'WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT!?' - Kemi Badenoch SHREDS Labour over 'SHOCKING' delays to Defence Plan

[00:00:00]Come to the urgent question, leader of the opposition, can we debate it now?

[00:00:08]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[00:00:09]To ask the Secretary of State for Defense if he will make a statement on the effects of the delay of the defense investment plan on our armed forces' ability to defend the United Kingdom.

[00:00:22]>> Minister.

[00:00:23]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I turn to the matter before us, the whole house will want to join me in recognizing the remarkable work of our armed forces this weekend. In the channel, UK forces boarded a sanctioned vessel from Russia's shadow fleet to disrupt the flow of funds for Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. The Defense Secretary will be making a statement on that shortly.

[00:00:41]Mr. Speaker, these are extraordinary times for defense. The threats are real and they're increasing. It's no secret that I worked in lockstep with the former Defense Secretary. He is a friend and mentor. I was his deputy and I'm still standing here because he asked me to stay and because we need continuity in this complex and difficult operational environment. The DIP will be published before the NATO summit. Do we need to increase more on Do we need to spend more on defense? Yes.

[00:01:07]Does the Prime Minister and the Chancellor agree? Yes. Are we spending more? Yes. This year's defense budget is £11 billion more than the final year under the Conservatives. Are we learning the lessons from Ukraine? Yes. Are we retiring old kit to invest in new capabilities? Yes. Are we backing our people? Yes. The biggest pay rise in 20 years and £9 billion plan to fix the defense housing crisis we inherited and it's working. Intake is up 11.6%.

[00:01:35]Outflow down 8.9% and morale is up. And to answer her question directly, if asked to fight tonight, could our forces defend the UK? Yes. And they already do every single day. Are we planning to increase their capabilities to deter and defend the UK and our allies? Yes, we are. Would I like to go further? Of course. The new Defense Secretary has stepped up to serve as he has done before, sleeves rolled up and determined to meet the moment to get defense the best deal. And let me say plainly, I know the PM is committed to do so as well. He said in Munich, to meet the wider threat, it is clear that we are going to have to spend more, faster. And at the weekend, he said, 3% in the next Parliament, defense will be the number one priority at every spending review, including the next spending review. The disagreement in recent weeks was never about whether we should fund our forces.

[00:02:25]It's about how fast we increase the spending for defense and on what capabilities. And that's a serious argument to have, and I make no apology for pushing hard within the government to win it. That is the job. But the job is also a team sport, and that's why the MOD, with the new Defense Secretary, is working with the Treasury, other government departments, and number 10 to get this right.

[00:02:47]>> Hear me, hear me, no.

[00:02:51]>> Mr. Speaker, it speaks volumes that a junior minister has consented to answer this question today.

[00:02:58]If the new Defense Secretary is too scared to face tough questions at the dispatch box, waiting for an easier statement later, then I don't have much confidence in him facing down the threat from Russia.

[00:03:10]It has been 2 years since Labour paused the Conservative plan to fund our armed forces. A year since their strategic defense review.

[00:03:20]A year since their strategic defense review. We have been warning that the delays to the defense investment plan >> Order.

[00:03:28]People have gone to the front bench.

[00:03:30]Don't bring the back bench habits to the front bench, please.

[00:03:33]Hear me, hear me, no.

[00:03:36]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been warning that the delays to the defense investment plan were making our troops and our country less safe.

[00:03:46]Last week, the Defense Secretary and the Minister for the armed forces quit the government because they knew those warnings were true and they were no longer willing to defend the indefensible.

[00:03:58]They have done the honorable thing by resigning. It could not have been easy for the former defense secretary, a labor man through and through when he said and I quote, I am being forced to make decisions that would increase the risk to personnel on operations and could make the country less safe.

[00:04:19]That is absolutely shocking. What on earth is the government playing at?

[00:04:23]The statement that the minister has just given shows that the government are still in denial. He did not say that there would be extra money for the defense investment plan as his former mentor, so he says, asked for. The prime minister needs to tell the chancellor to find the money. The answer is to cut the welfare budget and I am I am willing to lend the government 116 votes to do just that because I know they won't do it on the proviso that the defense investment plan meets three simple tests. First, the government must at a minimum find the 28 billion pounds that the chief of the defense staff has said is needed.

[00:05:02]Will they?

[00:05:04]Second, that funding must be provided before 2030. Will it? There's no kicking into the long grass here, Mr. Speaker.

[00:05:12]And if the answer to both questions is no, then this minister should have resigned along with his colleagues.

[00:05:18]Third, that funding must ensure we are ready to fight the wars of the future, not the past. I am sure the minister will now stand up and try and blame the situation on conservative governments forgetting that these are new threats, not past threats. This government needs to stop wasting time and do what is necessary to keep the British people safe today.

[00:05:38]>> Minister.

[00:05:39]>> Well, can I thank the right honorable lady for her question and for the tone in which she's asked it. We often have a lot of shouting from our front bench, but I appreciate the professionalism and calm that she asked those questions.

[00:05:50]Let me be very clear.

[00:05:51]>> Order. Order. I think those two just want to spoil it. I'm sure they won't, Minister.

[00:05:57]>> Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The Defense Secretary is currently with His Majesty the King, um and will be in the house this afternoon making a statement on the operational on the operations over the weekend. Um I have to say, um I recognize that she got her revenge in early by saying I will seek to blame it on the Conservatives. Let me be very clear.

[00:06:18]It's the right honorable lady will know that we inherited forces that have been hollowed out and underfunded by the Conservatives. That we inherited defense housing. That we inherited defense housing where families were being asked to sleep in bedrooms with black mold, leaky roofs, and broken boilers. That 47 of 49 major defense programs we inherited at the general election were overbudget and unfunded. However, we've also been very clear that we are increasing defense spending. I appreciate I appreciate that she had a pre-scripted questions, but if she listened to what I said at the start, she would know that we're increasing defense spending. An extra 11 billion pounds >> Order. Order.

[00:06:57]I think you've just proved the point.

[00:06:59]When you request an urgent question and the questions being asked allow the Minister to ask without comment, without two of you either side chipping in. I don't need it, you don't want it. So, I'm not being funny. This affects all of our constituencies and our constituents.

[00:07:15]So, please, Minister.

[00:07:16]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um we are increasing defense spending. The budget this year is 11 billion pounds more than the budget in the last year of the Conservative government. We are ending that hollowing out, but of course I want more money in the defense budget. It's a case that we continue uh to make as the profile of defense spending increases. I welcome a debate that says what capabilities will we spend that increasing defense funding on. And she is right when she says we need to fight the wars of tomorrow. That's why we're investing in more autonomy. That's why we're investing in more drones, a hybrid navy, and the increased stockpiles that we need to deter Russian aggression.

[00:07:52]There's more work to do, and the new defense secretary is working with his sleeves rolled up to deliver the best deal that we can. And we will publish the defense investment plan ahead of the NATO summit.