Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

National Security

Thursday 25 April 2024 · 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 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK Department is increasing defence spending by 75 billion over six years to strengthen national security.
  • UK Government is addressing threats from China through actions like attributing attacks to China and imposing sanctions.
  • Department is assessing risks posed by deepfakes and misinformation in upcoming elections and developing strategies to defend against them.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mike Amesbury Lab
Defence Community Security
Context

The question stems from a context where the government has announced increased defence spending to strengthen national security.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to strengthen national security. The Prime Minister recently announced a fully funded plan to increase our defence spending by £75 billion over six years, building on existing resilience frameworks and integrated review to address evolving threats.

Answer from Oliver Dowden

Protecting national security is our first duty. We are increasing defence spending by £75 billion over six years, bringing forward a national defence and resilience plan, building on the resilience framework and integrated review to respond to evolving threats. The Cabinet Office co-ordinates strategy through Cobra, resilience directorates and the National Security Council.

Answered
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Q2 Mike Amesbury Lab
Foreign Affairs
Context

Following arrests in Germany and the UK related to spying for China, a report by the Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that there is no government strategy or whole-system approach to address this threat.

Question

In light of recent arrests and the IS Committee's findings, when will the Minister develop a comprehensive strategy to address the serious threat posed by China?

Answer from Oliver Dowden

We dealt with this in both the integrated review and its refresh, which outlined a co-ordinated approach. We are taking actions such as directly attributing attacks to China and imposing sanctions on them.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timeline for developing a comprehensive strategy not provided

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Q3 Nia Griffith Lab Llanelli
Democracy & Elections
Context

With upcoming local and national elections, concerns have been raised about the integrity of the electoral system due to potential risks from deepfakes and misinformation.

Question

What assessment has the Department made regarding the risks posed by deepfakes and misinformation in the upcoming elections?

Answer from Oliver Dowden

I have considerable concerns about deepfakes. We see hack and leak tactics used by hostile states in previous elections, enhancing AI capabilities. We are developing our strategy through the Defending Democracy Taskforce and undertaking exercises to enhance our capabilities.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Concrete steps or timeline not specified

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