Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the decision by the US Defence Secretary to suspend (a) operations and (b) planning for offensive cyber operations against Russia.

The Ministry of Defence maintains a close security partnership with US counterparts. While the UK’s offensive cyber capabilities remain essential to both its and partner nations national security, I hope the hon. Gentleman will recall from his time as a Minister in the Department that we do not comment on operational matters.