The following is the full Hansard text of the statement in
the House of Commons by the Prime on the Integrated Defence
Review
The Prime Minister () [V]
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will update the House on the
Government’s integrated review of foreign, defence, security and
development policy.
Our review will conclude early next year and set out the UK’s
international agenda, but I want to inform the House of its first
outcome. For decades, British Governments have trimmed and
cheese-pared our defence budget. If we go on like this, we risk
waking up to discover that our armed forces—the pride of
Britain—have fallen below the minimum threshold of viability,
and, once lost, they can never be regained. That outcome would
not only be craven; it would jeopardise the security of the
British people, amounting to a dereliction of duty for any Prime
Minister.
I refuse to vindicate any pessimistic forecasters there may have
been by taking up the scalpel yet again. Based on our assessment
of the international situation and our foreign policy goals, I
have decided that the era of cutting our defence budget must end,
and it ends now. I am increasing defence spending by £24.1
billion over the next four years. That is £16.5 billion more than
our manifesto commitment, raising it as a share of GDP to at
least 2.2%, exceeding our NATO pledge, and investing £190 billion
over the next four years—more than any other European country and
more than any other NATO ally except the United States.
The Ministry of Defence has received a multi-year settlement
because equipping our armed forces requires long-term investment,
and our national security in 20 years’ time will depend on
decisions we take today. I have done this in the teeth of the
pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the
defence of the realm and the safety of the British people must
come first. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friends the Chancellor
and the Defence Secretary, who believe in this as fervently as I
do. Reviving our armed forces is one pillar of the Government’s
ambition to safeguard Britain’s interests and values by
strengthening our global influence and reinforcing our ability to
join the United States and our other allies to defend free and
open societies.
The international situation is now more perilous and intensely
competitive than at any time since the cold war. Everything we do
in this country—every job, every business, even how we shop and
what we eat—depends on a basic minimum of global security, with a
web of feed pipes, of oxygen pipes, that must be kept open:
shipping lanes, a functioning internet, safe air corridors,
reliable undersea cables, and tranquillity in distant straits.
This pandemic has offered a taste of what happens when our most
fundamental needs are suddenly in question. We could take all
this for granted, ignore the threat of terrorism and the
ambitions of hostile states, hope for the best, and we might get
away with it for a while, before calamity strikes, as it surely
would. Or we could accept that our lifelines must be protected
but we are content to curl up in our island and leave the task to
our friends.
My starting point is that either of those options would be an
abdication of the first duty of Government: to defend our people.
My choice—and I hope it will carry every Member of the House—is
that Britain must be true to our history and stand alongside our
allies, sharing the burden and bringing our expertise to bear on
the world’s toughest problems. To achieve this, we need to
upgrade our capabilities across the board. We have already united
our international effort into a new Department combining aid and
diplomacy, led with grip and purpose by my right hon. Friend the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary. Next year will
be a year of British leadership when we preside over the G7, host
COP26 in Glasgow, and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first
United Nations General Assembly in London. We are leading the
world towards net zero with our 10-point plan for a green
industrial revolution. We are campaigning for our values,
particularly freedom of religion and the media, and giving every
girl in the world access to 12 years of quality education.
But extending British influence requires a once-in-a-generation
modernisation of our armed forces, and now is the right time to
press ahead, because emerging technologies, visible on the
horizon, will make the returns from defence investment infinitely
greater. We have a chance to break free from the vicious circle
whereby we ordered ever decreasing numbers of ever more expensive
items of military hardware, squandering billions along the way.
The latest advances will multiply the fighting power of every
warship, aircraft and infantry unit many times over, and the
prizes will go to the swiftest and most agile nations, not
necessarily the biggest. We can achieve as much as British
ingenuity and expertise allow.
We will need to act speedily to remove or reduce less relevant
capabilities. This will allow our new investment to be focused on
the technologies that will revolutionise warfare, forging our
military assets into a single network designed to overcome the
enemy. A soldier in hostile territory will be alerted to a
distant ambush by sensors on satellites or drones, instantly
transmitting a warning, using artificial intelligence to devise
the optimal response and offering an array of options, from
summoning an airstrike to ordering a swarm attack by drones, or
paralysing the enemy with cyber-weapons. New advances will
surmount the old limits of logistics. Our warships and combat
vehicles will carry “directed energy weapons”, destroying targets
with inexhaustible lasers. For them, the phrase “out of
ammunition” will become redundant.
Nations are racing to master this new doctrine of warfare, and
our investment is designed to place Britain among the winners.
The returns will go far beyond our armed forces, and from
aerospace to autonomous vehicles, these technologies have a vast
array of civilian applications, opening up new vistas of economic
progress, creating 10,000 jobs every year—40,000 in
total—levelling up across our country, and reinforcing our Union.
We are going to use our extra defence spending to restore
Britain’s position as the foremost naval power in Europe, taking
forward our plans for eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates,
and support ships to supply our carriers.
We are going to develop the next generation of warships,
including multi-role research vessels and Type 32 frigates. This
will spur a renaissance of British shipbuilding across the UK, in
Glasgow and Rosyth, Belfast, Appledore and Birkenhead,
guaranteeing jobs and illuminating the benefits of the Union in
the white light of the arc welder’s torch. If there is one policy
that strengthens the UK in every possible sense, it is building
more ships for the Royal Navy. Once both of our carriers are
operational in 2023, the UK will have a carrier strike group
permanently available, routinely deployed globally, and always
ready to fight alongside NATO and other allies.
Next year, Queen Elizabeth will lead a British and allied task
group on our most ambitious deployment for two decades,
encompassing the Mediterranean, the Indian ocean, and East Asia.
We shall deploy more of our naval assets in the world’s most
important regions, protecting the shipping lanes that supply our
nation, and we shall press on with renewing our nuclear
deterrent. We will reshape our Army for the age of networked
warfare, allowing better equipped soldiers to deploy more
quickly, and strengthening the ability of our special forces to
operate covertly against our most sophisticated adversaries.
The security and intelligence agencies will continue to protect
us around the clock from terrorism and new and evolving threats.
We will invest another £1.5 billion in military research and
development, designed to master the new technologies of warfare.
We will establish a new centre dedicated to artificial
intelligence, and a new RAF space command, launching British
satellites and our first rocket from Scotland in 2022. I can
announce that we have established a National Cyber Force,
combining our intelligence agencies and service personnel, which
is already operating in cyberspace against terrorism, organised
crime and hostile state activity. And the RAF will receive a new
fighter system, harnessing artificial intelligence and drone
technology to defeat any adversary in air-to-air combat.
Our plans will safeguard hundreds of thousands of jobs in the
defence industry, protecting livelihoods across the UK and
keeping the British people safe. The defence of the realm is
above party politics, and we all take pride in how British
resolve saved democracy in 1940, and in how British
internationalism, directed by Clement Attlee, helped to create
NATO and preserve peace through the cold war. The wisdom and
pragmatism of Margaret Thatcher found a path out of confrontation
when she met Mikhail Gorbachev in 1984. In each case, Britain
tipped the scales of history and did immense good for the world.
Now we have a chance to follow in this great tradition, end the
era of retreat, transform our armed forces, bolster our global
influence, unite and level up across our country, protect our
people and defend the free societies in which we fervently
believe. I commend this statement to the House.
12.14 pm
(Holborn and St Pancras) (Lab)
I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement.
Under my leadership, national security will always be Labour’s
top priority. Britain must once again show global leadership and
be a moral force for good in the world, both in how we tackle
present and emerging security threats, and in how we build a
fairer, greener and more secure world. So we welcome this
additional funding for our defence and security forces, and we
agree that it is vital to end what the Prime Minister calls—with,
I have to say, a complete lack of self-awareness—an “era of
retreat”.
This is, however, a spending announcement without a strategy. The
Government have yet again pushed back vital parts of the
integrated review, but there is no clarity over their strategic
priorities. Then there is the question of money. How will this
announcement be paid for? Such is the Government’s handling of
the pandemic that the UK has had the sharpest economic downturn
of any G7 country. Next week, the Chancellor will have to come
here and set out the consequences of that. Can the Prime Minister
tell us today: will the commitments that he has made require
additional borrowing and tax rises—if so, which ones?—or will the
money have to come from other departmental budgets? In
particular, at the election last year, there was a very clear
Conservative party manifesto commitment
“to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI”
on international development. A straight question, Prime
Minister: are the Government going to keep to that manifesto
commitment? He must know that if he breaks it, that will not only
undermine public trust, but hugely weaken us on the global stage.
The Prime Minister spoke of an “era of retreat”—a really
interesting phrase, after a decade of Conservative government and
under-investment in our armed forces. I remind the House that
defence spending has fallen by more than £8 billion in real terms
over the past 10 years. Over the same period, UK regular forces
have decreased by a quarter, and on top of that, the National
Audit Office estimates that there is a black hole of up to £13
billion in the MOD equipment plan. The additional funding
announced today is on foundations that have been seriously
weakened over the past 10 years.
Let me come to a point that is very important to our armed forces
personnel. Can the Prime Minister tell us whether there will be
any further cuts to the size of our armed forces over the period
of this spending review?
There are a number of other holes in the Prime Minister’s plan.
With less than six weeks to go until the end of the transition
period, there is still no clarity about the direction of our
post-Brexit foreign or trade policy. The Government have not yet
rolled over existing trade agreements with 15 countries—deals
worth up to £80 billion of trade a year. The Prime Minister
speaks of tackling global security threats and improving cyber
capability—that is all welcome, and we welcome it—but four months
after the Intelligence and Security Committee published its
report concluding that Russia posed, in its words,
“an immediate and urgent threat to our national security”,
can the Prime Minister tell us why he has still not acted on that
or followed through on the Committee’s recommendations? When will
he do so?
There was very little beyond warm words about how the UK will
lead the global efforts against the biggest threat we face: the
international climate emergency. The COP26 conference is a
once-in-a-generation opportunity, but the Committee on Climate
Change says that the UK’s domestic measures
“are not making adequate progress in preparing for climate
change.”
Yesterday’s announcement—another press release without a
strategy—will do nothing to address that.
This is a time of huge global uncertainty. It is time for Britain
to emerge from a decade of decline. I know that the Prime
Minister is always keen to talk about the bits of government that
he enjoys—big announcements, space programmes, moonshots—but this
statement shows that the Government still lack a clear strategy,
a coherent vision for Britain in the world or any idea of how the
promises that the Prime Minister makes will actually be
delivered.
The Prime Minister ()
Of all the humbug that I have heard from the right hon. and
learned Gentleman, that really takes the cake. This is a man who
campaigned until December last year to install in government a
Prime Minister who wanted to scrap our armed services and pull
out of NATO, and his own record of support for our armed services
is very thin indeed.
I am glad that the right hon. and learned Gentleman now welcomes
this package, although his comments scarcely do it justice. This
is the biggest package of support for our armed services since
the end of the cold war. It bears absolutely no relation to
discussions about overseas aid. This House and this country
should be incredibly proud of what Britain does to support people
around the world. Under any view, this country is, has been and
will remain one of the biggest contributors to aid of any country
on earth. I am proud of that, and I am proud that this package
will help to deliver 40,000 jobs around the UK.
The Conservative party fundamentally believes in defence of the
realm, supporting our armed forces and ensuring that the country
as a whole is strong and able to project our strength around the
world. It is notable that, in government, we have instituted such
extra protections for the armed services as wraparound childcare
for armed services families and, by the way, protection for our
veterans and their families from the misery of continual
vexatious prosecution by well-paid lawyers long after the alleged
crimes were committed and with no new evidence provided. The
Opposition, under the leadership of the right hon. and learned
Gentleman, refused to vote in favour of the Overseas Operations
(Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, which will give veterans
that protection and reassurance.
I do not think I have heard so much phoney stuff from the right
hon. and learned Gentleman in all the time that we have faced
each other. This is a guy who campaigned actively to install in
government somebody who wanted to break up our armed forces and
pull out of NATO. I do not know what he was thinking. He never
mentioned his support for the armed services then, and frankly I
do not attach much credence to it now.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I call the Chair of the Defence Committee.
(Bournemouth East) (Con)
I welcome the commitment to significantly upgrade our defence
posture, for which the Prime Minister knows I, the Defence
Committee and others in this House have been calling for some
time. I also welcome his honesty in recognising that the UK, and
indeed the west, has become too risk-averse in standing up to
some of the threats we face. I recall my frustration as a Foreign
Office and Defence Minister in wanting Britain to play a more
assertive and proactive role on the international stage, not only
with our hard and soft power but with our thought leadership.
However, there was ever less appetite to do so, so I very much
welcome this statement today.
Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that, as we take on
the presidency of the G7, we will work closely with the new US
Administration in boosting western resolve to confront a growing
number of hostile competitors, including China, who have for too
long been allowed to pursue their own destabilising and competing
agendas?
The Prime Minister
I thank my right hon. Friend; he is completely right. This
package will encourage and bolster our friends and alliances
around the world and enable the UK to project global influence
into the future. That is why it is a multi-year package. I do not
think that anybody around the world will doubt, after this
announcement, our commitment to NATO, to the transatlantic
alliance and to the security of our friends and allies around the
world.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I call the leader of the Scottish National party.
(Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)
I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement.
In the SNP, we support a refocusing on the contemporary threats
that we face. We need to readjust our defence capabilities for
the modern world and it is especially important that a focus is
given to issues such as cyber-security, but what we do not accept
are the priorities of this Government and the threat of the
disbanding of historic regiments such as the Black Watch.
Disbanding the Black Watch would show that the promises made to
Scotland during the Scottish independence campaign have been
broken, buried and forgotten by this Government. We were promised
12,500 personnel stationed permanently in Scotland; the number
remains well below 10,000. Such broken promises not only mean
fewer jobs in Scotland, but undermine Scotland’s security
interests. Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money are still being
spent on Trident nuclear weapons. Scotland remains overwhelmingly
opposed to weapons of mass destruction on the Clyde. We need to
respond to today’s challenges rather than on vanity projects.
The SNP also has serious reservations regarding such a windfall
to defence spending during these unprecedented times of hardship
for so many. This review will reportedly see the UK as Europe’s
biggest defence spender, when just three weeks ago this
Government refused to provide free school meals for children
during the holidays. We have learned that the UK Government are
considering cutting the overseas aid budget by billions of
pounds. The Prime Minister may use the term “global Britain”, but
on these Benches we believe the Prime Minister has his priorities
all wrong. The Tories have closed the Department for
International Development, one of the most successful Departments
of Government, in order to politicise instead of focusing it on
sustainable development goals.
In our submission to the integrated defence review, we have put
forward sensible suggestions on how to meet the modern-day threat
picture, but not to the detriment of our historic regiments in
Scotland. I ask the Prime Minister today: will he rule out
scrapping the Black Watch—[Interruption]—and cuts to
international aid spending? [Interruption.] It is an absolute
disgrace, in the face of the threats, that we get contempt yet
again from the Defence Secretary and his colleagues on the Tory
Benches. It is shameful, and he really ought to grow up and show
some respect to the regiments of Scotland.
With independence, Scotland can have a foreign policy that
reflects our values and interests and a defence capability that
matches capabilities to threats. With our submission to this
review, we are looking to play a constructive role in informing
UK policy, but we will be setting out how Scotland can play a
full role as a normal, law-abiding and values-driven independent
country on the world stage.
The Prime Minister
I can certainly give the right hon. Gentleman that guarantee.
Once again, he seems to be a veritable geezer of confected
indignation. Of course we are going to guarantee the Black Watch.
DFID will remain in East Kilbride, as long as he does not
continue with his ambitions to break up the United Kingdom; and
even if he does, DFID will remain in East Kilbride.
It is preposterous to listen to the Scottish National party
talking about its desire to support defence spending when
everybody knows fine well that it is thanks to UK-wide
investments that we are able to deliver not just the Black Watch
and DFID in East Kilbride, but a fantastic programme of
shipbuilding in Govan and Rosyth. Under his plans, it is not just
that there will be no deterrent; there will be no shipbuilding
and there will be no Black Watch in the land of the SNP. That is
the reality.
(North
Somerset) (Con)
May I say to my right hon. Friend that this statement smacks not
only of promises kept, but of promises exceeded? I congratulate
him on that. Does he accept that in an era when global
cyber-attacks threaten our entire way of life—from the economy to
the NHS—we need to spend more of our defence budget on assets
that we cannot see as well as on updating our core assets, and
that that needs to be clearly explained to the British people? In
this war of the invisible enemy, does he believe that cyber
doctrine has evolved to match our capabilities, especially on
existential threats, in order to provide adequate deterrence?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is an expert on what he is talking about. I
can tell him that the National Cyber Force is working on doctrine
that is currently evolving, but we will deploy our cyber
capabilities, as I am sure he and the House would expect, in
accordance with international law to protect the British public
and our citizens.
(Kingston and Surbiton) (LD) [V]
We all owe an enormous debt to the brave men and women of our
armed forces and security services for their work in keeping our
country safe. We will give the review the study it merits, but I
immediately welcome the extra investment in cyber-security so
that Cheltenham’s GCHQ and the amazing people who work there can
continue to ensure the UK remains a world leader in this crucial
aspect of modern defence. With data and cyber so important to
modern defence, the Prime Minister will know that access for our
security services and police to European crime databases is vital
to keeping the British people safe. Can the Prime Minister
guarantee that we will retain direct, real-time access to all
European databases after 1 January?
The Prime Minister
We will make sure that we have all the co-operation. I thank the
right hon. Gentleman for his point, which is a very important
one, and I agree with him on what he says about GCHQ and
Cheltenham. I am assured that we will be able to maintain all the
co-operation and collaboration we need to protect our people and
our citizens, not just with our European friends and partners,
but with Five Eyes and other allies and friends around the world.
(Sutton
Coldfield) (Con)
My right hon. Friend has delivered for our armed forces today and
he deserves the support of the whole House, particularly as he
seeks to improve the procurement mechanisms of the Ministry of
Defence. Will he bear in mind the wise words of General Mattis,
the former US Defence Secretary, who told Donald Trump that the
more you cut aid, the more I have to spend on ammunition?
Britain’s development leadership—standing by our promise to the
poorest by keeping the 0.7%, which was a manifesto
commitment—will stand my right hon. Friend in very good stead as
he assumes the chairmanship of the G7 on 1 January and promotes
the important values of global Britain.
The Prime Minister
I am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s points. He has done
extraordinary work to champion the poorest and neediest around
the world. This country, as I say, can be very proud of our
record on overseas aid. We will continue to lead the world on
that under this Government. What I can say is that this statement
is about our defence and security, and there is no read-across to
any other issue. This is driven by our need to protect the
British public and keep the world as safe as we possibly can, and
to unite and level up across our Union with 40,000 more jobs.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Prime Minister for his commitment to the whole of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Will he
confirm that while the goal is speed, readiness and resilience,
as opposed to mass mobilisation, for the British armed forces to
remain the best in the world the training of personnel must be a
top priority to ensure that while we are ready for technological
warfare, we also remain ready for physical forms of war? How will
the review of recruitment procedures secure that very goal?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. The defence
review will ensure that we remain full spectrum capable. I think
that is the phrase the House should use: full spectrum capable.
(Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]
I strongly welcome and support my right hon. Friend’s statement.
We live in difficult times, but, as he states, the defence of the
realm must always remain a top priority. The announcement will be
warmly welcomed by so many British businesses who rely heavily on
our defence industry. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that this
will safeguard jobs, helping us to build back and level up
opportunity across our nation?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is completely right. We will use this
defence package and spending review not just to modernise and
update our armed forces in a truly revolutionary way but to drive
jobs across the whole of the UK. It is a very exciting prospect.
(Warley)
(Lab)
If this boost for defence spending is the first fruits of the
departure of , it is most welcome, especially in ensuring that we
can continue to work effectively alongside our long-term allies
and partners including the United States—even more so with the
welcome arrival of President Biden. Will the Prime Minister
ensure that, wherever possible, spending is directed to firms in
the UK and that orders are pulled forward to get British industry
moving? He can start with the fleet solid support ships by
telling the Ministry of Defence to send out the invitations to
bid not in some ill-defined spring as the MOD says, but early in
2021. That would be a welcome Christmas present and new year
message not only for our shipyards but for our engineering and
steel industries and their communities.
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman speaks for many in what he says about
the fleet solid support ships—he certainly speaks for me. This is
a great moment for shipbuilding in this country. Be in no doubt
of the ambition of my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary,
the shipbuilding tsar who is now leading a renaissance in
shipbuilding. I am sure he heard the right hon. Gentleman’s
points loud and clear.
(Bishop Auckland) (Con)
I welcome in the strongest possible terms the incredible
announcement from the Prime Minister. Before joining this place,
I worked for a County Durham start-up in research and development
and saw at first hand the incredible value that R&D brings to
society, particularly when tech is developed that can be applied
to other uses. I have no doubt that investing in military R&D
will lead to advancements for civilian applications in areas such
as aviation and autonomous vehicles. Indeed, the technology that
allows us to see the Prime Minister beamed on to our screens
today first came from a military communication innovation. Will
my right hon. Friend confirm that this package of funding will be
underpinned by a strong commitment to military research and
development?
The Prime Minister
I can indeed. There is big, big chunk of this package
specifically dedicated to research and development in cyber, AI
and drone warfare—all the warfare of the future. The victors of
the future will be those who are able to master data and new
technology in the way that this package supports.
(Rotherham) (Lab) [V]
I really welcome this commitment to our armed forces. The Prime
Minister spoke in his statement about defending our people and
keeping the world safe, which I would argue are development
objectives, thinking specifically about climate change, food
security, creating stable Governments and investing to end
violence against women and girls. How will he ensure that
development remains front and centre of the UK’s new
international policy following the integrated review? Will he
please quash rumours and confirm his manifesto commitment to the
0.7% both now and going forwards?
The Prime Minister
As I have said several times to the House, we can all be proud of
our record on overseas aid, and that will continue, but it is
also by investing in our armed services that we can do some of
the greatest things for the poorest and neediest people around
the world. I have often found, when travelling around the world
to countries in real distress, that the single export they crave
the most is the help, reassurance and security that comes from
the British armed services. That is one of the reasons why
helping to keep our world safe is a huge part of this agenda.
(Milton Keynes North) (Con)
Our armed forces have played a crucial role in our response to
the pandemic, not least in setting up and scaling the mega lab in
Milton Keynes. Looking beyond Milton Keynes to the world, does
the Prime Minister agree that this investment sends a huge
message to our friends and allies around the world that Britain
is serious about security, and to those who would do us harm and
threaten the security of our people and our nation that Britain
is serious about defending our people, our businesses, our
economy and our values?
The Prime Minister
That is exactly the purpose of this announcement. It is a
long-term plan that allows us to reform our defences. They must
be reformed and they must be improved, while allowing us to
project force and stability around the world. That is what it is
designed to do. It simultaneously creates tens of thousands of
jobs across the whole of the United Kingdom. So it has a big
economic benefit as well.
(Barnsley Central) (Lab) [V]
I welcome the commitment to additional future funding, but we
should not forget that British boots are on the ground in
Afghanistan today. A consequence of President Trump’s threat to
reduce troop numbers would be that the UK needed to play a
greater role in building peace, security and resilience. So does
the UK stand ready to meet that challenge and ensure that the
people of Afghanistan are afforded the opportunity of a more
peaceful and prosperous future?
The Prime Minister
I thank the hon. Gentleman and I recognise and admire the service
that he has given to this country in our armed forces. He is
completely right to point to the issue of a proposed potential
American draw-down in those areas. We are watching it very
closely, and we will be working with our American friends in the
new Administration to do whatever we can to protect the stability
and security of those troubled countries.
(New Forest
East) (Ind) [V]
Thankfully, the Prime Minister is fulfilling his leadership
election promise on defence spending. Given that the National
Cyber Force formally announced today involves offensive cyber
operations, I welcome the fact that the ISC will provide
oversight of this joint MOD-GCHQ venture. Is my right hon. Friend
fully satisfied that the ISC is now properly constituted to
conduct this scrutiny impartially and independently?
The Prime Minister
Yes. I believe that the Intelligence and Security Committee is
well equipped to provide exactly that further layer of scrutiny
of cyber operations.
(Midlothian) (SNP) [V]
The Prime Minister has outlined his ambition for a space control
to secure space launch capability from the UK, but concerns have
been raised by some in the UK-based space industry about the
recently published US-UK technology safeguards agreement, which
has not yet been scrutinised by this place. What guarantee can
the Prime Minister give the UK-based industry that it will be
central to any space programme, and will he meet me to discuss
this in more detail?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman raises an important and interesting issue. I
will do my best to ensure that his concerns are addressed and
that the House is able to look at all the technology safeguard
measures that we are putting in place. That is obviously right.
(Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)
First, may I hugely welcome this announcement? It is a fantastic
statement of resolve for the UK at home and abroad. It does more
than guarantee the future of the Black Watch. It invests in
businesses from Arbroath all the way to Abergavenny. It is a
fantastic statement of the defence capability of our nation—of a
whole United Kingdom. It also raises questions. This spending
package is enormously important because it allows the planners to
think about the future confident in the money that they will have
to spend. Will my right hon. Friend commit to bringing forward as
soon as possible the integrated review so that we have a
strategic approach to that spending? This time, we cannot
outspend the communists; we have to out-think them.
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is spot on. What this package does is set out much
of the basic structure of the integrated review. We can start to
see the tools that we will be using, but we will shortly be
completing the review. He is absolutely right in his fundamental
point that this is about having smarter forces to outwit our
foes. Every time the UK has been asked to do that, we have always
historically risen to that challenge. This will give us the tools
to do it.
(Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD) [V]
As a Scottish MP, I have no doubt as to the vital role that
Scotland plays in the defence of the realm. When we think about
the recruitment of personnel, as the Prime Minister mentioned,
establishments such as Rosyth and RAF Lossiemouth are great
examples. On 7 September 1921, the Cabinet met outside London for
the very first time in history. This was to consider the Irish
crisis and it met in the Town House in Inverness. May I suggest
that the UK Cabinet meet again in the Inverness Town House on 7
September next year? This would be to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the 1921 meeting and to enable the Prime Minister
and the Cabinet to review the defence of the UK by visiting
places such as RAF Lossiemouth, and perhaps also to learn about
the great role that our armed forces played, and play right now,
in beating the covid pandemic?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman makes an incredibly important point about the
role of our armed services in beating the covid pandemic, which I
should have made earlier on myself. I was up in Scotland—actually
in Lossiemouth—talking to members of our armed services who are
doing the testing and helping to fly patients from remote islands
to hospitals. It was wonderful to see the way that the UK armed
services have helped during this pandemic, Mr Speaker/Madam
Deputy Speaker—I am sorry but I can hardly see you down there
with the TV screen here. What I can say is that I will keep very
closely in mind the hon. Gentleman’s invitation to come to
Inverness for a Cabinet meeting next year. We will study that
with interest.
(Wellingborough)
(Con) [V]
It was a great pleasure in the previous business to praise the
Prime Minister for his leadership in delivering Brexit. It is
also great to be able to praise the Prime Minister’s leadership
in delivering this multi-year settlement for our wonderful men
and women of our armed forces. Would he like to thank all those
officials and civil servants in the Ministry of Defence and all
the armed forces who have worked many hours to help deliver this
multi-year settlement? In particular, would he like to thank the
Secretary of State for Defence whose robust work on this has
helped to ensure that we have come to this point and delivered
for our armed forces?
The Prime Minister
It is always a pleasure to thank my right hon. Friend the
Secretary of State for Defence whom I have known for many, many
years and is a good friend of mine. He is supported, as my hon.
Friend rightly said, by thousands of brilliant officials, to say
nothing of the members of our wonderful armed services who have
helped to make this package what it is. I believe that it will
deliver for our people and deliver for our country for years and
years to come.
(Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)
In the mid-‘90s, the UK was one of the largest contributors to UN
peacekeeping missions in terms of troops and personnel. Now we
have only 600 personnel worldwide whom we contribute. Will this
budget turn that around and take us back to our proud tradition
of peacekeeping troops, and will the Prime Minister commit to
ensuring that the 0.7% is not devalued at all in this wider
review?
The Prime Minister
One reason why I am so excited about going up to 2.2% of our
spending on defence, as the hon. Gentleman points out, is that it
will allow us to do more on peacekeeping. By the way, he is right
to draw attention to the fact that the UK could do more on
peacekeeping. I am proud of what we are doing, for instance, in
Mali, but this programme, this investment, gives us the scope to
do even more.
(Dudley North) (Con) [V]
This is a hugely important announcement, which, as a member of
the Armed Forces Parliamentary Trust, I know will be much
welcomed by our armed forces. Will my right hon. Friend confirm
that it will in fact strengthen our global influence and secure
jobs across a range of supply chain industries, some of which are
located across the Dudley borough and the Black Country?
The Prime Minister
Yes, indeed. This will be big for the Black Country. The west
midlands, once again, is at the cutting edge of technological
change and the new industrial revolution. The technologies that
we will need and that are foreseen in this spending package will
certainly drive jobs in the west midlands and around the whole
UK.
(Stockport) (Lab)
Britain is the penholder for Yemen at the UN Security Council,
with the responsibility to support the peace process and a real
opportunity to show global Britain at its best, but will the
Prime Minister tell us why his Government have resumed
indefensible arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which has credibly been
accused of human rights violations that may amount to war crimes?
The Prime Minister
Under the consolidated guidance, we have some of the strictest
rules about exports of weapons to any country in the world.
Everything is closely overseen and scrutinised by our lawyers,
and, indeed, judicially reviewed. I am content that we are doing
everything in accordance with the law and in accordance with
humanitarian law.
(Newcastle
upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
I very much welcome this increased commitment to invest in our
armed forces, though to pay for it by reducing the commitment to
global peace, which our overseas aid budget represents, would be
a mistake. How is the Prime Minister going to ensure that jobs
are created across the country through this investment?
Innovative, high-tech businesses in Newcastle tell me that it is
easier to secure a contract with the American Department of
Defence than with the British Ministry of Defence, so what is he
doing to improve procurement opportunities for small businesses?
The Prime Minister
I am interested that the hon. Member says that, because, as I
recall, one cannot even sell rulers or paperclips to the US
military under the Pentagon’s procurement policies; but I may be
in error. The hon. Member makes an important point about the need
to source as much as we can from the UK. That is obviously what
we are going to do. It is a big opportunity to buy British, to
stimulate jobs and technology, and to drive jobs across the UK,
and I have no doubt that Newcastle and the north-east will be big
beneficiaries.
(Haltemprice and Howden) (Con) [V]
May I say to the Prime Minister that this is the best and most
intelligent defence statement that I have heard in a quarter of a
century in the House of Commons? Will he assuage, however, two
concerns that I have? The first is that it appears that the
numerical size of the armed forces is still on a downward trend.
The evidence of recent wars—most recently in Nagorno-Karabakh—is
that the route to success is through both novel technology and
conventional forces. How are we going to cope with that?
Secondly, since the era of the , the MOD
has not been very good at managing big, expensive projects. What
are we going to do about that?
The Prime Minister
First of all, it is important to understand that there are no
redundancies in this package. My right hon. Friend is right about
the need to maintain full spectrum, and that is what this does.
We also have to fight the wars of the future—to adapt and change.
That is what this package allows us to do; it permits us to
modernise. My right hon. Friend’s final point is a very important
one. We are going to be following this with a very beady eye.
There have been historic overspends and historic mistakes in
procurement—some painful episodes that we do not need to go into,
in which investments have not turned out well. We are setting up
a unit to ensure that we get value out of this massive package.
(Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
There is much to welcome about the investment in our armed forces
in this statement. The Prime Minister will be aware that in the
last month, we have seen atrocities against civilians in Nigeria,
jihadis on the rise in the Sahel and Mozambique, attacks on
democracy in Uganda and Tanzania and now a spiralling conflict in
Ethiopia, with huge refugee flows, attacks on civilians and the
destabilising of the region. On that specific issue, will the
Prime Minister say what he is doing now to seek an urgent
de-escalation in Ethiopia and humanitarian access? More widely,
given his statement today, what role does he see for us as a
partner for peace, development and security in Africa, not least
given the crucial role that the 0.7% commitment has played, as
the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) set out
so clearly?
The Prime Minister
We have made representations to the Government in Addis Ababa to
de-escalate in Ethiopia. We continue to make our points with
them. This package will help us to step up our commitment to
Africa and, as the hon. Gentleman may recall, when I was Foreign
Secretary and now under my right hon. Friend the Foreign
Secretary, we are opening up embassies, opening up UK
representation across Africa, and this package will help us to
support that.
(Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)
I thank both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor for finding a
way to provide this long-term financial stability for defence,
despite the huge financial pressures that covid has brought upon
us this year. Getting our defence funding on a sound footing
affords us the chance to ensure that it can be genuinely
resilient, so does the Prime Minister agree that ensuring that we
get going at pace on the shipbuilding commitments he has set out
is critical not only for the next generation of Royal Navy ships
to be in service as soon as possible, but because the UK, in
building ships and boats across the four nations of the Union
that they defend, can lead the world in adapting to green
maritime technologies?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is completely right because not only are we
massively expanding shipbuilding with the two frigate production
lines that I have described, the five Type 31s at Rosyth and the
six Type 26s in Govan, and we are also committed to the Type 32,
but we want to be in the lead globally—as she and I have
discussed, and I thank her for all the work she has done to
champion shipbuilding and the Royal Navy—in clean, green marine
technologies so that our ships are also emitting less carbon.
That is perfectly feasible.
(Glenrothes) (SNP) [V]
The Prime Minister has announced an additional increase of just
over £4 billion a year in the defence budget. Meanwhile, the
Ministry of Defence admits that it already has a £6 billion
budget shortfall in its equipment plan. That shortfall could rise
to as much as £13 billion over the lifetime of the plan, so will
the Prime Minister tell us what he thinks the MOD’s equipment
budget shortfall will be at the end of the four-year period
covered by his statement today?
The Prime Minister
As I say, this is the biggest increase in defence spending since
the cold war. It gives us a long-term ability to reform, but it
also delivers more ships, cyber, artificial intelligence, drone
technology and the future combat air system, which will be
absolutely vital to this country—all of it creating 40,000 jobs
across the UK, so this is a big step forward for our whole
country.
(Blackpool South) (Con)
I warmly welcome this statement from the Prime Minister and his
continuing commitment to strengthening our defence capabilities.
I am sure he will agree that is vital that other NATO members
also fulfil their obligations with regard to spending 2% of their
GDP on defence by 2024. What steps are the Government taking to
ensure that other members of the alliance fulfil their
obligations to increase their defence spending?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is completely right, and we never tire of telling
other NATO colleagues that they need to increase their defence
spending for the good of the whole alliance. We will continue to
make that case, but we are doing the most powerful thing—that is,
setting a fantastic example ourselves with 2.2%. This is
something that will not only help to drive jobs and prosperity in
the UK and protect the people of the UK, but help to make the
world safer.
(City of Durham) (Lab)
In June this year, the Prime Minister abolished the Department
for International Development, telling me and the House that
there had been
“massive consultation over a long period”—[Official Report, 16
June 2020; Vol. 677, c. 678]—
with aid organisations prior to making the decision. Since then,
around 200 aid organisations and his own Secretary of State have
contradicted that. Can the Prime Minister provide evidence that
this consultation took place prior to making the decision, or
will he finally apologise for misleading the House?
The Prime Minister
We are in daily contact and communication with the aid
organisations that have benefited from the many billions of
pounds that the UK contributes to international development—more
than virtually any other country. We will continue to do that,
and we will continue to work with those organisations on the
ground.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I am sure the hon. Lady meant “inadvertently” misleading the
House.
indicated assent.
(Amber Valley)
(Con) [V]
I welcome this statement and the increased investment. The Prime
Minister has rightly set out the importance of spending this
money wisely and efficiently and buying as much from British
suppliers as we can. Can he bring forward revised public sector
procurement rules that apply right across public spending, so
that we can achieve both those welcome objectives?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes an interesting suggestion. As I said in
answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and
Howden (Mr Davis), we want to make sure that this money is well
spent. We are going to scrutinise it very carefully. Normally,
defence spending is outwith most OJEU—Official Journal of the
European Union—procurement rules, but we will make sure that we
procure all this in the UK in so far as we possibly can and use
it to drive jobs and growth, and that means spending it wisely.
(Slough) (Lab)
With the Conservatives having been in power for over a decade, it
is ironic that the Prime Minister has just referred to coming out
of an era of retreat and decline, since he has helped to
facilitate huge cuts to spending on defence and our brave armed
forces. The Government rightly sanctioned Russia for its
annexation of Crimea and the appalling chemical weapons attack in
Salisbury, so why has the Prime Minister failed to address the
deep systemic failings in dealing with threats to our national
security identified by the Russia report?
The Prime Minister
I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is pretty indistinct from
here because of the size of the screen, but I think that that was
a question from the Labour Benches. It seems extraordinary that
complaints about not being tough enough on Russia are being
directed at the Government from Labour, which was led until only
a year ago by somebody who regularly appeared on Russian TV and
took Russia’s side in the Salisbury poisonings. We remain
absolutely determined to protect this country from threats from
all quarters, particularly from those who wish us ill. That is
why we are investing in cyber and our security in the way we are
today.
(South West Surrey) (Con) [V]
This is a fantastic announcement. The Prime Minister will
remember that in the leadership campaign last year, I said that
we should move towards spending 3% of our GDP on defence, so we
think exactly the same on this. May I urge him not to listen to
any voices in his ear that say the way to fund this is a
temporary cut in the 0.7% aid commitment? We spent a decade
winning the argument for that, and even a temporary cut will
create an enormous clamour of people who say that we should not
go back to it. In a year when 100 million more people have gone
into extreme poverty, I know that he would not want to send the
wrong signal out to the world about our values as a country.
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend and I think alike on so many of these
issues, and we think alike on this, too. This country can be
immensely proud, and he can be immensely proud of the leadership
he showed as Foreign Secretary on aid and development and in
championing the needs of the underprivileged around the world.
The UK, under any view, continues to do that. Look at what we
just did with the GAVI summit for global vaccines, raising $8
billion or $9 billion to spread vaccines around the world. We
lead the world in investing in epidemic preparedness and in so
many other ways. We will continue to do so, and the people of
this country will continue to be world leaders in giving aid. I
remember my right hon. Friend’s campaign to increase defence
funding—I listened to it very carefully. I thought he was right
at the time, and I am glad that we have been able to fulfil his
expectations now.
(East
Lothian) (SNP)
When the major threat is terrorism, largely homegrown and driven
by inequality and prejudice, and with other budgets being cut,
inequality rising and prejudice increasing, how will all the
king’s soldiers and all the king’s weaponry put further victims
together again?
The Prime Minister
I could not quite hear that question, Madam Deputy Speaker, but
the hon. Gentleman seemed to be saying that terrorism is somehow
caused by injustice in this country. I do not believe that to be
true.
(Ludlow) (Con) [V]
I very warmly welcome this material increase in the defence
budget and, in particular, the multi-year nature of the
settlement. A significant challenge in defence budgeting is the
stop-start nature of political decision making on multi-year
projects, so this statement will help to modernise the equipment
plan and get it back on track, which is welcome. Does the Prime
Minister agree that the United Kingdom can now fully take into
account the UK prosperity impact of defence procurement, and will
he do what he can to ensure that state aid issues and the
opportunity cost of making in the UK are fully recognised by the
Treasury?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend makes a really important point. This is a
big moment for us, because we can ensure that that these colossal
investments do drive jobs and growth in this country, and that is
what they are going to do. That is why I am so thrilled about the
announcements for shipbuilding in particular, but this is not
just about shipbuilding; it means new jobs in new technology in
all kinds of ways across the whole country.
(Glasgow South) (SNP) [V]
I can only assume that Conservative Members are awfully punch
drunk on the numbers, because what the Prime Minister has
effectively done is to rip up the integrated review by announcing
the spending before the review. Surely, the review is supposed to
inform the spending. Let me ask him a specific question about a
specific promise. At the last independence referendum, his party
promised 12,500 armed forces personnel permanently based in
Scotland. Will that promise be met by the time of the next
independence referendum?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman asks a very interesting question about a
hypothetical political event that is at least a generation away.
What I can say is that there is absolutely no threat to the Black
Watch, to DFID in East Kilbride or to any of the other fantastic
investments that this package brings to Scotland. It is a
fantastic thing for our country and for our Union.
(Basildon and
Billericay) (Con) [V]
This announcement is extremely welcome and one that I know, as an
ex-soldier, will be well received by our superb armed forces. My
right hon. Friend will know that the integrated review offers the
opportunity to consider Britain’s foreign policy assets in the
round, including its world-class soft power capabilities. Will he
therefore confirm that when the review is published, it will
reflect the recommendations of the recent British Council
all-party parliamentary group report and include a soft power
strategy at its core, with a central role for Britain’s primary
soft power assets, including the British Council?
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for that question, because he is right to
highlight the importance of soft power. Studies have shown that
we are among the biggest wielders of soft power in the world—we
are a soft-power superpower. That soft power has many components,
of which the British Council is one, but a robust, self-confident
defence policy that allows us to project strength around the
world is also hugely valuable. Hard power leads to soft power.
(Newport West) (Lab)
I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. Like many people
throughout Newport West, I welcome the election of Joe Biden as
President of the United States and Kamala Harris as the first
woman Vice-President. Will the Prime Minister tell us how he
explained, in his first phone call with President-elect Biden,
the actions of his Government’s undermining of the Good Friday
agreement?
The Prime Minister
What I said to President-elect Biden was how much I congratulated
him and Kamala Harris on their election and how much we look
forward to working together on a number of issues. On Northern
Ireland, I made the point that we both share the strong desire to
uphold the Good Friday agreement and the stability of Northern
Ireland and that that was the purpose of the United Kingdom
Internal Market Bill, but more importantly we talked about what
we were going to do not only to advance the cause of free trade,
international democracy around the world and human rights, but to
tackle climate change. It was a very good phone call.
(Reigate)
(Con) [V]
In welcoming the statement and strongly supporting the central
purpose of the integrated review of defence, diplomacy and
development to better defend free societies, I trust that my
right hon. Friend’s Government will continue to show global
leadership in supporting the rights of all people to that most
fundamental freedom to be themselves and to live their lives as
they wish. Does the opportunity of the integrated review enable
my right hon. Friend to make real the rhetorical commitment to
LGBT+ people globally, with the relatively modest sums needed
from the integrated budgets to deliver British leadership in
programmes that can make a massive difference to the lives of
hundreds of millions of people around the world, so that they can
enjoy the freedom to be themselves that Britons have? I wrote to
the Foreign Secretary on this issue on 4 September and 12
October; does the review now enable him to say yes to that
request?
The Prime Minister
Yes, it does. My hon. Friend raises a very important point that
is close to my heart. I argue with countries around the world
that repress LGBT rights and do not see things the way that we do
in this country that they are making not just a profound social
and moral mistake but an economic mistake. Our attitude to those
issues and the way we have advanced LGBT rights in this country
is of huge value to the lives of people in this country—to
people’s happiness and their willingness to come to live here,
invest here and make their lives here. It makes a huge
difference. That is the point that I make to friends and partners
around the world, and we will continue to do so under this
review—that is certainly part of it. I seem to remember that when
I was Foreign Secretary, one of the first things I did was to
make sure that all our embassies around the world felt able to
fly the multicoloured LGBT flag wherever they wanted to.
(Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab) [V]
I am really pleased to hear the Prime Minister recognise the
excellent work that the armed forces have been doing throughout
this pandemic. I am hoping that the Prime Minister will make some
of those excellent armed forces personnel available to Hull and
East Riding to assistance us during the awful time we are facing
right now with our health emergency.
The Prime Minister
Yes, indeed. The hon. Lady makes a really good point and a good
request, because we are looking at what we can do with our armed
services to ramp up and roll out the lateral flow mass
testing—the rapid turnaround test that people, I hope, are
starting to be aware of. We are looking for places to trial that
in addition to what we have done in Liverpool, and the armed
services will certainly be playing a part in that.
(Bassetlaw) (Con) [V]
I wholeheartedly welcome not only the Prime Minister’s commitment
to increasing defence spending but the investment in new military
technology. I have companies in my constituency such as Drone
Defence in Retford who specialise in innovative drone technology.
May I invite the Prime Minister to visit Drone Defence and show
our commitment that British companies such as this will be at the
forefront of this investment? Does he agree that this is not just
an investment in our nation’s defence but also in local
high-skilled jobs?
The Prime Minister
I am absolutely thrilled to hear about the company my hon. Friend
raises, Drone Defence. I understand that it has also been able to
take on some new young employees through the kickstart scheme,
and that is great. These are exactly the kinds of cutting-edge
companies that we are going to be supporting, but also many, many
other types of industry and business across the country. I
certainly look forward to coming to see him in Bassetlaw, where I
think we have good news on the hospital as well.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
We will have a three-minute suspension to allow safe exit and
entry of hon. and right hon. Members.
