Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support he has provided to local authorities in the Shetland Islands during their investigation into the damage of undersea cables to the Islands.

The recent incident in the Shetland Islands was assessed to have been caused by fishing. Accidental breakage of subsea communications cables is not uncommon, particularly through trawling and other seabed-disturbing activities, and mechanisms to repair them are well tested. Assistance to local authorities from the Ministry of Defence has not been requested.

Overall governmental responsibility for subsea power and telecommunications cables lies with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, respectively.