Today, in the House of Commons, Former Armed Forces Minister and Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, has warmly welcomed the big increase in Defence spending.
In response to an Oral Statement on Defence spending, by the Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps MP, Mark said:
“Can I commend the Secretary of State for obtaining this massive £75 billion increase in Defence spending, which theoretically would actually allow us to buy 20 new Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers? At the risk of upsetting our excellent First Sea Lord, we are not likely to do that, but we are putting our Defence Industry on a ‘ war footing’, so can we do the concomitant thing and create a war reserve of equipment with older Typhoons, older Warships and older Armoured vehicles, so that if we had to fight at short notice, we would have enough equipment to do it and so we can tell our adverseries when we say ‘Si vis pacem, para bellum’, we actually mean it”
In response, the Secretary of State for Defence, Grant Shapps MP, said
“Can I thank my Rt Hon Friend, not just for his words but for his constant campaigning on this subject. Those of us who have been subject to him in a Select Committee know that he knows his facts, knows what he is talking about and has done as much as anyone to ensure that this uplift is happening. I can confirm to the House that we won’t be using the £75 billion to buy 20 new Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. He mentions an interesting point about what we can do with the older equipment and I have to say to my Rt Hon Friend that right now, I am much more minded to send that equipment to Ukraine and that is why yesterday, I pulled together the biggest package of donations to date, on this now third-year war and I think for the time being we will be sending in the Easterly direction.” Commenting further on the statement, Mark Francois said: “As the first duty of Government is the Defence of the Realm, I warmly welcome the announcement on increased defence spending. Not only will this ensure that the MoD’s ten-year Equipment Plan will now be fully affordable, it also includes an emphasis on placing our defence industry on a ‘war footing ‘with reduced bureaucracy and increased stockpiles - to deter our potential adversaries.”
