Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Jarvis and Noah Law

Monday 6th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I was proud to lead the DDTF as Security Minister, and as Defence Secretary I am focused on ensuring that we defend our nation against the threats that we face. The UK is under daily attack from adversaries who seek to harm our society and our prosperity, including through cyber-attacks. My Department is investing £2.5 billion in cyber and intelligence, and we are working across Government, industry and society, and with our allies, to defend against and deter attacks across every domain.

[Noah Law]

As we have heard, we are in a new era of modern warfare, in which cheap drones, costing thousands of pounds, can knock out systems costing millions. The defence investment plan reflects that new reality, and I welcome the £5 billion set aside for drones, but what steps is the Minister taking to invest in the fightback against Russian aggression in the information warfare space?

[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.

Storm Goretti

Debate between Dan Jarvis and Noah Law

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the Met Office in his constituency. I completely agree with that, and I pay tribute to the vital work it does. He raises an important point about connectivity, and I agree with him. I want our country to be as resilient as it possibly can be, which is why I can say to him that National Rail’s winter preparedness regime begins in September each year, when special trains and equipment are fully checked, any repairs are carried out and contingency plans are reviewed. I give him an assurance that we take these matters seriously, and we work closely with Transport Ministers.

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

I, too, put on record my thanks to the emergency services for their work over this long and difficult weekend. In particular, I thank National Grid for its swift work, at least in my part of Cornwall, in reconnecting people to the grid. However, other infrastructure has been unacceptably slow to come back online. With many of my constituents still without access to rail and some still without access to broadband and their phone lines, what assurances can the Minister give that he is working with Great Western Railway and National Rail to ensure that, four days after the storm, those closed railway lines can be reopened? Will he reiterate the commitment he made to my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) to work with us to continue to build infrastructure resilience in Cornwall?

[Dan Jarvis]

I reiterate the commitment I gave earlier. My hon. Friend is right to raise these concerns. I want the country to be as resilient and as connected as it possibly can be, and where services are lost there is an absolute requirement to work at pace to get them restored. I give him the assurance that the Government will work carefully to ensure that that happens, and I am very happy to work with him and other hon. Members to make sure that it does.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Jarvis and Noah Law

Monday 15th September 2025 Commons Chamber

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

Last week, our US allies pulled back from the Global Engagement Centre their international effort to tackle cyber-threats. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that our democracy is protected from foreign interference, cyber-threats and misinformation?

[Dan Jarvis]

We take all those threats incredibly seriously. We hosted the five country ministerial meetings with our American, Canadian, Australian and Kiwi allies just last week. We work incredibly closely with our partners to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support UK businesses and to target the perpetrators of these attacks.