United Kingdom Military Installations Debate
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Peter Prinsley
Main Page: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)Department Debates - View all Peter Prinsley's debates with the Ministry of Defence
United Kingdom Military Installations
Peter Prinsley Excerpts(2 days, 2 hours ago)
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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.