UK-France Nuclear Partnership

Debate between Maria Eagle and Greg Smith

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Maria Eagle]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for this extra co-ordination. The aim of all this is to make sure that NATO and Europe are safe from the threats that may come from Putin and his nuclear sabre-rattling, as the hon. Gentleman referred to. We believe that deterring those threats is the best way to ensure that we do not end up having to fight a war that would be catastrophic. That is where we are at present. I am not sure that President Putin is in the mood to agree that nuclear wars cannot be won, because he does issue nuclear threats every now and then. We need to ensure that he is deterred in his approach.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

The two bedrocks of our national defence are our own sovereign capability and our membership of NATO. The United Kingdom and France are both members of NATO, but, as the shadow Secretary of State pointed out, the paradox is that we and every other NATO member bar one are members of the NATO nuclear planning group. Of course, that “bar one” is France. As part of these discussions, is France going to join the NATO nuclear planning group? If not, how on earth will this co-ordination work within that partnership?

[Maria Eagle]

I am not here to speak for the French Government. As far as I am concerned, our nuclear posture has not changed; their nuclear posture is a matter for them. What this agreement says is that there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by our two nations, and although we both independently look after and are responsible for our deterrence, we believe that co-ordinating potential responses in this way provides a greater deterrent for Europe and NATO. That is the basis of this agreement.

Unity Contract

Debate between Maria Eagle and Greg Smith

Friday 24th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Maria Eagle]

I very much agree with what my hon. Friend has said, and I fondly remember that visit to his constituency during, I think, the general election campaign. Defending the country is clearly the first duty of any Government. My hon. Friend will have noted from the statement of intent in respect of our defence industrial strategy that one of our key aims is to build more in Britain and to improve British jobs and economic growth through the money that we spend on our defence, and I think that that is a win-win.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

This deal is absolutely the right thing to do, and I very much welcome the Minister’s commitment to our continuous at-sea deterrent, which has not always received universal support on the Labour Benches. My hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State asked the Minister a very clear question about how she sees this underpinning the AUKUS deal for the long term, but unless my hearing is even worse than I thought, I am not sure that she gave a clear commitment in that regard. May I give her another opportunity to make absolutely clear this Government’s commitment to AUKUS and this deal’s central role in its long-term future?

[Maria Eagle]

I was attempting to answer a great many questions from the shadow Defence Secretary and did not reach that one, so the hon. Gentleman is right to raise it with me again. The deal enables us to boost production and the capacity that we need in order to deliver SSN-AUKUS as a follow-on from our Dreadnought submarines. Without it, we would be in much more difficulty in ensuring that we can do everything that we need to do on time to deliver those commitments. It is essential to the delivery of our AUKUS commitment, as it is to the delivery of our own continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.