Speeches by Pollard.

“We would keep all options on the table in relation to how that works, but it does not necessarily mean that it is an eye for an eye. Certainly, there is a benefit in not being our adversaries in terms of the approach, but one of the strengths that the UK has in deterring some of these activities is that we are part of …”

“Deploying the carrier to the Indo-Pacific directly supports our ability to protect the NATO area of operations in the future, because the key military purpose as to why we are deploying HMS Prince of Wales is for it to achieve its full operating capability, operating alongside other carriers of our allies that are in t…”

“We have a very strong and deep naval relationship with the US.”

“It is in relation to what activities we are undertaking alongside those ships. To answer your question fully, we have to look at why there are Russian ships there. In many cases, they are there because they are moving equipment out of their Mediterranean ports in relation to Syria. Is this an escalation in Russian mili…”

“It depends on what you mean by “hybrid threats”. Again, I am sorry to take you back to this broad thing, but, if you were to look at, say, the Russian shadow fleet, that is a good example of how an HMG-wide approach, including Ministry of Defence analysis with our intelligence partners, can identify which ships are in …”

“I might bring Paul in here, because it is an area that he spends a lot of time working in. If you look at the forward land presence that we have already in Estonia, for instance, as a NATO partner, and with NATO partners operating across the Baltic states, with Finland and Sweden also now being part of NATO, the new re…”

“It can play an increasingly critical one. If we take a step back, the UK is under continuous cyber-attack from malign actors worldwide. Defence has a role in particular in terms of deterring and supporting certain systems that are critical to UK security. We operate in conjunction with the National Cyber Security Centr…”

“We need more people and more skills. It is for that reason that we launched the direct entry cyber pathway only a few months ago, because we know that some of the skills that we need in cyber are, by their very nature, different from some of the warfighting skills that we might need on the frontline. We changed, for in…”

“There is no doubt in my mind that the MOD needs to do more to recruit and retain people. In many cases, that is about making people aware of the incredible opportunities that a career in service and the armed forces provides, and we have not told that story well enough. We also need to work with our cross-Government co…”

“It is always good to get a “Yes, Minister” reference into a question, so well done on that. I have not experienced many “Yes, Minister” moments as a Minister yet, but I am sure that there will be plenty more in store for me. What I would say is that our commitment to NATO is unshakable. It is important to understand th…”

“The first thing that I would say is that we have a lot of examples in recent history of a very effective attribution system working. If you roll back to the Defence Intelligence briefings that were made public in the run-up to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, they were deliberately designed to counter the Russian …”

“The work that the Home Office has conducted with its own strategic security review delivers much of the intent that you are after in that respect. One of the challenges that we will have once the SSR and the SDR report is how we can create a more integrated model with a greater clarity and fidelity on the threats that …”

“The work of the National Cyber Force is incredible. By its very nature, NCF is cross-Government anyway, because of the sponsorship by a number of Government Departments. It is worth saying that, before you get to any point of looking at what the offensive cyber action is, there would be the understanding of what has ha…”

“I agree. One of the bits that you will see more from this Government in terms of prioritisation is our approach on all-domain warfare as distinct from looking at a particular domain and the effects that can be achieved in it. If we want to have the kinetic effect on a target, whatever that may be, that will probably no…”

“I do not believe that for a moment. Multi-domain integration is about how you get the different domains working together. How do you integrate one domain with another for a particular thing? That is very much necessary and immediate, and a given for all our activities. We have gone from, “How do you integrate one domai…”

“I was in Finland the week after the Committee was there, meeting Ministers to talk about our mutual support for Ukraine. The context of Finland really has to be understood. Until it recently joined NATO, it was very proud of its independence. Because of its proximity to and experience of Russia, it has taken a very dif…”

“I do not think that any Government worldwide has got this right yet. Certainly, if you look at the progress that was made with the last Government’s Online Safety Act, notwithstanding the big holes that, as a party in opposition, we were highlighting, it did highlight that there is misinformation online. There is a res…”

“Broadly, this Government want to see a whole-of-Government approach to our national security in all its facets, and a whole-of-society approach in how we deliver it. It is one of the reasons why, in making the case for increased defence spending, you will notice the Defence Secretary, the Prime Minister and me, in our …”

“We need to be safer. We need to create greater deterrence. We need to support our allies in doing so as well. Those objectives are entirely consistent with that NATO-first approach, which you have seen outlined since July last year, of us working to support our partners. There are also a lot of people who are generally…”

“We are already doing that in being clear with the British public about what the threats are that we are facing, and to be able to marshal that in a clear way. That is why we commissioned the SDR. When the strategic defence review reports, it will set out a clear assessment of the threats that we are facing as a nation.…”