NATO Summit

Debate between Tom Gordon and Yvette Cooper

Thursday 9th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend makes a really important point. We know that no one country can do this alone, especially for some of the most advanced capabilities; we also know that if we want really effective interoperability, joint procurement with our closest allies is hugely beneficial, and it helps our defence industries and jobs as well. One of the best examples of that is our joint procurement of new frigates with Norway—we are effectively procuring the same frigates for Norway and the UK, so we will have full interoperability as well as our combined strength in the procurement process.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

The Foreign Secretary has rightly highlighted the UK’s unwavering commitment to our ally, Ukraine. Her Estonian counterpart recently said that

“Russia wages war not only with missiles, but with narratives.”

With that in mind, last week I sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about “Masha and the Bear”, a Russian children’s TV show that is on ITVX and which Netflix has recently picked up. Funding from that show makes its way back to the Russian state, funding Putin’s illegal war. We have also recently seen the International Olympic Committee allow Russia potentially to participate in the next Olympic games, and Eurovision has said that Russia may return to the stage, so what steps is the Foreign Secretary taking with UK colleagues and international counterparts to ensure that we stop allowing Russia to use the world stage to push its propaganda and its narratives?

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree with the hon. Member about the importance of challenging Russia in every sphere. Not only does it attempt to use different spheres for its narratives and its misinformation, but it has used misinformation on an industrial scale to seek to undermine democracies, which is why we have imposed sanctions in that regard. As the hon. Member knows, we have strongly condemned the IOC’s decision on the Olympics —we strongly disagree and believe it is the wrong thing to do. I will pass on the points that he has raised to the Culture Secretary.