Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle violent extremist organisations in sub-Saharan Africa.

The hon. Lady will have noted a similar question raised in the Topicals and in a recent PQ. The UK is committed in east, west and southern Africa, against not just the rise of violent extremism, which concerns us enormously, but also increasingly how our competitors and adversaries are using countries to develop their influence. We see that as a bad thing in the long term, and we are seeking to counter it.