Russian Maritime Activity and UK Response

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

On the first point, like the Government and like defence industries, companies and businesses will have to look again at how much priority they give to that: that is an important point. Whether it is a telecommunications company or an energy company, it is responsible for the protection of much of its infrastructure. In terms of the co-ordination that the noble Lord asked about, that is something that I have asked about as well. If we are calling on businesses to do this, energy companies to do that, the defence industry to do this and the Foreign Office do that, that requires perhaps greater co-ordination across government. As we meet the challenges and threats as they change in the future, it may be that government needs to look at the co-ordinating mechanisms it has to ensure that they are as up to date as they need to be.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, how nice it is to be talking about ships. I do not agree totally with the noble and gallant Lord about the perception of us within NATO. However, maybe its perception should be that, because our capabilities have gone down to such an extent. Indeed, there is a sort of sense of déjà vu because, sitting over there for years and years, I have been saying to the Opposition, who were then in government, that we were reducing capabilities far too fast and not really keeping them, and that is a worry.

I would like to come back to the actual underwater tapestry and defence of that. I do not know whether the Minister has visited the Joint Maritime Operations Centre in Fort Southwick, but, if not, he should do. It has an ability now to co-ordinate a view of where all Russian and other ships are throughout our territorial waters, the exclusive economic zone and beyond, and then take executive action to do things about it. The examples given by the Secretary of State of actions taken recently against the craft are a very good tactical example of what can be done; I think it surprised Putin, not least because they know how few submarines we have got, and for one of them to pop up like that was a bit of a shock for them. There is no doubt it was the right sort of action to be carried out.

Could I ask the Minister whether he will go and visit the Joint Maritime Operations Centre? It is important and actually ties together all the things that the noble Lord, Lord Mountevans, was discussing. Responsibility for this is beyond just the Navy, which can co-ordinate it. There is a whole series of other departments, and we need to ensure that they all work together.

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend Lord West for his question. No, I have not been there but I will go. I will write to let him know when I am going so that I do what I say I am going to do.

I take my noble friend’s point about capabilities. There will always be a debate about the capabilities and their development, but we are also entering the realm of the capabilities that we need. He will be pleased about the order for eight Type 26 frigates, which will be delivered by the middle of the 2030s. I think I laid that out in answer to a question from my noble friend.

On that development, although there will be differences, I give credit to the last Government where it is due. They ordered the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship “Proteus”, which deals with many of the underwater threats we face and has capabilities that are developing all the time. That has made a big difference. As my noble friend Lord West has often asked, what has happened to the commitment for the second? It will not necessarily be exactly the same type of ship as “Proteus” but it will have similar aims and objectives. That will certainly be part of the defence review as well.

My noble friend Lord West is right to make the constant demand for capabilities, as the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Houghton, did. That has to be a consideration: how many of such a platform we do have and what sort of platforms do we need to meet the future threats we face?