Speeches by Pollard.

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his advocacy for the defence industries in Northern Ireland. He will know that this Government placed a £1.6 billion order for new missiles from Northern Ireland. Those are a key component of our efforts to keep our friends in Ukraine safe. We will continue to procure from Northern Irelan…”

“Yes, I can. We were very clear that we wanted to explore the options for the UK participating in SAFE, but we were also clear that we would not join at any price. Unfortunately, we were not able to make the value for the UK taxpayer and for UK industry match in those discussions with SAFE. We continue to co-operate ver…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her question, as well as for the promotion she has given me! Since the general election, we have signed over 1,000 defence contracts, and more than 80% of those contracts have gone to UK companies. We will continue to use more of that increasing defence spending with UK firms, procuring with t…”

“The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to talk about small businesses and the wider supply chain. A large component part of the defence industrial strategy talks about those things as well; I am sure he has read that strategy, so he will be familiar with it. We want to see our suppliers in the UK expand. We also …”

“We have been very clear in the defence industrial strategy and the strategic defence review that we want more of a rising defence budget to go to British companies. That is changing the way in which defence procures, and it is the right change that we need to see as we bring more strategic autonomy back to the UK and a…”

“The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that there are important defence companies in her constituency, and across the country. We continue to place contracts with the defence industry, with more than 1,000 placed since the general election, and over 80% of those with UK firms, and that is an important continuation of…”

“The hon. Gentleman and I have had a number of conversations about Aldergrove, and I suspect we will continue to do so. It is important that, as part of the defence investment plan, we continue to maintain lift capabilities across our armed forces. That will include a mix of crewed and uncrewed, and will lead into auton…”

“My hon. Friend is right to say that the defence industrial strategy is a key piece of the puzzle in building up our new armed forces. It was published last year—[Interruption.] The shadow Minister is asking where it is, but it is on the internet because it was published a number of months ago, so if he has not read it,…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the lightweight multirole missile contract that we secured earlier this year in support of the production facility in Belfast. Defence is an engine for growth, and we can use not only the increased spending on our defence, but that in support of our friends in Ukraine to create mo…”

“I have no doubt in my mind that the hon. Gentleman, and indeed many of my hon. Friends sitting behind me, will also be making the case for defence. Both the Minister for the Armed Forces and myself, as well as the Defence Secretary and the Minister for Veterans and People, value the focus put on defence by cross-party …”

“I fear there will be more parliamentary questions based on that question coming at me very soon. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise the integrated digital targeting web as a key part of our deterrence activity. The SDR was clear that we are moving to a situation, in a digitised battlefield, where any targe…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and his Committee for the work that they have done over the past 12 months in support of our service personnel and our allies, not just in Ukraine but across the world. We continue to work alongside our European partners to look at how we can use the immobilised sovereign Russian assets; indeed, …”

“I wish a merry Christmas to the right hon. Gentleman. First, I thank him for his support for the investment that the UK is making in Ukrainian air defences; we are spending £4.5 billion on Ukraine this year—the most that we have ever spent as a country. It is a really important statement, and the more powerful because …”

“I welcome the hon. Lady to her place on the Liberal Democrat Front Bench. I agree with her that it is important that, as we hopefully move towards a peace deal that is brokered by our American allies, the Ukrainian voice is heard loud and strong, and that a deal signals not a pause in hostilities but the end of hostili…”

“The vast majority of the seized Russian assets are held by Belgium—within its geography—which is why we are having discussions not only internationally but directly with our Belgian colleagues. I hope that progress can be made on that. My hon. Friend is right that the threats we face from Russia are not just military t…”

“I thank the Father of the House for the strength he puts into his argument. We are in a new era of threat, and our approaches need to adapt. It is right that the Ukrainians are at the negotiating table and will decide the terms on which a peace deal is done, and we will continue to support them to deliver that. We are …”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments. I agree that it is important that we make progress on the seized Russian assets. Those negotiations and discussions are continuing today, and I hope that we will be able to report positive news in due course. He is right about the threat not just to Ukraine, but to our NAT…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for reading Lance Corporal George Hooley’s words into the record. I know how close to home that will hit with her, as a mother of someone serving in our armed forces, and indeed other Members across the House. We ask extraordinary things of our people. What they do and the sacrifices they make—th…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We have announced that we intend to introduce the maritime services ban on Russian LNG, which will restrict Russia’s ability to export globally. The reason it is being phased in is so that it can be done in lockstep with our EU friends, who are introducing equivalent restric…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the way he puts the argument. That is precisely the reason why we are working with our French colleagues on the coalition of the willing, to make sure that when peace comes, and I hope it comes soon, we will be able to support our Ukrainian friends, allowing them to remove their uni…”