Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what benefits the £1.6 billion contract with Thales Air Defence Limited in Belfast to supply 5,000 missiles to Ukraine will bring to the Northern Ireland economy.
The deal to increase production at Thales is a vote of confidence in Northern Ireland's valuable defence sector and we want to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits fully from increases in defence expenditure in the UK. The deal will also provide a major boost to the UK economy, creating 200 new jobs and supporting 700 existing jobs at Thales in Belfast.