Written questions by Mohamed.

Whether RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia (a) are being used and (b) will be used in the future by the United States for military operations against Iran; and whether operations from these bases are involved in offensive strikes.

As announced by the Prime Minister on 1 March 2026, the Government agreed to a US request to use British bases for specific and limited defensive purposes. The agreement allowing the US to use UK miliary bases is for specific and limited defensive action against missile facilities in Iran

Whether the House will be given an opportunity to debate and vote on UK support for US operations in Iran.

The Prime Minister has provided an update to Parliament through an oral statement on 2 March 2026.

What legal advice he has received on the compatibility of allowing US use of RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia with the United Nations Charter, including Articles 2(4) and 51.

A summary of the Government’s legal position was published on gov.uk on 1 March 2026. This can be found at the followed address: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/summary-of-the-uk-government-legal-position-the-legality-of-defensive-action-in-respect-of-iranian-regional-attacks. Since this has been published, the Government has notified the United Nations Security Council of relevant actions taken under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Government awarding contracts for software and related services to (a) Palantir and (b) any other overseas technology companies on national security.

The Ministry of Defence has policies and procedures to address the security risk from overseas suppliers, which consider both the nature of the procurement and the potential risks posed by the relevant state. These procedures are in addition to our usual cyber security and resilience controls on all suppliers. We do not disclose details of security risk policy and procedures as they could be useful to a potential adversary.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of placing (a) transparency, (b) testing and (c) accountability requirements on private defence contracts for the development of AI systems.

The principal policy framework governing the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) safe and responsible adoption of AI is our published Joint Service Publication Dependable AI JSP 936 which sets out directives on AI safety, ethics, and governance. JSP 936 requires that externally acquired AI systems meet the same standards and give the same level of assurance as AI systems developed within the MOD. Under this framework, and in line with the National Security Strategy, we will look to leverage the UK's vibrant third-party assurance market to enable breadth, scale, and learning from other sectors.

What ethical frameworks are in place to guide the (a) development and (b) deployment of AI technologies in defence.

We have a duty to use the best technologies to protect the UK’s interests, and we also have a duty to use these technologies in line with our legal obligations and the values of the public we serve. All development and deployment of AI in Defence must be legal and responsible. We have set out our Responsible AI policy framework in the Dependable AI JSP 936. This mandates that all AI use cases address specific AI safety, ethical and legal considerations, in line with our five AI ethical principles published in the ‘Ambitious, Safe, Responsible’ policy paper in June 2022.

How much his Department has spent on the (a) development and (b) procurement of AI-enabled defence systems in each of the last three years.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold specific figures on the development and procurement of AI-enabled defence systems. AI is not a standalone capability, but an enabling technology embedded across projects in both defence systems and in the business space across the Ministry. Over the last three financial years (FY) spending within the Chief Scientific Adviser's research portfolio on AI has been: · FY2022-23 - £46.20 million· FY2023-24 - £52.13 million· FY2024-25 - £37.44 million Procurement costs are not separately recorded and are integrated within wider programme budgets. In August the MOD announced a procurement plan worth up to £180 million for digital decision capabilities to enable scalable operations involving autonomy, including using AI and machine learning to speed up decision making. Further detail on MOD's plans for investment in AI-enabled capabilities will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan.