Monday 28th February 2022

(2 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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The local opposition is right and we are working as fast as we can to deal with the issue.

Richard Drax Portrait Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)
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I commend my right hon. Friend and her team for all their amazing work in the face of this appalling invasion. Does she agree that the best way to combat the worrying resurgence of Russia and China, and to reassure other countries, is to invest in not only our defence but our diplomatic reach around the world so that we can spread our values of democracy and freedom and proclaim them even more loudly?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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Yes, that sounds like a petition to the Chancellor about the Foreign Office’s budget, which I wholeheartedly agree with and support. My hon. Friend is right that this horrific invasion is a massive wake-up call to the west about our defence and the need to invest in NATO. I am pleased to see Germany committing 2% of its GDP to NATO. We need everybody to commit to that and we need to look at what more we can do to strengthen NATO, because we have taken European security for granted and we cannot do that any longer.