from her decks will be the fifth generation F35 lightning jets, accompanied by a fearsome phalanx of frigates, destroyers and helicopters.

    We’ll also have a submarine patrolling the depths and one of our Poseidon P8 aircraft conducting surveillance from the skies above, and more than 400 of our brilliant Royal Marines will be training in the Artic Circle, contending with some of the toughest environments anywhere on the planet.

    On land, we’ll be deploying over 16,000 soldiers, led by our 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team which superbly led our recent response in Kosovo.

    All of which, makes this our largest deployment of land forces to NATO for 40 years.

    But NATO is only part of our rich tapestry of partnerships.

    And this government has taken bold decisions to embark on the partnerships we need to defend ourselves from a more dangerous world.

    We are rapidly building our AUKUS partnership.

    And last month I signed our Global Combat Air Partnership (or GCAP) with Japan and Italy.

    These projects are not just about building nuclear powered subs, sixth generation fighter planes, and innovating in all forms of Defence.

    They are about sharpening our strategic edge so we can maintain our advantage over our adversaries.

    They are precisely the deep relationships needed to preserve national and regional security.

    And they’re emblematic of the way we will work in the future.

    But it’s not enough to deter. We must lead. Standing up for our values around the world.

    And Ukraine is a test case.

    This year, its future may well be decided.

    Valiant Ukrainian warriors have had incredible success pushing back invading Russian forces, retaking 50 per cent of the territory stolen by Russia, opening up a maritime passage in the Black Sea.

    But the West must not let them down.

    British leadership has already had a galvanising effect.

    We’ve convened some 10 countries to help Ukrainians train here in the UK.

    And today I can announce that our programmes have now trained over 60,000 Ukrainian troops since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

    Last month, I launched a new maritime coalition with Norway to defend Ukraine’s maritime flank.

    Since then, over 20 partner nations have joined that coalition.

    But the international community cannot let this support slip.

    Putin believes the West lacks staying power.

    And since the future of the world order is at stake, we must prove him wrong.

    Rewarding his war with victory would only increase the risk of escalation.

    Not only because he’s hell bent on rebuilding the Russian empire.

    But because it would signal weakness to other would-be aggressors.

    That is why on Friday the Prime Minister signed the historic UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation.

    The start of a 100-year alliance that we are building with our Ukrainian friends.

    It sees us increasing our military support to £2.5bn – taking the total of UK military aid to more than £7bn. With even more gifted directly from the UK’s equipment inventory.

    £200m will be pressed into producing and procuring thousands of drones, including surveillance and long-range strike drones.

    This continues the UK’s proud record as a leading donor – always being the first to get Ukraine exactly what they need.

    The UK was the first to provide Ukraine with weapons training, the first to provide NLAW anti-tank missiles, the first to give modern tanks, the first to send long range missiles.

    Now we will become the largest provider of drones too.

    These will be manufactured here in the UK in tandem with international partners, helping to enhance our unmanned vehicle capabilities at home too.

    But our new agreement with Ukraine is about so much more than money.

    It formalises our support in everything from intelligence sharing and cyber security to medical and military training.

    And it sees us taking the first giant step towards a century long partnership.

    Britain understands that the battle in Ukraine is existential, it proves there is no such thing as an isolated conflict.

    And that to shore up the international order, we must be able to act globally.

    So, just as we were there to help evacuate British citizens from Sudan last year, just as we are working with partners to ensure the territorial integrity of our Commonwealth ally Guyana, we have also been a critical part of the US-led international operation to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

    Some 15 per cent of the world’s shipping passes through these narrow shipping lanes.

    But the Houthis have persistently violated the law by menacing commercial vessels in the region.

    In the Red Sea we have seen how our brilliant Royal Navy had to act to defend itself against the intolerable and growing number of Houthi attacks.

    And earlier this month the world sent a very clear message to the Iranian-backed Houthis.

    End your illegal and unjustified actions. Stop risking innocent lives. Cease threatening the global economy.

    We could not have been clearer with our warnings, which they chose to ignore.

    And enough was enough.

    So last Thursday, the Prime Minister and I authorised RAF precision strikes using four RAF Typhoon FGR4s and supported by two Voyager air refuelling tankers.

    The result is the Houthis have been dealt a blow.

    Our decisive response in the Red Sea and our uplift in support for Ukraine offer a direct blueprint for how the UK must continue to lead in the future.

    Offering our unwavering support to our allies, and in times of struggle galvanising global responses to any malign actor seeking to break the rules based international order, and acting decisively when the moment calls for us to defend ourselves.

    So, deter and lead, which brings me to the final essential element of being prepared. Defending our nation.

    If we are to defend our homeland, we must ensure our entire defence eco-system is ready.

    Firstly, we must make our industry more resilient to empower us to re-arm, re-supply and innovate far faster than our opponents.

    There’s a huge opportunity here for British industry.

    The UK has long been a by-word for pioneering technologies.

    We gave the world radar, the jet-engine and the world wide web.

    We’ve not lost that spark of creativity.

    On the contrary, today the UK is one of only three $1 trillion tech economies.

    But just imagine what we could do if we managed to better harness that latent inspiration, ingenuity and invention for the Defence of our nation?

    Just think about the game-changing tech we could supply to our brave men and women.

    From the pilots ready to scramble at a moment’s notice to the soldiers protecting NATO’s flanks from Putin’s fury.

    To the sailors deployed across the seven seas to secure our prosperity.

    To our absolutely essential Royal Marine Commandos, without whom we could not properly defend our nation.

    To those you will never see and never know but who are out there, giving their all, on your behalf.

    They are the cornerstone of our defence and we owe them an unimaginable debt of gratitude.

    Which is why my commitment to getting them what they deserve is iron cast.

    After all, our greatest resource has always been the men and women who work tirelessly to protect our great nation.

    But to defend our nation from the increasing dangers of tomorrow, they must have what they need to do the job.

    That’s why this Conservative government has always and has already taken vital steps to increase defence spending, approving the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War – injecting a further £5 billion last year to replenish our stocks and modernise our nuclear enterprise.

    Delivering the largest cash terms defence budget ever. Spending over £50 billion on the defence of our nation.

    And just last week, not only maintaining our support to Ukraine but increasing it to its highest level ever.

    To some the costs may seem steep – but Britain cannot afford to reverse the spending gains we have made.

    And under this Conservative government we never will.

    And we will use our influence to ensure other allies and friends, faced with this new reality, and match our commitment.

    So, we find ourselves at the dawn of a new era. The Berlin Wall a distant memory.

    And we have come full circle.

    Moving from a post-war to a pre-war world.

    An age of idealism has been replaced by a period of hard-headed realism.

    Today our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers.

    Old enemies are reanimated. New foes are taking shape. Battle lines are being redrawn.

    The tanks are literally on Europe’s Ukrainian lawn.

    And the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core.

    We stand at this crossroads – whether to surrender to a sea of troubles, or do everything we can to deter the danger.

    I believe that, in reality, it’s no choice at all.

    To guarantee our freedoms, we must be prepared.

    Prepared to deter – the enemies who are gathering all around us. Lead our allies in whatever conflicts are to come.

    Defend our nation whatever threat should arise. This is what Britain has always done.

    And it is what we must do again if we, like Margaret Thatcher speaking here 35 years ago, are once more to dream of a future without walls.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2024 Statement on Strikes Against Houthi Military Targets

    Rishi Sunak – 2024 Statement on Strikes Against Houthi Military Targets

    The statement made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 12 January 2024.

    The Royal Air Force has carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

    In recent months, the Houthi militia have carried out a series of dangerous and destabilising attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, threatening UK and other international ships, causing major disruption to a vital trade route and driving up commodity prices. Their reckless actions are risking lives at sea and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

    Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week.

    This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade. We have therefore taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.

    The Royal Navy continues to patrol the Red Sea as part of the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian to deter further Houthi aggression, and we urge them to cease their attacks and take steps to de-escalate.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Speech at Conservative Party Conference

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Speech at Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Defence, in Manchester on 1 October 2023.

    When people think of the Blitz they tend to think of London – the burning Docklands and St Paul’s shrouded in smoke.

    But Manchester endured its own Blitz early on, in 1940, where some 680 people were killed.

    Fortunately for our country, that kind of systematic destruction on this scale is a thing of memory.

    But imagine if a trip to the market or restaurant could be your last; that you or those that you love might fall victim to a sudden attack by a cruise missile or suicide drone plunging from the sky.

    This is daily life in Ukraine; on freedom’s front line.

    Even as the fighting falls deep into its second year, it’s still hard to believe that a full-scale war is raging here, in Europe.

    And Ukraine is not some long away distant country of which we know nothing.

    It is part of the family of European democratic nations, and they are fighting for their very survival.

    Fighting for freedom against an invader as ruthless as any in modern times.

    A tyrant who sees civilians as collateral damage in a failed war of conquest he cannot win, but he also cannot find a way to exit either.

    Putin hoped to take Ukraine by bluff.

    A swift armoured invasion designed to seize Kyiv and install a puppet government.

    Ukraine would be quickly, it would be overwhelmed, it would be reduced to a vassal state, its identity and freedom crushed.

    But the Ukrainian people were not going to let that happen. And neither were we.

    The United Kingdom stepped up.

    We have provided billions in military aid – second only to the contribution of the United States.

    We have consistently been first in responding to Ukraine’s needs.

    The N-LAW anti-tank missiles wisely sent in advance by Britain – thank you to Ben Wallace – were crucial in those first early weeks when the fate of Ukraine hung in the balance.

    And as N-LAWs struck fear into the hearts of invading Russian tank crews at the beginning, so our long-range cruise missiles do the same for Russian commanders today.

    With weapons like Storm Shadow, everywhere in Russian-occupied Ukraine, is on the front line.

    But we cannot – we must not – let up now.

    The war is consuming weapons, ammunition and, yes, people at an appalling rate.

    If Ukrainians are to prevail against the evil assault on their homeland, we must remain steadfast.

    That’s why we’re helping to train their F16 pilots.

    It’s why by the end of this year we’ll have trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian recruits, starting well in advance of the war.

    And of course, it’s why Ukrainians have been welcomed by so many British families under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

    Including – for a year – in my own home.

    Now, my wife and I were partly moved to act because our own ancestors fled to this country to escape the pogroms of Eastern Europe in an earlier age.

    But what really moved us most, was the palpable sense of generosity from the British public for our new arrivals to Britain.

    Complete strangers came forward with clothes, with schoolbooks for six-year-old Nikita, and most precious of all, their time to help ensure the three-generation Ukrainian family that came to live with us felt truly at home in the United Kingdom.

    You know, we should never be complacent about this country, whatever our grumbles. This is a precious and incredibly generous land.

    On my first visit to Ukraine this summer, I visited Nikita’s nursery in Kyiv.

    I saw the apartment block across the road from his Kindergarten that had been destroyed by one of Putin’s rockets at the start of the war.

    This was the attack that made Nikita, his mother, his grandmother, together with their dog – Max – flee from Ukraine.

    Only, as I glanced across the street from his nursery this summer, there was no bombed out shell to view. The apartment block has already been completely rebuilt. Re-inhabited.

    What I was witnessing was the iron resolve of the Ukrainian people. Ordinary people, maintaining a semblance of life even amongst air raids sirens.

    Rebuilding their homes, the moment they get the chance.

    And last week, as Defence Secretary, I visited Kyiv again.

    And this time, I met with the steely resolve of President Zelenskyy himself.

    At a time when he could have left the capital. At a time when he could have become a leader in exile. He did not, he stayed put. Providing inspiration for his people and he showed remarkable bravery.

    Ukraine has taught us a lesson.

    The war reminds us of the unprovoked aggression by one nation against another is still a reality in global affairs.

    Left unchecked – we are all in danger.

    And this is why we must invest in our defence.

    That’s why, under the Conservative government, defence spending has exceeded £50 billion a year for the first time ever.

    And conference, it is why we will maintain our leading position in NATO by increasing the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP when conditions allow.

    Because we know the world is changing. So as a result, we’re working ever closer with our allies.

    Developing the latest naval technology to protect our Commonwealth kith and kin in the Pacific as they face up the challenge of the rapidly expanding Chinese navy.

    Deploying two of the world’s largest and most advanced carriers in history the Royal Navy has ever seen, in the Queen Elizabeth, HMS, and HMS Prince of Wales.

    We are ploughing billions into our own naval shipbuilding program, as well as civilian construction to create jobs and grow our economy.

    And Britain is one of the few nations capable of operating in every ocean of the world, simultaneously.

    Our ultimate national insurance policy is, of course, our at sea nuclear deterrent.

    So, we’re building the new Dreadnought-class submarines that will carry Britain’s nuclear deterrent into the middle of the century.

    And today I can announce that we have signed contracts worth £4 billion with leading British businesses to drive forward the development of the most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.

    These hunter-killer AUKUS submarines will empower the Royal Navy to maintain our strategic advantage under the sea – enabling us to compete with emerging navies anywhere in the world as our world becomes more unpredictable and dangerous.

    Today’s announcement will support thousands of jobs, from Barrow-In-Furness where these submarines will be built, to Derby where our reactor-build facilities will be expanded.

    And by backing British businesses to develop them, we are taking the long-term decisions we need to boost our defence industry and to grow our economy.

    Under our Prime Minister’s leadership, the Conservatives are putting the UK at the heart of NATO.

    Vladimir Putin shattered peace across Europe, but in doing so he made our collective will and our resolve more important than ever.

    And in response, the UK is taking a leading role in ensuring NATO remains the bedrock of our security for us and our allies.

    We are one of NATO’s very few members exceeding the critical 2% of GDP target for the amount of money which is spent on our defence. And, of course, we are the largest defence spender in Europe and we are delivering the capabilities our alliance needs.

    Today, I can announce that the UK has stepped up again, with two new deployments.

    First, in response to a request from our Polish friends, RAF Typhoons are landing in Poland as I speak, to support our NATO ally with the growing threat of Russian interference.

    Deploying ahead of Poland’s elections, they will be a powerful way of undeniably showing Putin that this Conservative government will protect democracy and freedom from any despotic tyrant that threatens our allies.

    Second, at the end of what I think has been a concerning week, there’s been a request from NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and so I have authorised the full deployment of a battalion-sized UK Strategic Reserve Force to NATO’s Kosovo peacekeeping mission.

    In the days ahead, hundreds of soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment will join the 400 British service men and women already in Kosovo.

    And, as the best of the best, I know our soldiers will do the United Kingdom proud.

    We have been unwavering in our support for NATO – contributing to every allied mission that they have and supporting them this weekend, so that when NATO contact us, they knew the answer from the United Kingdom would be yes.

    As Conservatives, we put our nation’s security first.

    Which is more than can be said for Labour.

    So, what is Keir Starmer’s approach to our fundamental security?

    Simple. He personally campaigned to make one Jeremy Corbyn, Prime Minister. The man who called for NATO to be disbanded.

    Starmer actually backed plans for Britain to adopt a ‘non-nuclear, non-aligned defence policy’.

    In plain English, that meant scrapping Trident, abandoning NATO and leaving us naked in the face of nuclear threats from the Kremlin.

    And that isn’t just the Starmer of the past.

    Since then, he has gone further – appointing a Shadow Foreign Secretary who has repeatedly voted against renewing our nuclear deterrent.

    You know, in the military sphere, it’s sometimes good to keep your enemy guessing.

    The problem with Kier Starmer is that on policy, he keeps everyone guessing.

    Including himself.

    What would Britain’s armed forces look like after five years of Labour?

    Who knows?

    The man will say anything – anything – to get himself elected.

    But one thing we do know is that you just cannot trust Labour on Defence.

    And if – perish the thought – Labour get back into power, the old habits will resurface. Defence – always dismissed and disparaged by the Left – will be the first casualty.

    Our service people and defence industries, and our veterans all deserve much better.

    Conference, we must not let that happen.

    But there is one area in which we absolutely must do better.

    Service life is tough enough on families – service men and women – without having to put up with sub-standard accommodation.

    There are too many old and creaking buildings in our estate, and that lowers morale.

    Our accommodation estate is in fact very large. Indeed, if the Ministry of Defence was a Housing Association, it would rank amongst the biggest in the land.

    So, I am making it a personal priority to improve its quality.

    Which is why we’re injecting £400 million to ensure that we provide the modern accommodation that our service families deserve.

    And while resolving this problem will not be instantaneous, I am determined that we fix it in order to support our brave men and women at home, as well as on the front line.

    And while we’re on the subject of morale, I want to end by saying something about our Party.

    One of the things I most admire about the military is that they don’t gloss over the harsh realities.

    Now, times are tough. We are behind in the polls. The pundits tell us that Labour is a shoo-in. And we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t sometimes feel the pressure.

    But for those who think that this conference is going to be nothing more than inward looking or downcast, I say this: This country faces an important choice; Rishi Sunak, who will make the hard but necessary long-term decisions to get the country on the right path for the future…

    … or Sir Keir Starmer – a man focused on the short-term and lacking the backbone to make the big changes that Britain needs.

    In Rishi Sunak, we have a leader who has weathered a brutal baptism of fire and is coming through. His mettle has been tested and not found wanting.

    He has stuck to his course, trusting in what he believes to be right for the country. It doesn’t always make him popular in the short term – but that is the price of doing the right thing.

    We need leadership that puts the national interest over self-interest, and does what is right, not what is easy.

    Now, I trust the British people, their good sense. They can spot a serious man to take the tough decisions.

    And they can spot an opposition leader who has made an art out of political opportunism.

    So, let’s take the fight to Say-Anything-Starmer.

    He’s measuring the curtains. He thinks he’s home and dry. He thinks that he can take Downing Street by bluff.

    But as the steely Sir Claude Auchinleck said before the first battle of El Alamein – when the British had their backs to the wall and Rommel seemed to be triumphant:

    ‟Let’s show him where he gets off.”

    Thank you.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Statement on Becoming Defence Secretary

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Statement on Becoming Defence Secretary

    The statement made by Grant Shapps on his appointment as Defence Secretary on 31 August 2023.

    I’m honoured to be appointed as Defence Secretary by Rishi Sunak. I’d like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution Ben Wallace has made to UK defence & global security over the last 4 years.

    As I get to work at DefenceHQ I am looking forward to working with the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who defend our nation’s security. And continuing the UK’s support for Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion.

  • Luke Pollard – 2023 Speech on the Afghan Resettlement Update

    Luke Pollard – 2023 Speech on the Afghan Resettlement Update

    The speech made by Luke Pollard, the Shadow Defence Secretary, in the House of Commons on 18 July 2023.

    I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. None the less, I have to say to him that this statement is not up to the quality that this House expects from a Minister on such an important issue.

    The Minister has been sent here to update the House, but in his statement he has given us no precise numbers of Afghans who are currently in bridging accommodation, no numbers of those he expects to stay in the time-limited contingency offer, and no estimates or details. Madam Deputy Speaker, this is really poor. This House deserves better than a statement that is light on delivery on such an important programme. We need to understand the detail of what the Minister is trying to explain. He is a Cabinet Office Minister coming to update the House when Defence Ministers should be here explaining why the Afghan relocations and assistance policy is failing to deliver, when Home Office Ministers should be here explaining why the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme is failing to deliver, and when Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Ministers should be here explaining why we do not have sufficient homes for those who are being moved out of bridging accommodation in the middle of a housing crisis. The Cabinet Office Minister in the Chamber is the bailiff serving the eviction notices. This is not good enough. I fear that he is a human shield for the failures across Government.

    The statement today confirms what we already know: the Government are failing to support those people who served alongside our forces in Afghanistan. In a few weeks’ time, it will be two years since Operation Pitting began, but there is still a backlog of 60,000 ARAP applications. Operation Warm Welcome has become operation cold shoulder, with 8,000 Afghans being told that they will be forced out of temporary accommodation by the end of the summer. Can the Minister tell us on what date the notice period expires? What day will Afghans no longer be able to stay in bridging accommodation? We owe a debt of gratitude to all those Afghans who were loyal to Britain and who served British aims in Afghanistan, and failing to find them appropriate accommodation and then kicking them out on to the street is no way to repay that debt.

    The reality is that the Government have failed to keep the promises made to our Afghan friends, and that is shameful. Since 1 December last year, just four ARAP eligible principals, along with 31 dependants, have been processed and arrived in the UK out of the thousands who are waiting. That leaves thousands of Afghans fleeing the Taliban stuck in hotels in Pakistan without hope or proper support. Can the Minister clarify the exact number of Afghans who have been rehoused into settled housing in the UK? How many homes are available for Afghans to move into? How many does he expect will be made homeless by the eviction notices that he has served on these Afghans?

    I know that the Minister’s personal experience in Afghanistan must weigh heavily upon him as the Government evict so many Afghans from hotels, but we owe the people who are being evicted a debt of gratitude, and we owe it to them to keep the promises that we have made. Ministers must fix the broken ARAP scheme, which along with the ACRS has been plagued by failures. People in fear of their lives have been left in Afghanistan, housing promises have been broken, and processing staff have been cut. From the ballooning backlogs to the breaches of personal data, and even the Ministry of Defence telling applicants that they should get the Taliban to verify their ARAP application documents, the record is shameful.

    The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs is being used as a human shield to deflect failures from the Ministry of Defence and across Government. How many ARAP eligible principals remain in Pakistan, and how many hotels are still being used as temporary bridging accommodation for Afghan families? Will he publish constituency data so that all Members can understand whether he is evicting people in their communities? He mentioned the Afghan housing portal. How many landlords have signed up to it, how many have used it to house Afghans, and what promises by the Ministry of Defence have been kept in speeding up and processing ARAP cases?

    I do not doubt the Minister’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan, but this is not good enough. The promises that we made as a country were serious and solemn. Those who have fled from Afghanistan deserve our support and gratitude. Eviction notices are not good enough if there is nowhere for them to go, so can the Minister give us his solemn promise that not a single Afghan who is currently in bridging accommodation will be homeless when the date of the eviction notices that he has served upon them expires?

    Johnny Mercer

    I thank the hon. Member for his remarks. Clearly, I do not think that I am a human shield for the Government. This is a particularly difficult issue. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins), who grappled with this extraordinarily difficult and complex problem before me. I have to say to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) that this is one of the most generous offerings that this country has ever made to resettle nationals from a foreign country in the United Kingdom. Since 2015, under consecutive Conservative Governments, we have welcomed more than half a million people on country-specific and humanitarian safe and legal routes, so I just do not recognise his portrayal of the Government’s attitude towards those who are resettling here.

    We have worked with around 350 local authorities across the United Kingdom to meet the demand for housing. As of data published on 25 May, around 10,500 people have been supported into settled accommodation —around 10,000 had moved into homes, with an additional 500 matched but not yet moved. The hon. Member is right that, from the end of April, families started to receive legal notices to move. That was accompanied by £35 million-worth of new funding to enable local authorities to provide the increased support for Afghan households to move from hotels into settled accommodation.

    The hon. Member had many questions for me, and I will write to him on the ones that I have missed, but the truth is that this is an incredibly complex issue that the entire nation has a duty to fulfil. We can sling political remarks across the Dispatch Box on this issue, but we need all local authorities and political leaders in this country to pull together to challenge what is a very difficult situation and to try to encourage these Afghans to move, in what is an extremely generous offer from central Government, into private rented accommodation. We all have a duty not to use these individuals as political pawns, but to provide them with a life in the UK that we can be truly proud of. If we all work together, we can achieve that.

  • Johnny Mercer – 2023 Statement on the Afghan Resettlement Update

    Johnny Mercer – 2023 Statement on the Afghan Resettlement Update

    The statement made by Johnny Mercer, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, in the House of Commons on 18 July 2023.

    In March, I updated Members of this House on Afghan resettlement and relocation. To date, around 24,600 individuals have been brought to safety in the UK from Afghanistan, including some British nationals and their families, as well as Afghans who loyally served the United Kingdom, and others identified as vulnerable and at risk. I am proud that our generous offer has ensured that all those relocated through safe and legal routes have been able to access the vital health, education and employment support that they need to integrate into our society, including English language training for those who need it. On top of that, we have also ensured that all arrivals have had the immediate right to work, as well as access to the benefits system.

    In my last update, I made it clear that this Government do not consider it acceptable that, at the time, around 8,000 Afghans were still living in temporary bridging accommodation, preventing them from putting down roots in communities and building self-sufficient lives in this country. Around half of this number had been living in a hotel for more than one year. It was time to ask our Afghan friends to find their own accommodation, with the support of this Government, and to integrate into British society. The status quo is not fair to taxpayers and, crucially, it is not fair to Afghans.

    Since March, we have issued legal notices to quit and individualised communications to households living in hotels and serviced apartments, setting out when their access to taxpayer-funded bridging accommodation will end. Residents have received at least three months’ notice to make arrangements to leave their hotel or serviced apartment and clear guidance on the support that they can access to help them find their own accommodation.

    Alongside that, we have significantly stepped up our support for those in bridging accommodation and to local authorities, backed by £285 million of funding, to speed up moves into settled homes. We have ensured that enhanced, multi-disciplinary case working teams have been present in every bridging hotel and serviced apartment, working closely with households to help them navigate the pathway to find their own private rented accommodation. For local authorities, this funding includes more than £7,000 per Afghan individual to enable them to support move-ons. We recognise that local authorities will be best placed to understand the specific needs of individual families and the local housing market. That is why we have ensured that this funding can be used flexibly and pragmatically, in line with local circumstances.

    Over the past three months I have met local government leaders and home builders, and personally visited bridging hotels, up and down the country. I have been heartened to see at first hand the many individuals, families and local authorities who have heard this message and stepped up their efforts to make use of central Government’s generous offer and identify suitable non-hotel accommodation. Some councils are very effectively using this funding to offer significant support packages, including deposits, furniture, rental top-ups and rent advances, among many other things. I encourage local authorities to share this best practice throughout their networks.

    As I have said before, this is a national effort, and we all need to play our part. That is why I am also urging landlords to make offers of accommodation by either speaking to their local council or making an offer via the online Afghanistan housing portal that we have set up. This online form has been developed so that landlords and private individuals can make offers of accommodation directly, which are then shared with potential tenants. We are interested in properties of all sizes and currently have a particular need for one-bedroom properties and larger properties to help accommodate families across the UK.

    Since my last update, we have seen many hundreds of individuals leave their hotels and move into settled housing across the UK. Although progress has been made, there is more to do. I have outlined the generous support package that this Government have put in place—and examples of the commitment and resourcefulness that I have seen from both Afghans and local authorities to rise to this challenge. In return for this generous offer, we expect families to help themselves. As far as possible, we want to empower Afghans to secure their own accommodation and determine where they settle, working with the caseworkers available in every bridging property to do it within the limits of individual affordability. I see no reason why anybody living in a hotel today should not be able to make use of their right to work and access to benefits and the flexible funding available to local authorities to find suitable, settled accommodation and live independently of central Government support.

    I wish to make it clear today that the Government remain committed to ending access to costly hotels at the end of the notice periods that we have issued to Afghan individuals and families. For some, this will be at the end of this month. Everyone will be expected to have left bridging accommodation by the time their notice period expires. There will, however, be a small number for whom time-limited contingency accommodation will be provided, including where there is a need to bridge a short gap between the end of notice periods and settled accommodation being ready for them to move into, and in cases of medical need where a family member requires continued attendance at a specific hospital. Everyone else should be finalising their plans for moving on from bridging accommodation. I repeat my call to our Afghan friends and local authorities: they must access the support that the Government have made available before the expiry of their notice period to leave bridging accommodation.

    I am writing again to all local authorities, reminding them of the funding streams available to help find settled housing solutions for Afghans who remain in bridging accommodation, as well as the new streams of accommodation becoming available shortly. I implore them to draw on this support and match as many households into settled accommodation as possible. Central Government are doing their part, and local government must do its. This is the right thing to do, both for the taxpayer and for those Afghans who risked their lives on our behalf and deserve the opportunity to live self-sufficiently here in the UK.

  • Owen Thompson – 2023 Speech on the Defence Command Paper Refresh

    Owen Thompson – 2023 Speech on the Defence Command Paper Refresh

    The speech made by Owen Thompson, the SNP spokesperson on defence, on 18 July 2023.

    I too thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of a draft statement, albeit that there were one or two additions on delivery. I also, perhaps pre-emptively, join in wishing him well in whatever comes next. Although I have not directly shadowed him, I certainly pass on those thoughts from my hon. Friend the Member for Angus (Dave Doogan), who has worked closely with him over a period now.

    I will start on a positive note. I welcome a number of the points made. I very much welcome the fact that people are put front and centre. That is absolutely critical in anything we do in defence. People are what make it work, and if we are not supporting the men and women of the forces, what are we doing at all? There is probably that more we can do, even beyond this. While it will not surprise Ministers to hear me say that we need to support those serving, we also need to continue to look at what we are doing to support our veterans. I know that the Minister is working on that, but it is an area in which we need to try to do more.

    I also welcome the recognition of some of the accommodation conditions. I welcome the fact that steps are being taken and matters looked at, but that needs to be moved forward at a greater pace.

    I note that the Secretary of State says we are going to spend over £50 billion for the first time next year. I wonder whether he can tell us how much of that is simply down to inflation created by this Government. I am not trying to be awkward, but that is clearly quite a significant factor.

    We have also heard of the ongoing and long-lasting issues around procurement, with reports showing that roughly £2 billion is wasted each year in failed equipment programmes and cancelled procurement contracts. Is the Ministry of Defence making the necessary reforms to make its procedures better, and will they deliver value for money?

    Recruitment and retention issues have been flagged up; the Haythornthwaite review clearly highlighted those. Is the right hon. Gentleman confident that the steps being taken now on the skills agenda will be the necessary actions to address recruitment and retention issues?

    Finally, the Haythornthwaite review highlighted cyber capability as a major issue. Is the right hon. Gentleman confident that the steps being taken and outlined today will do enough to deliver that capability in the way that we all want to see?

    Mr Wallace

    I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and grateful for his party’s support on Ukraine.

    On the Haythornthwaite review and skills, right across Europe and the west we are seeing recruitment challenges in the military. I was with my New Zealand counterpart recently, and my Canadian counterpart, and they too have a challenge. The skills shortage across society is big, and it is no different in the armed forces, which is why we have to adapt rapidly and tackle some of the challenges.

    On procurement, as I said, the figures have started to improve. Yes, there are challenges, and we could spend a whole day debating the reasons for those challenges. Complex procurement is not as straightforward as many people think, and the hon. Gentleman will know from the Scottish Government’s procurement issues that it is not straightforward to deal with. I certainly believe that if we invest in the people and are prepared to invest in continuity—if instead of having the senior responsible owners who help manage our projects here today and gone tomorrow, we ensure that they are there for the long term and link their incentives to success, and help them manage our projects—we will have a better chance of delivering better value for money.

  • John Healey – 2023 Speech on the Defence Command Paper Refresh

    John Healey – 2023 Speech on the Defence Command Paper Refresh

    The speech made by John Healey, the Shadow Defence Secretary, in the House of Commons on 18 July 2023.

    I thank the Defence Secretary for the advance draft copy of his statement and welcome some elements he announced today that were not in that draft copy, such as the improved childcare package and the rent freeze for armed forces personnel.

    Following the Defence Secretary’s decision to stand down, I want to start by paying tribute to his time in this House. He is a political survivor. I remember that his first job in 2010 was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ken Clarke, and for the last four years he has been a dedicated Defence Secretary. In particular, I want to recognise his work on Ukraine, and that of the Minister for Armed Forces, the right hon. Member for Wells (James Heappey). His decisions on sending military support to Ukraine, getting other nations to do more and declassifying intelligence have all been beneficial for Ukraine and for Britain.

    Today, the Defence Secretary is presenting his plan for the future of the British armed forces at a time when, as he told the House this afternoon, we have

    “the return of war to the continent of Europe, alongside growing threats elsewhere in the world”.

    As his own future is now short, how long is the shelf-life of his plan? Industry and military leaders cannot be sure that his successor will agree with his decisions, will accept his cuts, will act on his approach; and they cannot be sure how the strategic defence review plan of both his party and mine after the next election will reboot defence planning.

    It did not have to be this way. Labour wanted this to be the nation’s defence plan, not the plan of current Conservative Defence Ministers. We offered to work with the Government on a plan to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad. This is not such a plan. It is not a good enough response to war in Europe. It is not enough to accelerate support for Ukraine, to fulfil in full our NATO obligations, to halt the hollowing out of our forces, and to renew the nation’s moral contract with those who serve and the families who support them.

    Why has this defence plan been so delayed? It is 510 days since Putin shattered European security. Since then, 26 other NATO nations have rebooted defence plans and budgets. In the time it has taken the Defence Secretary to produce this long-trailed new defence strategy, Finland has carried out its own review, overturned decades of non-alignment, increased defence spending by 36%, applied to join NATO, and seen its application approved by 30 Parliaments before last week’s NATO summit in Vilnius. That successful NATO summit has made the alliance stronger and support for Ukraine greater. We fully back NATO’s new regional plans and the G7 long-term security commitments to Ukraine, and if UK military aid is accelerated in the coming days, that too will have Labour’s fullest support.

    There is a welcome “back to basics” element in this plan—a focus on stockpiles, training, service conditions and more combat-readiness—but it is clear that the plan is driven by costs, not by threats. It is driven by the real cut in day-to-day resource departmental expenditure limits spending that the Defence Secretary agreed in November 2020, and by the failure to secure the £8 billion extra that he said was needed in the spring Budget just to cover inflation. Where is the halt in further cuts in the Army, while NATO plans an eightfold increase in its high readiness forces? Where is the commitment to fulfil in full our NATO obligations? Where is the action plan for military support to Ukraine, first promised by the Defence Secretary in August last year? Where is the programme to reverse record low levels of satisfaction with service life? Where is the full-scale reform of a “broken” defence procurement system for which the Defence Committee called on the very day the Defence Secretary announced that he was stepping down? In fact, it is hard to tell from his announcement today what has changed. The £6.6 billion for defence research and development was promised in the 2021 integrated review, the “global response force” and force level cuts were announced in the Secretary of State’s defence Command Paper 2021, and the “strategic reserve” was recommended by Lord Lancaster in 2021.

    As the right hon. Gentleman steps down as the Conservatives’ longest-serving Defence Secretary, will he accept that many of the biggest challenges are being left to the next Defence Secretary, and to the next Government? Finally, as we may not see him again at the Dispatch Box, may I, on behalf of Members in all parts of the House, wish him well in his post-parliamentary career?

    Mr Wallace

    I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind comments. Unfortunately for him, I will, however, be here again tomorrow, delivering my very last statement.

    I understand what the right hon. Gentleman is saying, but this is the refresh of the defence Command Paper. It is not a complete redrawing of a strategic defence and security review. We have done those, periodically, so many times, and so many times they have been published under Governments of both parties, and so many times they have not had real funding attached to them. So many times we have reached the end of the SDSR period, under Labour and Conservative Governments, with black holes, with unspent money and overspends. It has happened time and again. But this is a report to make us match-fit: to ensure that, whether we have 3%, 2.5%, 2% of GDP, we have the reforms that, in my view and, I hope, that of my successor, will help us to deal with the growing threats that we face in the decade ahead, and will also reflect the lessons that we have seen in Ukraine.

    The right hon. Gentleman mentioned Finland’s defence review. He will know that Finland and Sweden periodically conduct a fixed in-Parliament, in-schedule review. That is how it will always be. Those countries ask a parliamentary committee to carry out the review, and then hand it to their Defence Ministries to implement. That is their process. Finland’s review was not triggered by anything specific, and the fact that it produced that review before I did this refresh is not a benchmark; it has been predicted and profiled. I will say, however, that long before Sweden and Finland joined NATO, I was the architect of last January’s security pact between the UK and those countries. That was because I recognised that they were our friends and our allies, and while they were not in NATO, it was inconceivable that we, as Britain, would never come to their aid should a more aggressive Putin attack them. That was the beginning of the process of developing our strong relationship with them.

    The right hon. Gentleman talked about defence procurement. I have read the report produced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), and I thank him for it. Many of the things in it we are now doing. I give credit to him, obviously, for his report, but some of its observations have also been mine—observations about SROs, about 75% and 50%, about a spiral development cost; observations that the House has heard from this Dispatch Box about gold-plating and the over-speccing that has too often driven prices through the roof, and is a cumbersome thing. [Interruption.]

    Let me say this to the Opposition Members who are heckling, and who have been Ministers in this Department. They will know that of all the Departments to serve in, this is not one that moves at the greatest speed of reform. The process of reform takes time, and Members need only look at the records of every single former Minister to know how hard it is. That does not undermine their contribution, and it does not make any of them less of a Minister, but this Department of 220,000 people, a Department that seeks every authority through a ministerial chair, is not—and I have served in a number of Departments—the quickest to change. No doubt the right hon. Gentleman, if he succeeds in his ambition to be the next Defence Secretary or the one after next, will learn that all too well. What I promise him, as I will promise my successor, is that I will not come to this House and pretend that the problems with which my successor is dealing were made the week before. They were made 20, 10, 15 years before. That is the truth of many of the policies and procurement challenges with which we deal in this Department.

    I believe that the Command paper will stand the test of time because it is about facing the threat—and that is the answer to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey).