Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his German counterpart on leaks of discussions among members of that country's armed forces.

The Secretary of State for Defence held a secure phone call with Boris Pistorius, the German Federal Minister of Defence, on 4 March 2024. They discussed the specifics of the incident itself, and Minister Pistorius set out the steps that Germany is taking to investigate and to prevent future incidents. The investigation itself is a matter for the German Government, but the Secretary of State for Defence has full faith that Germany is handling the matter appropriately. While it is right that we treat this matter very seriously, we must also be very clear that Putin leaked this call in an attempt to drive a wedge between us and weaken the West's collective support for Ukraine; we must not let that happen and we must show that we are united and resolved to support Ukraine for the long term.