RAF Centenary

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

The only cadet unit that does not get any support is the sea cadets, such as those in the Rhondda. I know that we are quite a long way from the sea in the Rhondda, but we have rivers; no, this is a serious point. The sea cadets are one of the most important youth organisations in my constituency, and they get absolutely no support other than a kind of tangential support from the Ministry of Defence. Would the Secretary of State look into at least paying the insurance bill for the sea cadets?

[Gavin Williamson]

My understanding is that we do support the sea cadets charity, but I will write to the hon. Gentleman with further detail about how we do that. We recognise the support required for all uniformed youth movements. We very much see them as a total family, and that is something that we will continue to do. I hope the hon. Gentleman will forgive me if I turn back to the Air Force.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gavin Williamson]

The hon. Lady is absolutely correct to state that the RAF is always vigilant. It is always ready to act. It is always ready to respond. Within literally a few minutes of a warning, it is up in the air defending our skies and dealing with these threats. That sense of protecting our skies has been a theme of the Royal Air Force throughout its 100-year history.

It is both humbling and inspiring to meet the extraordinary men and women who are doing this—to see their commitment, their passion and their dedication to their duty and the service that they are part of. We in this House must always do everything we can to protect them and to make sure that they always have the very best, much as the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) said.

[Chris Bryant]

Will the Secretary of State give way?

[Gavin Williamson]

Yes, I will.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Bryant]

It is about aircraft this time. The Secretary of State will know that quite often the Russians have been flying at the edge of our airspace or sometimes just inside, and that this has seen a very significant increase in the tempo of what the RAF has had to deal with. The Russians keep on saying, “Oh no, it’s Britain that is completely breaking the rules here.” Can he just put the Russians right on this?

[Gavin Williamson]

Well, I always like to send very clear messages to the Russians. [Laughter.] The RAF is always right, and the RAF is protecting our skies from potential threats. That is the right thing to do, it is what we expect it to do, and it is what it will continue to do against any possible incursions.

The RAF plays a much bigger role than just in our skies. In terms of what we have been doing in NATO, the Royal Air Force has been in Romania as a key and pivotal part of its air defence. When we go to Romania and speak to Romanians, we see the real pride and sense of appreciation that they have for the role that the Royal Air Force has played. The RAF was not there just passively—it was scrambling in order to respond to potential threats that the Romanian air force was also having to deal with. This is a way of expanding our influence right across Europe and the world, because people, quite rightly, put the RAF on a pedestal as the world’s greatest air force, and they put great value and privilege on working with it. We need to exploit that more and more, not just for our strategic defence but from a prosperity angle as well.