Topical Questions

Answer from Ben Wallace

One part of the 77th Brigade's role is to challenge disinformation, not opinion—its role is not to monitor or counter opinion, as that is about the freedom we all enjoy in our society. The 77th Brigade is on the lookout for media manipulation of misinformation or lies from abroad, and where that is found, it is flagged to the appropriate authorities.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I completely concur with my right hon. Friend. Defence is not a discretionary spend and not an add-on; it is a core function of any state and especially of this Government. I have been very grateful since 2020 that we have turned the corner on this and started to rebuild that momentum.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his support for AUKUS, which is a decades-long commitment. One of the most important works we are doing—and we met in the Pentagon in December—is clearing away the International Traffic in Arms Regulations challenges that for so many years have held us back in being able to share our own technology with the United States or to collaborate properly to make a step change to give us the strategic advantage we need.

Answer from Ben Wallace

My hon. Friend is incredibly right to point out how important France is to us. It is our main partner in Europe. A partnership on which we worked was more of the CJEF—the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force—where we work with them, training and exercising together; there is more work on complex weapons through MBDA, which is a great international consortium with factories in Bolton and Stevenage.

Answer from Ben Wallace

I would point constituents to the 2010 National Audit Office report on Labour's Government, which highlighted issues with aircraft carrier contracts. Additionally, the Public Accounts Committee under the right hon. Member for Barking (Dame Margaret Hodge) noted delays and cancellations in land systems programmes that resulted in capability gaps until 2025.

Answer from Alex Chalk

I thank my right hon. Friend for his concern; the Sheldon review is independent, provided an initial draft to the MOD in January, and is currently undergoing fact-checking and Maxwellisation exercises. Once received by the Department, it will be published promptly with a statement to the House.

Answer from Ben Wallace

Firstly, I am not sure where the hon. Gentleman gets that we will not get the 3% to avoid cuts; our equipment programme and envelope are on track subject to inflation pressures and operational commitments. We have had extra £560 million for restocking ammunition and other commitments from the Treasury.

Answer from Alex Chalk

My hon. Friend champions SMEs, which are crucial for a vibrant and flexible UK defence industry; the Department helps find and fund exploitable ideas from SMEs; there is no contradiction between ESG principles and defence industry needs.

Answer from Andrew Murrison

I recently set up a joint committee chaired by myself and the Nepalese ambassador to consider outstanding Gurkha welfare issues; retrospective pension changes have been through multiple judicial institutions, with UK Government positions upheld; I am keen to ensure we do everything possible to support Gurkhas' welfare.

Answer from Ben Wallace

The Chancellor and Prime Minister recognised Defence would need more spending; they already gave us an extra £24 billion; I need to ensure we lock in this spending at future comprehensive spending reviews for long-term planning.

Answer from Ben Wallace

Maybe the hon. Gentleman cannot hear: I did not say “13”; I said there had been “30” years of hollowing out, which includes his last Government, a Government I served under as a soldier. His Government spent a lot of money going to war in the middle east, which hollowed us out too, because we were not properly refunded.

Answer from Ben Wallace

In the UK, we have thousands of British armed forces, joined by Canadians, Norwegians, Dutch, Swedish, Lithuanians, Australians and New Zealanders—endless numbers of people—helping the Ukrainians with that training. We ensure that not only do they train there, but when they go to somewhere such as Germany they get combined arms training. It is important that training accompanies equipment and, where we have had feedback, we have corrected the training as well.

Answer from Ben Wallace

As a Tory, you think about resigning most of the time—over the years. I am interested in trying to deliver for the men and women of our armed forces. I went into politics because the men and women of the armed forces needed and deserved better, and I am determined to try to stick that through.

Answer from Andrew Murrison

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend's service with the VAPC. Like me, she has been to Norcross and seen the extraordinary files of paperwork. There is no way that we can provide the 21st-century service that our veterans deserve while things are in that state, so the £40 million digitalisation—though it may sound banal—will most certainly make a huge difference.