Speeches by Pollard.

“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…”

“In the spirit of Christmas, may I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for this effort? It is so important that we can, as much as possible, present a cross-party, unified voice. The steps that he has taken, especially to address the pollution of Russian bribes in his own party, are important steps forward. Hopeful…”

“This Christmas is a difficult time, because we tend to think of family, those people we have lost and the people we miss. Not only have many of our Ukrainian friends lost homes and family members, but there is uncertainty about their friends and family members on the frontline and those who remain in Ukraine and occupi…”

“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…”

“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 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…”

“With permission, I will update the House on Ukraine. As we prepare for Christmas, the people of Ukraine are fighting. It is their 1,394th day of resistance since Putin’s full-scale invasion, and their fourth Christmas of the war. I would like to update the House on the work that we are doing to bring a just and lasting…”

“We are working with the Northern Ireland Executive on the Northern Ireland growth deal—one of five growth deals that will share £250 million to look at skills and at how we can attract more inward investment. When that concludes, I would be very happy to give a briefing to the hon. Gentleman and other Northern Ireland …”

“We have taken steps, and I am not worried about the fleet’s ability to carry on operating, but I am happy to speak to the hon. and learned Gentleman further in order to reassure him.”

“We have rising defence spending in Scotland and more jobs in Scotland, and we just hear moans from the SNP about no new jobs when we are investing more in British defence firms and more in Scottish defence firms. There is a new Scotland defence growth deal and more opportunities on the Clyde, in Rosyth and elsewhere ar…”

“The forthcoming defence investment plan has been informed by a range of inputs and perspectives, including those of service chiefs. These contributions have been critical in delivering on the strategic defence review and in enabling the transformation within defence that is necessary as we move towards warfighting read…”

“I disagree with my hon. Friend. If we look at the people dying in Ukraine—dying for Ukrainian freedom and for our freedom—because of a Russian war machine, we see that the threat is real. If we look at the activities of the Russian spy ship Yantar loitering over our critical underwater infrastructure, we see that the t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the importance of defence and security being a whole-of-Government endeavour. It is not just about the MOD, which is why we have a renewed and refreshed working relationship with the Treasury, working hand in hand to increase defence spending. The defence investors advisory group…”

“What a load of nonsense. We are increasing defence spending, with £5 billion extra in our budget this year. We are moving to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence three years before anyone thought it was possible. The defence investment plan will set out what we are investing in and how we are moving towards warfighting read…”

“The strategic defence review was written on the basis of reaching 3%, and that is a key part of how we are increasing defence spending. I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman has been given set lines by his party, but his Government cut defence spending. This Labour Government are increasing defence spending.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her interest in this issue. We are moving towards an always-on munitions strategy, and we have allocated £1.5 billion to create six new energetics munitions factories. The first will start construction next year. I am happy to meet her to further discuss the potential options in Scotland.”

“Having seen the workers in Salisbury and in Warton, and the expert work they do, I know they were a key part of why Turkey opted for the Typhoon contract, helping to secure more work not just in those two plants, but in the nationwide supply chain. All defence spending decisions are made in the defence investment plan,…”

“As the space nerd in the ministerial team, I welcome my hon. Friend’s interest in space. Working with Baroness Lloyd, the Minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, we have a real opportunity to renew our space strategy, because the strategy we inherited was out of date and ineffective and was n…”