Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has (a) sought and (b) received reassurances from the Spanish Government that recent restrictions on military airspace use will not be applied in a manner that could prejudice the UK's (i) ongoing and (ii) future arrangements concerning Gibraltar.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The draft Agreement reached between the UK and the European Union in respect of Gibraltar fully protects the UK's ability to operate to, through, and from our military facilities in Gibraltar.
RAF Gibraltar continues to operate as a sovereign UK military airfield, and the current overflight ban by Spain does not impede our operational freedom with respect to aircraft movements.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has held with his Spanish counterpart regarding the application of Spanish airspace or basing policies in ways that could affect Gibraltar or UK access to the territory.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Defence and Foreign Secretaries meet regularly with their Spanish counterparts to discuss a range of issues of shared strategic interest. These recent interactions have not included discussion on the transit through Spanish airspace of UK military aircraft arriving at or departing from RAF Gibraltar.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Spanish Government's decision to restrict the use of Spanish airspace and military facilities for certain allied military operations on the UK’s defence, security and diplomatic interests relating to Gibraltar.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
RAF Gibraltar continues to operate as a sovereign UK military airfield, and the current overflight restrictions by Spain does not impede our operational freedom with respect to aircraft movements and does not impact NATO interoperability in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has assessed the potential operational impact of Spanish restrictions on allied military aircraft on UK military mobility or contingency planning in the Western Mediterranean, including in relation to Gibraltar.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
RAF Gibraltar continues to operate as a sovereign UK military airfield, and the current overflight restrictions by Spain does not impede our operational freedom with respect to aircraft movements and does not impact NATO interoperability in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications of Spain’s current airspace policy for NATO interoperability and collective defence in the Western Mediterranean region.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
RAF Gibraltar continues to operate as a sovereign UK military airfield, and the current overflight restrictions by Spain does not impede our operational freedom with respect to aircraft movements and does not impact NATO interoperability in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has alternative contingency arrangements in place to ensure uninterrupted defence and security support for Gibraltar should allied access through Spanish airspace or facilities be restricted.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
RAF Gibraltar continues to operate as a sovereign UK military airfield, and the current overflight restrictions by Spain does not impede our operational freedom with respect to aircraft movements and does not impact NATO interoperability in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK sovereignty, access and operational freedom in Gibraltar are not indirectly affected by unilateral policy decisions taken by neighbouring states.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The draft Agreement reached between the UK and the European Union in respect of Gibraltar fully protects the UK’s sovereignty, access and operational freedom in Gibraltar.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of deploying additional missile defence systems to allies in the Gulf, such as the UAE and Bahrain.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This remains an extremely challenging and unsettling time for many across the Middle East. The UK condemns Iran’s role in attempting to draw the region into a wider conflict. Our priority is to protect British nationals, British interests and our partners and allies in the Gulf. We support action that will help bring a swift resolution to this conflict, and an end to Iran's reckless and escalatory response
As part of our contribution, the UK has deployed additional military capabilities to the region. As confirmed by the Prime Minister in his statement on 5 March 2026, an additional four Typhoon aircraft are now deployed to Qatar to provide regional defensive counter air including UAE and Bahrain. RAF Typhoon and F-35 aircraft are continuing air operations over Jordan, Qatar, and Cyprus and the wider Gulf region in defence of British interests and allies.
We continue to assess other assistance requested from our regional partners.
Ministry of Defence are leveraging the expertise of British Defence Industry to enhance our regional partners’ defensive capabilities, particularly regarding C-UAS and Air Defence. Defence Attachés in the region have an updated list of UK companies who have capability to support have been engaging with our partners across the Gulf to understand their requests.
We are working at pace to match Middle East requirements with Industry offers. We are also facilitating Government to Industry (G2I) connections for Middle East countries and UK Industry to hasten support to our regional partners.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy destroyers and frigates were fully operational and deployable at immediate readiness in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy maintains a high state of operational readiness across its core capabilities, including the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, Carrier Strike, frigates and destroyers, submarines, aviation, the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Fleet is deployed globally to protect the UK’s security and interests, working alongside allies and partners.
It is important to understand readiness as a constant cycle with ships moving regularly through maintenance, training, deployment and recovery phases. For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not give detailed information on past or current levels of readiness for individual Royal Navy warships.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the operational readiness of the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy maintains a high state of operational readiness across its core capabilities, including the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, Carrier Strike, frigates and destroyers, submarines, aviation, the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Fleet is deployed globally to protect the UK’s security and interests, working alongside allies and partners.
It is important to understand readiness as a constant cycle with ships moving regularly through maintenance, training, deployment and recovery phases. For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not give detailed information on past or current levels of readiness for individual Royal Navy warships.