Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the safety assurances the Chief of the General Staff gave the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry regarding the Initial Operating Capability status of the Ajax programme.

The safety of Service personnel remains the top priority for Defence. As previously confirmed, prior to Ajax Initial Operating Capability being announced, assurances were provided regarding the safety of the platform.

I have commissioned a Ministerial review of the information given to Ministers as it is vital that advice given to Ministers is timely and accurate. However, it would not be appropriate to provide any further detail relating to these assurances, whilst the review is ongoing.