United Kingdom Military Installations
Debate between David Mundell and Luke Pollard(1 day, 12 hours ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
I do not know if the Minister is aware that an emailed bomb hoax caused serious disruption to schools in my constituency yesterday, along with schools in Scotland, Ireland and Italy. Days earlier, there had been serious disruption to flights because of emailed bomb hoaxes. Can he reassure the Chamber that the Ministry of Defence is alive to such hoaxes and will minimise the disruption that they cause to the defence estate?
Luke Pollard
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising that really important topic. We must take all threats seriously. I know that was the case in the recent incidents involving the flights, and I am certain it will have been the case with the incidents he has spoken about. We work very closely with police forces right across the United Kingdom. I will ensure that he has an opportunity to sit down with the Security Minister to discuss the matter further, to give him the reassurance he needs.
Ukraine
Debate between David Mundell and Luke Pollard(10 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Luke Pollard
The coalition of the willing is ready to deploy. I am afraid that I will not be able to give the news, which Putin wants, about what units we are deploying, but the coalition of the willing has a number of elements: safe skies, which would probably be the fastest deployment of assets in terms of combat air Typhoon jets and allied jets, to secure airspace; safe seas, securing the maritime domain; and supporting the regeneration of Ukrainian forces.
We continue to work with our coalition of the willing allies around rotating readiness, so that whenever peace comes, we are able to deploy. We have UK personnel working with our friends and allies on the coalition of the willing to ensure that, if President Trump’s peace deal is successful, we are able to move immediately after that deal takes place.
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
Can the Minister update us on de-mining in Ukraine? Ukrainian civilians are still regularly being killed by mines or improvised explosive devices. The last time that I had the opportunity to visit Ukraine, it was with the HALO Trust, which is based in my constituency and carries out the meticulous work of removing mines. The scale of the mines is such that there remains a serious threat to the civilian population.
Luke Pollard
The right hon. Gentleman is exactly correct. Russia’s reckless use of mines across large areas of Ukraine poses a threat not just to Ukraine’s military forces, but to civilians in Ukraine and occupied Ukraine every single day. I thank him for mentioning the people in his constituency and elsewhere who undertake de-mining, and we will continue to support that effort with our Ukrainian friends. Indeed, we want to go further by supporting de-mining efforts, after peace, in the Black sea, to ensure that we clear not just mines on the land, but maritime mines, which threaten peaceful trade in the Black sea. That can be addressed when peace comes.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between David Mundell and Luke Pollard(1 year, 9 months ago)
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David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
The Eskdalemuir seismic array in my constituency monitors compliance with the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. At the moment, there is a restriction on wind farm development in the vicinity of the array, but wind farm developers are lobbying hard to have those restrictions relaxed. Can Ministers give a guarantee that they will not be relaxed if there is any suggestion that that would interfere with the array’s effectiveness?
The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. I was dealing with this issue before I came to the House earlier today. Supporting our national security is the No. 1 priority of the Government. We need to keep our nation safe. There is a variety of means by which we do so, and the array is an important contributor. I would be very happy to meet him to discuss the details of the issue he raises.