Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Wes Streeting and James MacCleary(2 weeks, 2 days ago)
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James MacCleary (Lewes) (LD)
Last week, Ukrainian forces were reportedly left exposed to Russian attacks after the US President acted to restrict access to Starshield, showing that the White House is prepared to pressure American companies to interfere in allied military operations, and the importance of sovereign control over military satellite communications in facing the Russian threat. Now the Government are reportedly considering a low-ball American bid to operate Skynet—a system conceived during the cold war to guarantee British sovereignty over military satellite capability—threatening hundreds of jobs in Portsmouth, a great military city still reeling from losing shipbuilding. The Government talk about buying British and strengthening sovereign capability, and here we have a proven world-leading system operated by a European company, so can the Defence Secretary explain to me and the people of Portsmouth why he is considering handing operation of this critical sovereign capability to the US?
Wes Streeting
The hon. Gentleman will understand why I will not comment on that during a live procurement. The matter is still under consideration. To be clear, we take sovereign capability and control very seriously. It is also worth pointing out, after what was unquestionably a challenging week for relations between the United States and Ukraine, that the United States has provided and will continue to provide vital support to Ukraine, whether that is through intelligence sharing, the work we do on procurement with and through the United States, or the diplomatic track. It is worth reporting to the House that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, my US counterpart, was keen to thank the United Kingdom for our leadership on Ukraine. That suggests to me that the United States does know which side it is on.
Ukraine and Russia
Debate between Wes Streeting and James MacCleary(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
James MacCleary (Lewes) (LD)
I, too, welcome the new Secretary of State to his role, and I thank him for advance sight of his statement. I say to him that the Liberal Democrats continue to stand ready to work constructively with the Government in the interests of our national security. Indeed, Ukraine is a great example of where we have common ground. He is of course quite right to say that Ukraine’s security is our security.
As another winter approaches, Russia will once again seek to weaponise the freezing cold weather to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and harm the civilian population, so the additional £100 million for air defence interceptors is a really welcome move. What discussions is the Secretary of State holding with NATO allies to secure more air defence systems and interceptors for Ukraine before the winter sets in, and is the UK prepared to provide further assistance should such a request be made?
We welcome the Government’s recognition of the need to increase defence investment. However, the defence investment plan is still not fully funded, and given the threats we face, progress on the Government’s commitment to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP remains slow. In response to our supplying technology for deep strike capability, Russia has stated that UK military installations and equipment, both inside Ukraine and beyond its borders, are now considered legitimate targets, and that only adds to the urgent need for investment in our national defence. That is why the Liberal Democrats propose issuing defence bonds, with a plan to raise £20 billion over two years to meet the urgency of the situation head-on. Will the Secretary of State urge the Chancellor to consider defence bonds, and could he perhaps share his own view with the House on this idea?
Finally, we must do more to cut off the funding that fuels Putin’s war machine. Supported by western-linked shipping, insurance and financial services, Russian fossil fuels continue to flow into global markets. Will the Secretary of State push within the Government for tougher action to crack down on activities facilitating Russian fossil fuel exports and work with allies to impose a comprehensive ban on supporting Russian oil, gas and coal? Ukraine is fighting for its survival and for the security of our entire continent, and the UK must continue to stand with it.
Wes Streeting
I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for his constructive support and scrutiny. Through our work with my German counterpart Boris Pistorius and our coalition, we are regularly mobilising more support for Ukraine, through both direct contributions and active defence diplomacy. I am particularly grateful to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary for the support of his Department in those efforts.
Every country involved in supporting Ukraine faces the same choices and trade-offs that we are debating here at home. We approach those conversations in that spirit, but we also ask people to think about the consequences were Putin to prevail and take that as an incentive to further threaten Russia’s neighbours and our NATO allies. That is why I make the case that supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do morally, but that it is also the right thing to do in our national interest and in the interests of the collective security of our continent.
The hon. Gentleman refers to the defence investment plan and raises the issue of defence spending. I want to be clear about two things. We are already delivering the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war. That is a significant improvement on the previous position. He mentions the DIP not being fully funded. It is absolutely true to say that the negotiations on the DIP reached a position where there is a shortfall just shy of £5 billion which we need to deal with in the immediate term. The House should take reassurance from the instincts of the Chancellor and the Government, and from the fact that without any need whatsoever for persuasion from me or my Department, the Chancellor has already confirmed that he will close that gap at the Budget. I am reassured by that. It gives me even greater confidence as the Chancellor looks ahead to the spending review, but that does not mean that we, as a Department and as a Defence team, should be complacent about the need to make the strongest possible case, recognising the trade-offs across Government. We will continue to approach the spending review process in that spirit.
The hon. Gentleman raises defence financing. It is true to say that defence bonds are borrowing. None the less, we continue to work closely with our colleagues at the Treasury and our industry partners to look at what more we can do to leverage finance for defence and to do so in a way that creates jobs, skills, opportunities and reindustrialisation here in Britain.