United Kingdom Military Installations

Debate between Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

The Defence Secretary has already set out that we have been in discussions with the United States for some time. The movement of US aircraft is a matter for the United States.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his continued work to increase the readiness of this country to protect ourselves not just abroad, but at home. Can I ask about the enduring close relationship with the United States of America? We have seen a joint police and intelligence-led arrest this week, and we continue to work extremely closely together. In the Minister’s portfolio of readiness across the MOD, can he give us an example of how closely we are working and continue to work with our ally, the United States of America?

[Luke Pollard]

The work we are doing with the United States includes the operational security of our missions, especially joint missions that we undertake bilaterally with the United States and as part of NATO and further afield. On our base security at home, the work our security forces and armed forces do with the United States visiting forces and intelligence agencies is very close, very deep and ongoing, which means that we have a close partnership to meet the threats we are facing. We do know that the threats are increasing, so we are increasing our work accordingly. We continue to work with our US friends, and we will make sure that we do so with our European and NATO allies as well.

Ajax Armoured Vehicle

Debate between Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words about our service personnel. Every one of them should know that the vehicles or equipment they have been asked to operate are safe, which is why it is important that we get to the bottom of what has happened. We await those reports so that we can provide confidence to our people about what we are asking them to do, albeit with the level of risk that both we and they know they carry.

To reassure the hon. Gentleman, the cost of the entire Ajax programme remains £6.3 billion—that price has not changed since 2014. We will be able to take next steps once we understand the cause of the issue, but the Defence Secretary has been very clear that we are bringing this saga to an end, one way or another. A decision will be made once it can be properly informed by the evidence of what has happened.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

To scrap the Ajax programme completely would be a very bold move, considering that the UK has sunk over £6 billion into it and it is nine years late. The vehicle is still making soldiers ill every time they get in it, even though Ministers both current and former have been repeatedly briefed that it is good to go. It is not good to go, but to decide that it never will be would be very brave. Considering that this Labour Government are the first UK Government since the cold war to increase defence spending, that they have a very ambitious defence reform agenda, and that finally confidence in the armed forces and the morale of serving personnel are going back up—certainly compared with way before I was in the military—does the Minister think we have enough confidence to take a bold decision like that?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my constituency neighbour for his question. Taking bold decisions is the hallmark of this Government, because it would not be enough simply to tinker with some of the procurements we inherited, given the necessary increase in our capabilities to meet the threats that exist. When the defence investment plan is published, it will set out bold decisions, but it is really important in relation to Ajax that we get to the bottom of what happened during Exercise Titan Storm. The Ajax vehicle has completed 42,000 km of testing without such injuries, so we need to understand what has happened with the vehicles that have caused these injuries. Not all the vehicles on that exercise caused injuries, and that needs to be taken into account as part of the investigations. I am looking forward to those results when they come, so that we can make a clear and bold decision one way or another to bring this saga to an end.

Fiscal Policy: Defence Spending

Debate between Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

That is not a matter for the Ministry of Defence and it is not within my portfolio, but if the hon. Gentleman writes to me, I will ensure Northern Ireland Office officials respond to him. However, I do not think there will be strong support for such action from much of the House.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

On our journey to increasing defence spending, it is crucial that we keep the public on side, especially given our dire financial inheritance from the Conservative party and the hollowed-out state of our armed forces, as Conservative Members have acknowledged. That is why I welcome the Government’s break from tradition in informing this House and the British people about their steps to deploy a nuclear submarine to respond to Yantar, the Russian spy boat, along with the Plymouth-based RFA Proteus. What steps will the Government take in the future, over the coming weeks and months, to keep the British public informed, so that they stay on side as we increase defence spending to respond to the threat from Russia?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for his question. He is right that last week we declassified information about the activities of the Russian spy ship Yantar, including revealing details of the surfacing of a Royal Navy submarine to deter the Yantar’s activities loitering above our critical national infrastructure. It is absolutely right that this Government make the case that warfare has changed, especially when it comes to the protection of our critical underwater infrastructure. Making the case that we have formidable abilities, but also being clear in the SDR about how we will invest in those capabilities alongside our allies, is essential. The SDR will be published in the spring, when I am sure he will be able to see more about that.