Charlie Dewhirst
Main Page: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)Department Debates - View all Charlie Dewhirst's debates with the Ministry of Defence
Russian Ship Yantar
Charlie Dewhirst Excerpts(1 day, 5 hours ago)
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Al Carns
As my hon. Friend will know, we work with our allies to build contingency across all our critical national infrastructure. There is lots of work to do, and we are working in collaboration with other Governments to do it. The point he raises, which is one of the most important, is that Russia wants to operate behind a veil of darkness, in the shadows, but let us be really clear: we know exactly what it is doing; we know everything that it is up to. A laser pen is not going to deter us. We will continue, we will double down and, if required, we will expose and attribute.
Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)
In the light of this recent escalation, what specific and immediate steps is the Minister taking to ensure that UK armed forces are equipped both to protect critical underwater infrastructure and to respond rapidly and effectively to direct threats from Russia and others?
Al Carns
The strategic defence review points to the multi-role ship and our buying into mapping and tracking our infrastructure, protecting it and, importantly, if required, deterring capabilities such as the Yantar, and a suite of capabilities that the Russians can field, to ensure they cannot work with impunity in either the EEZ or international waters.