Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the telecoms industry on countering the threat posed to undersea telecommunications infrastructure by Russian sub-threshold interference.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to a collaborative approach between government and private sector to work together on national resilience.

Supporting the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology’s lead on telecoms security, the Secretary of State for Defence has engaged with private sector partners including the telecoms industry to discuss undersea telecommunications infrastructure. These discussions form part of a broader effort to protect critical national infrastructure from a range of threats, including Russian sub-threshold interference.