Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Ballinger Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

9. What assessment he has made of the level of threat from Russia.

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

13. What assessment he has made of the level of threat from Russia.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Dan Jarvis)]

Mr Speaker, may I associate myself, and I am sure all Members of this House, with your words of condolence for the late, great George Howarth? He was a hugely experienced parliamentarian, and he will be very much missed.

May I also congratulate the England men’s team on one of the great nights, or perhaps mornings, in our nation’s footballing history? It was a victory built on pride, passion and determination.

Russia poses a serious and persistent threat to UK and European security in every domain—underwater, on the water, on the land, and in the sky, space and cyber. Russia’s reckless military actions involving NATO aircraft and airspace, including its multiple reckless overflights of our aircraft carrier just last week, risk miscalculation and escalation. This Government are ensuring that our response meets that threat, as we stand firm with Ukraine and with NATO.

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[Dan Jarvis]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the hybrid nature of the threats that we face from Russia. Information operations seek to unpick the threads of our resilient democratic society, and we will defend against these threats. I have the privilege of working with military and civilian specialists in the Ministry of Defence, and I can assure him that I will always give our specialists what they need to detect, expose and respond to the full range of hybrid threats that Russia poses.

[Alex Ballinger]

I was concerned to see reports last week of drones launched from Russian shadow fleet vessels overflying critical infrastructure in the UK, including nuclear air bases and nuclear sites, as well as other concerning issues. I welcome the action taken by the Royal Marines to seize the shadow tanker vessels, but will the Secretary of State give more detail on how we will tackle the drones that are being launched? Do we have the capability to intercept them, and if not, when will we have it?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am sure that my hon. Friend, as a former Royal Marine, will join me in paying tribute to our forces who courageously interdicted the Russian shadow fleet vessel just last month. This Government take the security of our military bases and critical infrastructure incredibly seriously. Through the Armed Forces Bill, we are giving defence personnel greater powers to defeat drones that threaten our bases. Our defence investment plan sets out significant funding for radars, sensors and counter-drone systems, including more than £750 million to provide short-range drone protection for our forces in the UK and those deployed overseas.

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[The Minister for Veterans and People (Mr Calvin Bailey)]

I thank the hon. Member for raising such an important issue, and I thank Clint and Carol for their service. Our blast injury support is world leading. We have invested £3.65 million in cutting-edge scanning technology, and we collaborate internationally to drive forward research on blast-induced and traumatic brain injuries. Our work on traumatic brain injuries complements wider efforts to ensure that no veteran falls through the cracks. We have invested more than £25 million in Op Courage since the election so that veterans in England can continue to access specialist mental health and wellbeing services.

[Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)]

T4. I was pleased to see co-operation with the Netherlands on a new amphibious fleet in the defence investment plan. I spent two years of my career working alongside the Dutch marines, and the Royal Marines have a long history of co-operation with them—mostly not fighting each other—but since our amphibious ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are out of service, when can we expect amphibious ships to be operational in this new Anglo-Dutch fleet?