Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what safety assessment his Department undertook of the Ajax tank programme before it was commissioned.

I refer the hon. Member to the written statement (HCWS322) I laid in this House on Monday 18 October 2021, which provided a comprehensive update on the Armoured Cavalry (Ajax) programme including health and safety. The MOD Director of Health, Safety and Environmental Protection report will provide a chronology on key safety decisions and I will publish the report once it is finalised.