Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Ukraine: Support for NATO Allies

Monday 7 November 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The United Kingdom temporarily doubled its enhanced forward presence battlegroup in Estonia and deployed an aviation taskforce to Lithuania in support of NATO allies.
  • Chris Clarkson's right hon. Friend noted that Russia's invasion has reinvigorated NATO and restored the purpose of Article 5.
  • Luke Pollard questioned the logic of cutting the Army further amid increased hostility towards Ukraine and NATO allies.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chris Clarkson
Ukraine Foreign Affairs
Context

The question pertains to the UK's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its support for NATO allies.

Question

What steps is his Department taking to support NATO allies in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

Answer from James Heappey

The United Kingdom has provided substantial support to NATO allies. We temporarily doubled our enhanced forward presence battlegroup in Estonia, with additional enhancements to that battlegroup planned for the longer term. We deployed an aviation taskforce to Lithuania, are contributing to NATO air activity across Europe, are supporting air-to-air refuelling and have bolstered our presence in Poland, as well as Army activity in Bulgaria and Romania.

Answered
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Q2 Chris Clarkson
Defence Foreign Affairs
Context

The question follows up on the previous one, focusing on the UK's commitment to defend every inch of NATO territory including Sweden and Finland.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that our increased deployments show that we remain fully committed to defending every inch of NATO territory, as well as Sweden and Finland?

Answer from James Heappey

My hon. Friend invites me to make two points. First, one of Putin's greatest failures of the past nine months is how he has reinvigorated the NATO alliance and restored the raison d'être of article 5. Secondly, through their work with many of our allies across the Baltic, the Nordic countries and the high north, our armed forces increasingly have environmental expertise on NATO's northern flank.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner asked for explicit agreement but the answer provided general statements about the reinvigoration of NATO without confirming direct commitment to Sweden and Finland.

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Q3 Luke Pollard Labour (Co-op) Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Ukraine Defence
Context

The question addresses the impact of Ukraine's invasion on NATO members' defence plans, specifically questioning the necessity of further Army cuts.

Question

Would it not be absurd to cut the Army any further when Ukraine and our NATO allies are facing such clear and rising hostility? Can he tell us which cuts he wants to reverse?

Answer from James Heappey

The integrated review is indeed being refreshed—quite rightly, because in the past nine months we have seen war in Europe and growing belligerence by China in the far east. Exactly what the shape of our nation's armed forces must look like must be a consequence of those new threats.

Not addressed: The questioner asked about specific cuts to reverse but the answer provided context for refreshing the integrated review without addressing specific Army cuts.

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