Apsana Begum
Main Page: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)Department Debates - View all Apsana Begum's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 day, 9 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
It is a 10-year plan, and it mirrors our strategic review. It sits alongside the defence spending commitments that we have made and are implementing with the 2.5%, and the commitments that I made at the NATO summit last year.
Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)
The House has repeatedly been told that the Government have permitted the US to use British military bases for defensive purposes only, but amid the widespread US targeting of civilian infrastructure in Iran, including schools, hospitals and bridges, we have not been told how those restrictions work in practice. Can the Prime Minister confirm whether US military aircraft have taken off from RAF Fairford or Lakenheath carrying heavy munition payloads? If they have, is there any US operational policy for action from our bases in place that has been approved by this Government? If not, is it the case that the working definition of defensive action is simply, “Don’t ask, don’t tell”?
The Prime Minister
Let me assure my hon. Friend and the House that that is not the position. The use is for defensive action only. I am particularly concerned to make sure that we take every measure available to protect our nationals in the region, of whom there are very many. The use is for defensive action, and that is monitored. It has been monitored since the bases began being used.