Derek Twigg
Main Page: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)Department Debates - View all Derek Twigg's debates with the Department for International Development
(5 days ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
It is clearly not for us in this House to speculate about hypothetical scenarios, and decisions about the US election will of course lie with the American people. I underline to the hon. Member that the UK and the US have been steadfast allies, working closely together on foreign policy issues and defence matters for over a century. That has applied with leaders of all political stripes in the White House and in Downing Street, and with Parliament and Congress as well. We welcome and will continue to welcome sustained bipartisan US support for Ukraine, including passage of the supplemental funding package, which has been key to the international effort.
Derek Twigg (Widnes and Halewood) (Lab)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. She touched on stockpiles of armaments and missiles; as she knows, we have had a long-standing problem in that regard. Will she say more about what work is being done now to ensure that those stockpiles are increased and that we can supply more to Ukraine?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue. We will continue to work hard to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself in the face of Putin’s illegal aggression. As I mentioned in my statement, the Prime Minister has committed £3 billion a year in military support for Ukraine until 2030-31, or for as long as is needed. That means that the UK has committed almost £12.7 billion in military, humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine since 2022, but I want to be clear that we are stepping up our military support, including via a new package announced by the Defence Secretary in Odesa in early July—soon after the election—which includes more artillery guns, a quarter of a million ammunition rounds and 90 precision Brimstone missiles, because, as my hon. Friend mentioned, the stockpile is indeed important.