Russia: Level of Threat to UK

1. What assessment he has made of the level of threat from Russia.

9. What assessment he has made of the level of threat from Russia.

13. What assessment he has made of the level of threat from Russia.

Mr Speaker, may I associate myself, and I am sure all Members of this House, with your words of condolence for the late, great George Howarth? He was a hugely experienced parliamentarian, and he will be very much missed.

May I also congratulate the England men’s team on one of the great nights, or perhaps mornings, in our nation’s footballing history? It was a victory built on pride, passion and determination.

Russia poses a serious and persistent threat to UK and European security in every domain—underwater, on the water, on the land, and in the sky, space and cyber. Russia’s reckless military actions involving NATO aircraft and airspace, including its multiple reckless overflights of our aircraft carrier just last week, risk miscalculation and escalation. This Government are ensuring that our response meets that threat, as we stand firm with Ukraine and with NATO.

I associate myself with the comments about George Howarth, whom I knew before I came to this place. He was a brilliant man.

As we saw only too clearly this weekend, the threat from Russia rears its head at all levels; it ranges from physical aggression, which we know about all too well, to mastering the art of operating in the grey zone through proxies, election interference and psychological warfare. I thank the Secretary of State for his important work leading the defending democracy taskforce, and I welcome the defence investment plan. Will he set out the role that the plan will play in our defending our country against threats that are not solely physical?

I was proud to lead the DDTF as Security Minister, and as Defence Secretary I am focused on ensuring that we defend our nation against the threats that we face. The UK is under daily attack from adversaries who seek to harm our society and our prosperity, including through cyber-attacks. My Department is investing £2.5 billion in cyber and intelligence, and we are working across Government, industry and society, and with our allies, to defend against and deter attacks across every domain.

As we have heard, we are in a new era of modern warfare, in which cheap drones, costing thousands of pounds, can knock out systems costing millions. The defence investment plan reflects that new reality, and I welcome the £5 billion set aside for drones, but what steps is the Minister taking to invest in the fightback against Russian aggression in the information warfare space?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the hybrid nature of the threats that we face from Russia. Information operations seek to unpick the threads of our resilient democratic society, and we will defend against these threats. I have the privilege of working with military and civilian specialists in the Ministry of Defence, and I can assure him that I will always give our specialists what they need to detect, expose and respond to the full range of hybrid threats that Russia poses.

I was concerned to see reports last week of drones launched from Russian shadow fleet vessels overflying critical infrastructure in the UK, including nuclear air bases and nuclear sites, as well as other concerning issues. I welcome the action taken by the Royal Marines to seize the shadow tanker vessels, but will the Secretary of State give more detail on how we will tackle the drones that are being launched? Do we have the capability to intercept them, and if not, when will we have it?

I am sure that my hon. Friend, as a former Royal Marine, will join me in paying tribute to our forces who courageously interdicted the Russian shadow fleet vessel just last month. This Government take the security of our military bases and critical infrastructure incredibly seriously. Through the Armed Forces Bill, we are giving defence personnel greater powers to defeat drones that threaten our bases. Our defence investment plan sets out significant funding for radars, sensors and counter-drone systems, including more than £750 million to provide short-range drone protection for our forces in the UK and those deployed overseas.

The Prime Minister agreed that he would use all his might to tackle the shadow fleet tankers that were coming through British territorial waters. Since then, one has been taken, and just under 200 shadow fleet tankers have passed through our waters with nothing happening. Are the Government serious about stopping these tankers? Are they so serious about it that they will revisit the United Nations convention on the law of the sea, which they seem to think prevents them from boarding the tankers?

Yes, I can give the right hon. Gentleman the assurance he seeks. We are serious, absolutely. That is why, in my first couple of days as the Defence Secretary, we interdicted the Russian shadow vessel, and we will not hesitate to take further action in the future.

Much of the commentary on the defence investment plan is on the threat to the UK mainland, our interests and our assets. First, does the Secretary of State think that it is more useful to think about the Russian threat to NATO in general terms? Secondly, now we have the DIP, is the UK still 31st out of 32 NATO members, when it comes to our commitment to strengthen and modernise the armed forces?

As I hope the hon. and gallant Member will acknowledge, we are the third-largest contributor in cash terms to NATO. This weekend, I visited our personnel deployed on NATO operations in the High North, and together with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, I am going to the NATO summit in Ankara. Our allies look to us for leadership. We have provided that in the past, and I guarantee that we will provide it in the future.

The Ministry of Defence said over the weekend that the action against HMS Prince of Wales was “unsafe and unprofessional”. Does the Secretary of State not agree that it is far more than that? It is provocative. Does he not further agree that Russia will take the next step, if this threat is not faced down? What action will we take to make it absolutely clear to the killer in the Kremlin that this sort of thing is simply not acceptable?

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman; the threat that he has outlined is completely unacceptable. It is reckless, and I commend all those serving on the carrier strike group for the decisive action that they took in responding to it. The Ankara summit, which begins tomorrow, provides another important opportunity to restate our commitment, as an alliance, to standing against the threat that Russia undoubtedly poses, and we will ensure that we do not miss that opportunity.

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

My heartfelt congratulations to the England football team on reaching the quarter finals. I also share your condolences, Mr Speaker, with regard to my good friend, Sir George Howarth.

With the defence investment plan finally being published, I had hoped that as we head to the NATO summit in Ankara this week, the Government would have set out a clear path to 3.5%, but unfortunately, the Prime Minister will be arriving empty-handed, because we have not even set out a clear path to 3%. Given the widely reported Russian potential plot to launch an attack on Polish soil, targeting its critical infrastructure, and given that the US President has warned that NATO members must increase investment or face the consequences, can my right hon. Friend tell us that at the Ankara summit, the Prime Minister will reassure allies by setting out a clear pathway to 3.5%?

I have huge respect for the Chair of the Select Committee. He will have heard my words the other day on the importance of ensuring that defence is the No. 1 spending priority at the next spending review. That is the moment at which we will need to set out a clear trajectory to honouring our commitment to spending 3.5% of GDP by 2035. I know that he will also understand the leading role that the United Kingdom plays in NATO. Our allies expect us to lead and to step up, and that is what we will do.