Speeches by Baker.

“I would really like some idea of what this looks like in practice. How do we support our critical national infrastructure?”

“In the last 24 hours, we have heard that the vulnerabilities at the substation at Heathrow that caused the fire were identified in 2018. We have had that information for several years and not done anything about it. What are we going to learn from that situation?”

“Sure. It is just useful for us to get our thoughts on your thinking, because it obviously is an incredibly important piece, and we are keen to understand the direction of travel.”

“The SDR talks about the nature of the threats that we face at home and the whole-of-society approach that we need to take. Clearly, we have to have a really important conversation with the British public, and it is good to see a commitment to have that conversation, but we also have to not alarm them. How will you plan…”

“My perception is that it is the tip of the iceberg, but there is a culture issue there that we must find a way to address in the medium to long term. ESG is the tip of the iceberg, but there are a load of other issues. Rob, what are the other issues the industry has? What are the things that Government could do to unlo…”

“I have been campaigning for the DSR Bank.”

“Thank you for being with us this morning. I want to start by focusing on ESG, and then we will come on to some of the other funding issues. I have actually been doing a lot of work on these issues myself over the last six months. When it comes to the ESG there is a real mix of opinions. The defence industry are really …”

“I, too, welcome the commitment to get to 5% of GDP on defence spending by 2035. It is imperative that the increase in defence spending means that funding is getting to those on the cutting edge of defence innovation. Cody technology park in Farnborough is already home to world-class defence innovation, with a wide rang…”

“I welcome this national security strategy. Defence begins at home, and my community plays a role in the UK’s security and resilience with the HQ of Standing Joint Command in Aldershot. We need to focus as much on national resilience as on conventional military threats, so will my right hon. Friend share the work he has…”

“I congratulate the Secretary of State on the ambition of this industrial strategy and invite him to visit Cody technology park in Farnborough, which is home to world-class defence and aerospace innovation, from QinetiQ’s development of DragonFire to one of only two commercial wind tunnels in the world. What role does h…”

“I pay tribute to Standing Joint Command, based in Aldershot, for its contribution to UK resilience. In Armed Forces Week, I also pay tribute to the more than 3,000 serving personnel in my constituency, the home of the British Army. The Minister has been really clear about what force protection looks like when it comes …”

“It is great to hear the ambition from you all, but it strikes me that delivery will depend on getting the foundations right. We had the CDS in front of us yesterday and we saw his commitment to reform. Given the aspects of defence reform, what do you consider to be the key dependencies for successful implementation of …”

“Do you see a role for a new financial mechanism, such as a multilateral defence, security and resilience bank, to help to bridge the gap between strategic ambition and delivery capability, particularly when fiscal realities fall short of policy intent?”

“Given the historical tendency with reviews such as this towards optimism in both cost and delivery assessments, how confident are you in the robustness of the assumptions underlying the review?”

“Lord Robertson, we understand that the strategic defence review was costed. You have talked a bit about this already, but could you walk us through the process by which that costing was done? Specifically, was the review’s affordability predicated on achieving 3% of GDP within a defined timeframe and trajectory?”

“I congratulate the Chancellor on the spending review, and welcome her commitment both to defence spending and to our being a defence industrial superpower, which is vital to my community in Aldershot and Farnborough. This week, my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) and I published a report entitled “Re…”

“What do you see as the principal operational and strategic challenges that defence faces in fulfilling this evolving role, particularly when defence is often asked to step in as the last resort in times of national emergency?”

“That was the point I was coming on to. The SDR refers to the home defence programme, which sits within the Cabinet Office, and says that Government must ensure this meets defence’s needs. From your perspective, what specific support or co-ordination does defence require from the home defence programme to deliver on thi…”

“Admiral, can I pass on my best wishes and the thanks of my community in Aldershot and Farnborough for your service? It will not surprise you to know that I am going to ask about homeland resilience efforts, given that home command is based in my constituency. How does the strategic defence review reshape defence’s resp…”

“I have a question about Russia’s 2022 maritime doctrine and its investments in infrastructure. What do those investments tell us about its intentions in the region?”