Luke Pollard MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is inviting me to speculate on what could be a decision made after the report comes back. The Defence Secretary and I are clear about the fact that all options remain on the table. We are looking into the causes and what lessons can be learned on the basis of the three reviews that I mentioned earlier. I hope that those who work in the sector and may be sharing information with members of the media will also share their insights and experiences with the ministerial review, so that we can take their concerns on board and ensure that when a decision is made, once the reviews have reported, it is the right decision for our armed forces and, perhaps most important, for the safety of our service personnel.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  Rupert Pearce is already making substantial changes to how we procure and delivering a programme of change, with reform within Defence Equipment and Support and the wider national armaments director group that is essential if we are to achieve warfighting readiness. Not only does he have a clear policy steer in the defence industrial strategy and the strategic defence review, but I have witnessed quite impressive substantial change in the few weeks he has been in place. I hope that the Defence Committee will be able to hear from him shortly. There is a lot more work to do if we are to get on top of a procurement system that is too slow, too expensive and does not yield the results for our people that they need it to yield, but he is making a good start in that respect.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I always enjoy hearing Lord West’s unique take on defence policy; he has considerable experience, so I am sure he uses his words wisely. I am not going to jump to any conclusions about what happened in Titan Storm until I have seen the results of the investigations. I want to understand what happened with the vehicles that caused injuries to our service personnel and why other vehicles from the same family of vehicle, produced around the same time, did not cause injuries to other service personnel. That is being looked at as part of the review. Once we have that, I will report back to the House.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question. The Army has a number of vehicles that, as we have heard in this discussion, have been in service for a long period. In refreshing our capabilities, it is not just the Ajax platform that we as a nation are seeking to update, but the Land Rovers and a whole host of other platforms. We are seeking to do so to provide the men and women in our forces with the equipment they need to increase our warfighting readiness. Sitting behind that, we need to have systems that procure faster and better than we have seen in the past, and that provide more value for the taxpayer, even though we are spending more on defence than ever before, because I want to see increased value for the taxpayer. We are making sure that we deliver a safe working environment for all our service personnel, because when we ask them to do extraordinary things, I want to have confidence that the equipment and vehicles I am asking them to do those things in are as safe as they possibly can be.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  As we look into what has happened, it is important that everyone, including General Dynamics employees, has the opportunity to share any concerns. That is why General Dynamics, the British Army, Defence Equipment and Support and elsewhere in the supply chain have the appropriate whistleblowing structures. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and staff representatives, including the trade unions, which I met when I visited his constituency. It is important that we look not just at the Ajax, but at the other vehicles that are maintained in his constituency, to ensure that we learn the lessons appropriately, based on evidence. That is why I am deliberately not jumping to any conclusions at this stage; I am waiting for the reviews to come back. I know that many in his constituency will be eager to see the results as well.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) for tabling the question and Mr Speaker for allowing me to provide an update on the current situation, expanding on the written ministerial statement that I laid on 26 November. As safety is the top priority for the ministerial team, prior to Ajax’s initial operating capability being announced, I asked for and was given assurances in writing by senior Ministry of Defence personnel that the system was safe. However, on 22 November, around 30 service personnel operating the Ajax family of vehicles reported noise and vibration symptoms during Exercise Titan Storm. In line with our safety protocols, the exercise was stopped immediately, and those affected received full medical care and attention. These personnel continue to be monitored. None of the symptoms are life-threatening and there have been no hospitalisations. The safety of our service personnel remains a top priority for the Ministry of Defence. As such, and out of an abundance of caution, I directed a pause on the use of Ajax for training and exercising while safety investigations are carried out. There are three investigations currently under way: one by the Defence Accident Investigation Branch; another by the Army safety investigation team; and the ministerial review that I have directed to be carried out in addition. While investigations remain ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the potential outcomes or to speculate on the causes of the symptoms. However, I can confirm that officials have been meeting General Dynamics daily since the incident on Titan Storm, and I am meeting General Dynamics tomorrow to ensure a collaborative approach to the issue. The safety of our people remains the top priority for me and the ministerial team. As such, we will take whatever decisions are required to end the saga one way or another. Where people have concerns around Ajax, I remind them that each organisation involved with Ajax has its own whistleblowing processes to ensure that any concerns are addressed appropriately and, importantly, confidentially. On vehicle safety more broadly, which the hon. Gentleman asked about, on the issue of the MAN support vehicle fleet—Army trucks—which I mentioned in my recent appearance in front of the Defence Committee, I can confirm that an issue was identified with the vehicles, and that a mitigation and repair schedule was created, which is being rolled out. That is an example of a system working properly in relation to MAN SV.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for what he said about Wedgetail. There was a very good debate in Westminster Hall only a few months ago during which a number of the issues relating to the Wedgetail procurement were raised, and the first test flight happened shortly after that. As for Ajax, it is right for us to take an evidence-based approach that involves looking systematically at the experience of both the vehicles that were potentially causing injuries and those that were not, so we can understand what has happened, and on the back of that we will make a decision on how to proceed. I think that that is the right approach, to be taken calmly and coolly but also professionally. I want the engineering reports to be the priority, and I want those who are working on them to have the time that they need to produce a thorough set of recommendations in respect of what has happened and what needs to happen next.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions and the tone in which he asked them. I too was disgusted when I heard the news of the injuries to our service personnel, especially after a point at which the vehicle was assured to be safe. It is for that very reason that I will not speculate—I hope he understands why—until the investigations have reported, so that we can understand the cause of the noise and vibration injuries. A decision can then be made based on that information. I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern, and I want to ensure that information given to Ministers—be it to me or any other Minister, in this Government or any other—is accurate and timely, so it is appropriate that we get to the bottom of this. I also share his concern around a particular issue with one GD employee, which he raised. I can confirm that General Dynamics has written to the Department to apologise for the recent social media posts from a member of its staff, and that was the right thing to do. The hon. Gentleman asked about an independent review of the platforms. As well as the Defence Accident Investigation Branch and the British Army’s teams investigating, I have asked that an external organisation with experience of noise and vibration be brought in. We are building a team of experts from a number of organisations outside the usual GD production line to add expertise and external challenge to the work. Hopefully, I will be in a situation to say more to the House in my next update; I hope to table a written ministerial statement ahead of the Christmas recess to keep the House informed about progress. I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern for our service personnel. It is not good enough for our service personnel to sustain injuries in this fashion on a platform that they were reassured was safe, just as I was. That is why getting to the bottom of this issue is a priority for me. I await the reports of those three investigations to understand what happened and therefore what decisions we will take as a result.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  The programme was paused under the last Government when problems were identified in relation to noise and vibration, and I think it was right that they made that decision to pause it in order to understand what had happened. They then commissioned work to establish what had gone wrong and what mitigations were required, and it was on the basis of much of that work that I was given an assurance that the platform was safe. In view of the injuries sustained by our service personnel, we are looking at what has been provided to us, in terms of accuracy and timeliness but also to understand what has happened in relation to this incident. I shall be able to say more in due course, when the reviews report.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for talking about Army Medical and 2 Med Group in particular. The strategic defence review set out how we need to invest in our enablers, and that includes Defence Medical Services, ensuring that as we move towards warfighting readiness, we maintain the ability to treat any of our personnel who may be injured or need medical attention. That work is ongoing, and he should expect to see investment in the defence investment plan.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector Innovation · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s critique of the system that we inherited from the previous Government, which frankly was not good enough. We do need to see procurement contracting times reduced, which is why in the defence industrial strategy we set out our ambition to reduce six-year procurements to two years, two-year procurements to one year, and one-year procurements to six months. We are using innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to help speed up that transition, and we are opening our office of small business growth at the start of next year, which will enable more SMEs to access defence contracts directly.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector Innovation · Hansard source

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  Keeping our nation safe in the air, on land and at sea requires cyber and space capabilities. Defence was attacked 90,000 times in the cyber domain, which amounts to roughly 250 attacks a day. That is why we are investing not just in the National Cyber Force but in the defence cyber and electromagnetic force that we are setting up, working with our colleagues in the private sector, to enhance the ability of defence not only to repel attacks on the defence infrastructure but to harden UK resilience in the private and public sectors. There is more work between the MOD and the Cabinet Office in that regard, but we need everyone to step up to defend our country in the cyber space, and we can all do something by simply updating our operating systems, which will make everyone who does so safer and more resilient.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector Innovation · Hansard source

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  As a fellow south-west MP, I know just how important it is for us to invest in defence skills in the south-west and across the United Kingdom. The defence industrial strategy includes the £182 million package that we will deliver via defence technical excellence colleges with our colleagues in the Department for Education, but we need to go further, encouraging all our defence businesses—big and small—to invest in skills so that we have the workforce of the future, able to deliver those cutting-edge technologies. I shall be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss what more we can do in Somerset.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector Innovation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone in which he spoke to the nation about the attack that took place in his constituency. He should feel very proud of the first responders from his area who responded to that attack. As for the opportunities that exist in his constituency, I was very pleased to meet him and my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) to look into how, on a cross-party basis, we can seize a real opportunity at RAF Wyton, supporting activities with local government in order to do so. The defence industrial strategy sets out the framework for delivering that opportunity through local and national Government working together with our armed forces and the private sector, as well as academia. We will continue those discussions, but the opportunity at RAF Wyton is real, and I am happy to be helping the hon. Gentleman to deliver it.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector Innovation · Hansard source

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  As we move towards warfighting readiness, the Government are investing more of our rising defence budget in new technologies and innovation, and the need for more innovative solutions to address emerging challenges is paramount in these darker and more dangerous times. On 1 July we launched UK Defence Innovation, a £400 million fund, and we will spend 10% of the equipment budget on innovative technologies that will deliver for defence.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I thank my constituency neighbour for raising issues involving the south-west. I am actually opening that factory in the hon. Member’s constituency next week, and I look forward to seeing her there to make the case further for it. The defence investment plan, which will be published later this year, will set out what we are spending our money on. Let us be very clear: we are delivering the strategic defence review, and we are piling more energy and more of the money that we have been allocated from the Treasury into British businesses. I want to see more SMEs benefit from that, and in that respect we are delivering the defence industrial strategy at pace, but I am very happy to discuss that further with her.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  As a very proud Labour and Co-operative MP, I know just how important it is to use community energy to create good renewable energy and cut energy bills. I would be very happy to speak to my hon. Friend about that. We are looking at the 1% of Britain that we own as a Department to see how we can not only deliver defence outputs and build more houses—with 100,000 houses identified in the defence housing strategy—but support environmental output and greater industrial opportunities for the private sector. I am very happy to meet her to discuss that further.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Defence is an engine for growth. The defence industrial strategy, which we published in September, sets out how we will reform procurement, cut contracting times, spend more of our rising defence budget with British companies, invest in frontier technologies and skills, crowd in private capital and support regional development.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in thanking his constituent for his creativity and work. Defence is one of the largest apprenticeship employers in the country, with over 24,000 apprentices. The Navy is No. 2 and the RAF is No. 4, and I am proud that the Army has been named the No. 1 apprenticeship employer. We are doing even more than that with £182 million going into skills, and we are working with our trade union colleagues—from both the GMB, of which I am proud to be a member, and Unite—alongside industries big and small, as part of the Defence Industrial Joint Council, so we can motor our economic development and create more jobs in defence.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Sector: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising the opportunities in the south-west. There is a huge skilled workforce in the south-west region and a huge amount of economic activity already present, but we want there to be even more. That is why we are working with local government, and with regional government where it exists, across the south-west, as well as our colleagues in the private sector, to look at how we can boost skills and direct more of the rising defence budget at British companies in the south-west and in every other region and nation of the country, so we can deliver for defence and create more jobs.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Procurement: SMEs · Hansard source

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  The role of west midlands SMEs in support of our armed forces is vital for our national security. The Ministry of Defence has just published our regional breakdown of defence spending in the west midlands, where we spend £1.7 billion. That is the highest on record, supporting 7,900 jobs, but it is not enough. We will spend an additional £2.5 billion extra with SMEs by 2028, helping to reinforce that defence can be an engine for growth.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Procurement: SMEs · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the time that my hon. Friend spent talking to me about SME potential in Dudley and across the west midlands last week. There is a huge opportunity to direct more of the increasing defence budget at British firms, and in particular SMEs. There is huge potential with the skills base in the west midlands. I would be happy to take my hon. Friend up on her offer of visiting Dudley and getting those businesses more involved in the defence supply chain.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Defence Procurement: SMEs · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising the important role that universities play. In the defence industrial strategy, published a few months ago, we set out our ambition to create a defence universities alliance, bringing together the very best cutting-edge research that is being done in our universities. We are working with Universities UK to put that together, and there will be further announcements in short order, but I hope that the universities on the right hon. Gentleman’s patch will participate so that we can grow our economy and keep our nation safe.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss this further. The last Government, I am afraid, left not only our weapons stockpiles almost empty, but far too many of our parts stockpiles as well. We are looking at investing in that as part of our defence investment plan, but I am happy to meet her to discuss the matter further.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We want to direct more of our increasing defence budget at British companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to see how we can encourage her business to win more defence contracts and to feed back on how we can be better in allowing SMEs to access the defence funding that we provide.