Lee Dillon
Main Page: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)Department Debates - View all Lee Dillon's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(4Â weeks ago)
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Wes Streeting
I am really grateful to my hon. Friend for that powerful contribution; I am glad that he shared it with us, and that those first-hand words from Ukraine are on the record. I want to reassure him on two points. First, we recognise the challenge on pace, and I am determined to keep up momentum through the UDCG, which will meet again in November. Secondly, I pay tribute to the Ukrainian people and the leadership of Ukraine—President Zelensky and his team—who operate in the most extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The Ukrainian people can be proud of his leadership, and they can be proud of their resilience, too.
Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)
I want to welcome the Secretary of State to his place, and to say how pleased I am that the hon. Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) remains a member of the Defence team. On 19 March last year, I asked the former Prime Minister about seizing Russian assets. There is reportedly ÂŁ185 billion-worth of Russian assets in Europe, ÂŁ30 billion of it in the UK. The Prime Minister responded,
“it is complicated—it is not straightforward—but we are working with others to see what is possible.”—[Official Report, 19 March 2025; Vol. 764, c. 347.]
Will the new Administration now act, as they have done on Gaza, which the Government previously said was too complicated? [Interruption.]
Wes Streeting
As my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry—whom the hon. Gentleman praised—has just remarked, it is difficult and it is complicated, but I take up the challenge. We want to do everything we can in this space. The hon. Gentleman is right to keep pressing us on this, and to keep it in our line of sight. We will continue to do as much as we can, as fast as we can.