Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ben Wallace and Suzanne Webb

Monday 24th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Wallace]

The Government always go into elections dealing with the threat as they see it. The threat has changed, and it is incredibly important that we do the right thing in responding to that threat. It is the duty of Government members to ensure that if the facts on the battlefield change, so do we. The hon. Gentleman would, quite rightly, be the first to stand up if we did not equip our people properly and they were put at risk. We all remember what happened last time. It was called the Snatch Land Rover fiasco, and many brave men died defending that ridiculous policy, because of his Government’s choices.

[Suzanne Webb (Stourbridge) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s recent announcement that the Ministry of Defence will procure 148 Challenger 3 tanks, which will be the UK’s first digitised tanks. Will he outline how those new armoured vehicles will help to deliver the modern, adaptable and expeditionary fighting force that he set out in the defence Command Paper in March, and will he keep me in mind should they need test-driving?