United Kingdom Military Installations

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

10:48

[Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the protection of United Kingdom military installations.

[The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)]

The security of the United Kingdom’s military installations, the people who work on them and the communities around them is a core responsibility of this Government. Defence faces an evolving range of threats, including hostile reconnaissance, sabotage, espionage, terrorism, organised crime, unauthorised access and the malicious use of drones. We therefore keep the protection of our sites under constant review against the intelligence and threat picture. Our approach is layered and intelligence-led; it combines physical protection, access controls, surveillance, policing, guarding, aerial monitoring and counter-drone capabilities. We do not rely on any one single measure, and I hope the House will understand that it would be irresponsible to disclose details of vulnerabilities or protective arrangements at individual sites.

Following the recent incidents at RAF Fairford and RAF Molesworth, Defence strengthened protection across the estate, including sites hosting the United States visiting forces. Enhanced vigilance remains in place, sites have reviewed their security posture, and additional policing, guarding and specialist support have been deployed where required. We continue to work closely with civilian police, the United States and local partners. There have been no further reported breaches since those incidents, but we are not complacent and continue to keep our security posture under review.

We are also investing for the long term. The defence investment plan provides an additional £470 million over four years to improve security technology and infrastructure at military sites. More than £750 million is being invested in short-range counter-drone protection for the United Kingdom and deployed forces. We are expanding restricted airspace above Defence locations, and the Armed Forces Bill will strengthen Defence’s powers and ability to detect, identify and defeat uncrewed systems that threaten our sites and operations.

No security can remove all risk. We continue to prioritise our most critical assets, adapt our arrangements as the threat changes, and ensure that anyone seeking to compromise a Defence site can expect a robust security and police response.

You will appreciate, Madam Deputy Speaker, that there is much I will not be able to say in this urgent question, as we do not comment on intelligence matters or ongoing operations, but I do want to place on the record how proud I and the Defence Secretary are of our armed forces, security services and police, who are working so hard to keep our country safe.

[Mr Francois]

I thank Mr Speaker and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for granting this important urgent question, and I thank the Minister for his reply. However, I would like to press him on three matters in return.

First, the withdrawal of key American air assets from RAF Mildenhall follows a similar decision to withdraw B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in the face of an alleged Iranian threat, an incident at RAF Molesworth and an assault on RAF Brize Norton by Palestine Action in June 2025. What discussions have Defence Ministers had with their American counterparts to reassure them that our airbases are still safe for their aircraft and, indeed, our own?

Secondly, what can the Minister tell us about the arrest of a US serviceman for alleged espionage at Imjin barracks, the headquarters of NATO’s British-led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps? The incident was described by FBI director Kash Patel as

“of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies.”

Well, it concerns this House too.

Thirdly, the Defence Secretary recently said, starkly, that we should prepare for war within a thousand days. He has even got us stockpiling baked beans. But when we ask about the whereabouts of the defence readiness Bill, which will be crucial in preparing for such a conflict, likely with Russia, we are simply told that it is not ready and that it will not be until the end of this Parliament, by which time the war could already have begun. This totally contradictory policy comes at the expense of our national security.

To recap, what have we told our American allies about our ability to protect our airbases and their air assets? What more information—there must be some—can the Minister share with the House about the arrest at Imjin barracks and its implications for our security and, indeed, NATO’s security. Lastly, when, if ever, will the Government publish the now clearly urgent defence readiness Bill?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. It is hard, as he and the House will appreciate, for me to comment on ongoing investigations. However, in relation to his question about the arrest, the police have confirmed that a member of the US army has been arrested under sections 1 and 3 of the National Security Act 2023 for assisting a foreign intelligence service, specifically relating to Russia. This is a live investigation, and I want to allow the police the time and space to carry it out without additional commentary. I hope that he and the House will appreciate that.

On US assets, the movement and positioning of US military aircraft is an operational matter for the United States. It has said that aircraft routinely rotate between locations for training and operational requirements. I will not speculate further, for reasons of operational security, as I hope the House will understand.

Finally, the right hon. Gentleman will appreciate that this is a Government who are increasing defence spending, after his party cut defence spending when in power. We are legislating for more powers to defend our nation in the Armed Forces Bill, and we are engaging across Government and with stakeholders in preparation for the defence readiness Bill because we want to get it right. I appreciate that he wants to make partisan points about this, but we are trying our best to update legislation with the Armed Forces Bill and we will continue to do so with the defence readiness Bill later in this Parliament. We will continue to ensure that our nation is prepared to meet the threats we face in a more difficult time.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Chair of the Defence Committee.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

At a time when we need our armed forces and defence industry even more, given the raised threat level, attacks on them are a cause for huge concern. That is why the Defence Committee raised this issue last year in our report on the UK’s contribution to European security. The trade associations all raised anxieties about the potential for attacks on defence industry employees when they appeared in front of the Committee last month. In the light of the withdrawal of US assets from both RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall, is the Minister concerned that the potential threat against defence bases and the defence industry seems to be increasing? What are the Government going to do to keep them safe?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that he does on the Defence Committee. That work is an important part of helping build public awareness and asking the Department the right questions. He is right to say that we are seeing an increased threat, not just to the United Kingdom and our allies, but to our defence industrial base. It is for that reason that we have been engaging more, not just via the Defence Industry Joint Council—our main convening function between businesses large and small in the defence sector—but with trade bodies and individual firms. We need to be aware that the threats posed to the defence industry come in a variety of forms and guises. We are working with the intelligence services, the police and the industry to increase physical protection in locations where appropriate, which my hon. Friend will appreciate that I cannot comment on further, but also to create a culture in which threats are reduced by having greater involvement of the workforce and communities in identifying risks.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

Ministers say that they are serious about bolstering Britain’s defences, that they recognise the once-in-a-generation threats facing our country, and that they are building a more resilient and ready nation. Despite the lofty rhetoric, it feels like our vital military bases are now under daily, immediate and grave threat. There is a gaping chasm between the Government’s language on defence and the action needed to make this country safe and deter our adversaries. That chasm is eroding the trust and confidence of both British citizens and our allies.

This House was promised a comprehensive review of the security of our military bases, but we are still waiting for its outcome. In the light of the recent multiple threats, that delay is unacceptable. Can the Minister confirm when the review will be completed? Will he commit the additional resources needed to accelerate its delivery, and will he outline what immediate steps he is taking to strengthen base security?

[Luke Pollard]

I recognise the seriousness of the situation, so I thank the hon. Lady for the tone of her question. We recognise that the threats to our country are increasing. We have published the strategic defence review, which sets that out very clearly. We have published the defence investment plan, which sets out how we will increase the defence budget and spend it not only on new capabilities, but on our people and bases. We have set out in the defence investment plan £470 million, over four years, to improve base security and base protection. It is difficult to go into the details on the Floor of the House, but I am happy to invite the hon. Lady’s party for a briefing, if that would be useful. We continue to commit resources to support the security of our personnel, both at home and, importantly, when deployed abroad. The work that we are doing to review our base security is ongoing, to ensure we have the right assets, the right people and the right systems in place at all UK bases and those used by our allies.

[Dr Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

In East Anglia, we have long taken great pride in the presence of our US allies. In the light of heightened security concerns, especially at RAF Mildenhall, what more can we do to ensure the safety of the many United States personnel who live off the base, in Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket?

[Luke Pollard]

Not only has my hon. Friend asked me that question today; it is a matter that he and I have spoken about on a number of occasions since he entered the House, and he is right to talk about it. The United States remains our No. 1 defence and security partner. We take very seriously the threats not only to military installations, but to personnel living in our wider communities. Just as we have offered a briefing to the constituency MP for Mildenhall, the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy), I am happy to extend such an invitation to him, should he wish to see more granular detail of the approach at a local level, which it may be inappropriate to put in the public domain on the Floor of the House.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

I am deeply concerned by the redeployment of the dozen aircraft from Mildenhall. I think it sends a shocking message about our ability to protect our allies. Without wishing to probe the “out of bounds” box of the security detail, I have one question for the Minister: were any Defence Ministers informed prior to the redeployment that it was taking place?

[Luke Pollard]

The Defence Secretary has already set out that we have been in discussions with the United States for some time. The movement of US aircraft is a matter for the United States.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his continued work to increase the readiness of this country to protect ourselves not just abroad, but at home. Can I ask about the enduring close relationship with the United States of America? We have seen a joint police and intelligence-led arrest this week, and we continue to work extremely closely together. In the Minister’s portfolio of readiness across the MOD, can he give us an example of how closely we are working and continue to work with our ally, the United States of America?

[Luke Pollard]

The work we are doing with the United States includes the operational security of our missions, especially joint missions that we undertake bilaterally with the United States and as part of NATO and further afield. On our base security at home, the work our security forces and armed forces do with the United States visiting forces and intelligence agencies is very close, very deep and ongoing, which means that we have a close partnership to meet the threats we are facing. We do know that the threats are increasing, so we are increasing our work accordingly. We continue to work with our US friends, and we will make sure that we do so with our European and NATO allies as well.

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

The Minister has spoken about the severity of the threats we face, and that affects our entire national security. The prospect of military espionage is severe and the type of tactics we have seen are very serious, and a major arrest has been made this week. Does the Minister think that he and his Department have all the resources, skills and experience they need to tackle what is an ever-changing and evolving threat to our national security and, in particular, to our military bases?

[Luke Pollard]

The right hon. Member is right that the threats we face are increasing, and they are increasingly complex as well. This is not just about human espionage by people, but about how espionage involving criminal gangs and cyber-attacks can be paired together. We in the Ministry of Defence work very closely with the intelligence agencies—both ours and those of our allies—and we continue to invest further in that. She will have heard me talk about the £470 million for base security, and there are additional budgets, both in the defence budget and the wider Home Office security budget, for our work with the intelligence services.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

Through written answers, I was able to find out that the police costs for the 2024 drone incursions at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell were over £600,000, but there was no information on the total cost. We know that hostile states such as Russia and Iran will try to probe such bases, because it is cheap for them but potentially costly for us. Will the Minister make sure that he does everything he can to capture the full cost of these incursions for our bases and the wider economy?

[Luke Pollard]

My hon. Friend’s work on what he describes as the “Putin tax” is a really important contribution, because there is a deliberate attempt by adversaries to load costs and difficulties on to the United Kingdom and our allies by posing such dilemmas. The House will be familiar with some of those asymmetrical, grey zone activities, and we have disclosed that there has been Russian and adversary activity. Such activity results in a cost to the UK taxpayer and to the defence budget, and his work is helping to tell the public about the amazing work our security services and armed forces do in countering that risk, but also about the tactics of the Russian Government.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

A US official was quoted by NBC News saying that American armed forces personnel at RAF Mildenhall are under “enhanced force protection measures”, including much stricter ID and vehicle checks. Given that some aircraft have been moved via Prestwick airport in Scotland, can the Minister confirm that enhanced security is in place there, too?

[Luke Pollard]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his promotion in the Liberal Democrat reshuffle to shadow Minister for veterans—an important topic that I know he cares about deeply. As he will appreciate, I cannot comment on individual security arrangements for bases at specific locations, but I can confirm to the House that we keep all our base security arrangements under review and continue to invest in them.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Last year, a huge wildfire came within a mile of RAF Fylingdales, a ballistic missile early warning base that plays a critical role in UK and US security. In the light of growing environmental and security threats, can the Minister reassure my constituents by setting out what the Government are doing to ramp up security and resilience at critical installations such as RAF Fylingdales?

[Luke Pollard]

The threats facing our bases are not just from foreign actors. My hon. Friend is right to talk about the effects of a changing climate. She will know that the Prime Minister announced that the RAF will be taking on a new firefighting role, building on the firefighting expertise we have on our bases in Cyprus. That will involve additional equipment on some of the RAF assets so that they are able to tackle wildfires in the United Kingdom in future.

[Sir Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

The women and men in our security services are doing the most incredible work on this front and on multiple fronts at the current time. Will the Minister commit to fighting in Government and across Government to get whatever resource they need?

[Luke Pollard]

I am not neutral on this matter. I want more resource for defence, and I have made that case very strongly from the Dispatch Box. We have an increasing defence budget. The Chancellor set out that 3% of our GDP will be spent on defence in 2030 and 3.5% by 2035. My priority will be to spend it wisely and to make sure we learn the lessons from the broken procurement system we inherited so that we have more of that money on the frontline where it is needed.

[Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)]

Will the Minister outline the impact the defence investment plan will have on improving the security technology and infrastructure at our bases?

[Luke Pollard]

Yes. The £470 million investment over the next four years in the DIP is for both upgrading the traditional security arrangements that the House will be familiar with—the physical security—and, increasingly, looking at the counter-drone threat and vulnerabilities that were previously not something that defence would worry about. When there are new technologies that we have a greater concern about, we will continue to invest, beyond the four-year period, in more base upgrades as the defence investment period continues.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

I thank the Minister for his comments about wildfire tackling equipment, which will be of benefit to my constituents. In my Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency, there are about 4,500 serving personnel and 1,000 MOD contractors. Add in families and the wider community, and the numbers invested in base security are vastly higher. Given that Scotland is already badly exposed by the UK’s defence doctrine, which has been compounded by two decades of underfunding, what assurances can the Minister give to my constituents, both serving and civilian, that we are not on the frontline of weak base security—just the latest iteration of MOD incompetence?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the hon. Gentleman, because I think there was some praise in the question somewhere. The steps we have set out on wildfires are an important contribution to the wider resilience effort. I am pleased that the Scottish Government are finally engaging with defence in a way that they have not done previously. Their match funding for the defence technical excellence colleges is an important step in that, but I say to him politely that I do not want to see politicians of any party doing Putin’s dirty work for him by dividing us when we should be standing together.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

Given the increasingly clandestine, sophisticated and despicable behaviour of our adversaries in the cases the Minister has mentioned, will he commit to encouraging the Government to bring forth legislative changes should they be necessary to make sure that we can counter those threats? The entire House would, I am sure, back the Government in doing that.

[Luke Pollard]

My hon. Friend will be aware that the Armed Forces Bill, which is going through the other place, has a number of measures that seek to enhance airspace protection around our defence sites and to give us additional powers to protect some of those bases. I know that there is strong cross-party support for the Armed Forces Bill, and that will make a difference. We are also preparing, across Government, further measures in the defence readiness Bill to deal with this period of contest in which we find ourselves. I will continue to engage with parliamentarians across both Chambers on that Bill.

[Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)]

Will the Minister acknowledge that the Iranian campaign in the UK is as much a political campaign as a physical one? The Iranians are gaming the ludicrous image in the MAGA mind in the United States that somehow the United Kingdom is now a basket case when it comes to security and playing on the weakness of America’s commitment to our security. What will the Government do to combat that strong political messaging and to provide a reassurance campaign about security at our military bases?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question because it gives me the opportunity to clearly set out that the relationship we have with the United States is strong and enduring and will remain our No. 1 security partnership. Our armed forces work closely together, strengthening the UK-America relationship and the wider security of NATO. We are seeing an increase in misinformation, especially online. The hon. Gentleman will know that the Prime Minister has set out his intention to create a centre to address misinformation, which was a recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Committee. That is an important part of how we tackle misinformation, but another important part is ensuring that we do not inadvertently share misinformation or give greater emphasis to those people who wish to do us harm. Tackling misinformation online is as important as the base security arrangements—the physical netting around our bases.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

My constituency is home to the Army Foundation College just outside Harrogate. It is an isolated site west of Harrogate, yet we have seen proposals for over 280 homes to be built immediately next to it. Given that the Minister has outlined concerns about the protection of sites and the threats posed to them, what steps is the MOD taking with other Departments and North Yorkshire council on the security and protection of places like the AFC?

[Luke Pollard]

Harrogate plays an important role for our armed forces, and the hon. Member will know what good work takes place there. I am happy to arrange a meeting with the Minister for Veterans and People to discuss Harrogate. We should be aware that right around our country, there are communities next to our bases that care passionately about the security of those bases and actively contribute to it.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

It is really important in these uncertain times that we are positive about the contribution that military personnel and those who work in the defence sector bring to our local economies. In Wiltshire, the Royal International Air Tattoo will come to Boscombe Down from next year for the next 25 years. It is a massive opportunity for the people of Salisbury and south Wiltshire to welcome representatives from 30 nations and receive 170,000 visitors over three days. Will the Minister commend RIAT and what it will bring to the south Wiltshire economy?

[Luke Pollard]

The right hon. Gentleman is exactly right. RIAT is not just a showcase of the very best in aeronautical engineering from the United Kingdom and our allies but an opportunity to raise good money for RAF charitable funds. It is something that the communities around MOD Boscombe Down will be enormously proud of. We will work closely with RIAT to ensure that the event is a success, just as we worked with RIAT to ensure that the temporary event that took place earlier this year was a success. I am happy to be in touch with the right hon. Gentleman about that.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

There is critical defence and aerospace infrastructure in my constituency and across Northern Ireland that must also be protected. Given that the US felt compelled to disperse vital assets due to perceived vulnerabilities, can the Minister outline what immediate, tangible counter-drone and perimeter upgrades are being deployed across the UK and in Northern Ireland to reassure our allies that British soil is completely safe, especially when we consider the non-existent border that offers no protection from possible threats?

[Luke Pollard]

I was in Northern Ireland only last week, talking about the industrial opportunities of a growing defence budget that are creating good jobs there. The £750 million that we have set out in the DIP for counter-drone activity and the £470 million for base protection encompass the protection of our bases in every part of the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland.

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

I do not know if the Minister is aware that an emailed bomb hoax caused serious disruption to schools in my constituency yesterday, along with schools in Scotland, Ireland and Italy. Days earlier, there had been serious disruption to flights because of emailed bomb hoaxes. Can he reassure the Chamber that the Ministry of Defence is alive to such hoaxes and will minimise the disruption that they cause to the defence estate?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising that really important topic. We must take all threats seriously. I know that was the case in the recent incidents involving the flights, and I am certain it will have been the case with the incidents he has spoken about. We work very closely with police forces right across the United Kingdom. I will ensure that he has an opportunity to sit down with the Security Minister to discuss the matter further, to give him the reassurance he needs.

[Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)]

The Minister will not want to go into detail, for obvious security reasons, and I will not press him on that, but can he reassure the House that not only has he had discussions about the security arrangements at RAF Croughton and RAF Lakenheath, but he is entirely satisfied with those arrangements?

[Luke Pollard]

I can confirm that Ministers have been discussing the security arrangements—that includes the Minister for the Armed Forces, who takes the lead on operational security, me as lead on industrial security, and the Minister in the House of Lords, who takes the policing role within the Ministry of Defence. We continue to discuss security arrangements with our US friends, and we continue to put new measures in place where the intelligence or threat picture requires us to do so.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Last but not least, John Cooper.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

Driving past RAF Lossiemouth or the civilian Prestwick airport, one can see military aircraft lined up in serried ranks—transport aircraft, interceptors, maritime patrol aircraft. What consideration has been given to some cheap physical security, such as hardened aircraft shelters or revetments, rather than parking them out in the open air? At the moment, it looks like a Russian drone jockey’s dream.

[Luke Pollard]

I have seen in person the exceptional work that the aircrews do at RAF Lossiemouth. We have based a number of critical assets there, and I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we take security there very seriously. If he has any particular concerns, I would welcome having a private conversation with him, and perhaps arranging a briefing so that he can be reassured that the Royal Air Force is taking the necessary measures. It is important to say, however, that we cannot remove all risk with these base protection measures, which is why we train our people and give them the tools and skills required to work with our partners to deter and respond to any risks that exist. That is the case across the United Kingdom, and I want to thank everyone involved in those efforts.

[Mr Francois]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Very briefly, can you confirm for the record that while we have been discussing the extremely important matter of the security of our airfields across the United Kingdom, once again not a single Reform MP has been in the Chamber for any part of the debate?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

The right hon. Gentleman is extremely experienced and knows that pointing out who is and is not in the Chamber is not a matter for the Chair, but he has put his point on the record.