Speeches by Pollard.

“We certainly take security classifications very seriously in the UK armed forces and across the Ministry of Defence, and have a variety of policies that set out how information should be used and shared. All officials and military personnel will be familiar with those. As a relatively new Minister, what has been made c…”

“I can understand why you are going down that line with the question. The Ministry of Defence has very clear policies in relation to what information can be shared and in what format. We do not comment on how allies share their information, for good reason.”

“I am really confident that it will provide us the opportunity to bring forward a capability situation for our armed forces at 2.5% earlier than originally planned. The 2.5% level that we will reach by April 2027 provides the opportunity for us to embark on deeper reform of our defence apparatus to meet the challenges t…”

“The intent of the Department has not changed from when it was announced in July last year. The Prime Minister has been clear that, in addition to the strategic defence review, which is an MOD-led review, albeit externally led by Lord Robertson and the reviewers, there is a parallel review taking place largely out of th…”

“It will be for Lord Robertson, as this review is externally led, to create his report. That will then be sent to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Defence Secretary. We would probably expect for there to be further announcements by the Ministry of Defence as we seek to operationalise what would be a strategic …”

“I would always be cautious about listening to speculation in the media. The position on the strategic defence review has not changed. The work is well advanced, as the Prime Minister said last week. We still intend to publish in the spring. That will be part of measures that will be reported from Lord Robertson and his…”

“No. All UK service personnel are covered by our normal approach to operational security, and the Committee will understand that I will not go into the details of how we keep our involvement in any support for military operations in the Red Sea or anywhere else. We have high confidence that the measures that we have wit…”

“I would be really happy to. We want to create a deeper relationship between Parliament and the MOD. With this group, without phones, I am absolutely happy having those conversations.”

“When we are looking at a whole-of-society approach, there are some really good models. This is not about a greenfield site and creating a new concept, but about borrowing best practice. The Norwegians are exceptionally good at this, and there is a real opportunity, as we deepen our defence relationship with Norway, tha…”

“We do, and that was the original plan. RFA Proteus was supposed to be one of two ships when originally planned by the last Government. Certainly, we are seeing a huge interest in Proteus’ capability with our allies and the ability for us to look at what platforms we need to deliver it. The Norwegian model, where indust…”

“It is quite a challenge, and one of the reasons why our adversaries undertake hybrid activities against us and our allies is because there is a difficulty in attribution. When that is accompanied by misinformation, as well as an effect, that is deliberately designed to confuse a population or to cast doubt on the under…”

“Some of the underlying assumptions are still broadly the same, though. We are still seeing Russian activity in Ukraine using different tactics and doctrines than we may have viewed in the past. We still have a situation where the US is a key partner for the United Kingdom and will remain so. We know that there are new …”

“It reaffirms the reason why we are doing a defence review.”

“Work is still ongoing. The Prime Minister described it as work being advanced at this stage, but it is for Lord Robertson to make announcements on the progress of his review.”

“Work is still ongoing with it. It would be for Lord Robertson to make announcements on the progress.”

“It is precisely why we are bringing together, as a Government, the SSR, the SDR, the various reviews—and there are additional ones across Government—into a single national security strategy. That is what I think is the basis of your question. Where does it get at it? It gets at it in terms of that broader national piec…”

“That is probably one for me rather than the official, if I may. I do not think that we are undertaking that perspective as you present it. On the counter view, we are having a clear focus on our defence structure. It is beyond doubt that the war in Ukraine has changed the way that we think about conflict and the way th…”

“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.…”

“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…”

“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 …”