I am sure that the whole House will wish to pay tribute to the artist Jack Vettriano, who sadly died this week. He was the son of a Methil miner who taught himself to paint, and our country is a little less colourful for his passing.
May I express my thanks to you, Mr Speaker, and to Members throughout the House for the many kind words following the birth of my daughter Loïs? She was born at home two hours before the midwives could arrive, so I suppose it could be said that I am delivering for Scotland. A number of Members have asked me consistently how I am coping with the tears, snotters and tantrums, but I remind them that I have been on paternity leave, so have not had time to keep up with Scottish National party selection dramas.
It has been an historic week for our country. I know that the people of Scotland stand with Ukraine, and will recognise the importance of the Government’s decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. The Prime Minister’s leadership on the world stage should be a source of pride for all who value Britain’s role as a defender of democracy and a partner for European peace. Scotland has never been more ready to play its part in defending the UK and our allies.
Scotland’s world-class defence industry will play a key role in rebuilding Britain’s military capabilities, and during my visit to Babcock at Rosyth I saw at first hand how defence spending benefits Scotland’s small and medium-sized enterprises. However, investment in Scotland’s defence SMEs lags far behind that in the rest of the United Kingdom, accounting for just 2.5% of the total spending of the Ministry of Defence, largely owing to the hostile environment created by the Scottish National party. How is the Secretary of State working with the MOD and Scotland’s defence industry to unleash Scotland’s SMEs and enhance our nation’s defence capabilities?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for the cross-party support for the Prime Minister’s actions on Ukraine and, indeed, defence. Scotland needs all its political leaders to stand up proudly for our defence industry. Scotland has led the UK in defence, and has been home to its nuclear deterrent since the 1960s. I recently hosted a defence industry roundtable to discuss sector priorities and opportunities, and, as part of our Brand Scotland programme, I have discussed those in Norway and south-east Asia. I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement of new SME spending targets for defence, which will boost access to UK defence investment, unlocking new jobs in the process.
Does the Secretary of State agree that the SNP’s reckless pledge to scrap our nuclear deterrent at Faslane threatens our national security at a time of significant international volatility? The First Minister has said that Trident is of
“no tangible or realistic benefit”
to our current security challenges. Does the Secretary of State share my view that that stance is fundamentally naive, and demonstrates that the SNP cannot be trusted with Scotland’s future?
Indeed. The First Minister is all over the place on defence. He has suggested that we should increase the of 2.5% of GDP by scrapping Trident, but that is already included in the 2.5%, so it would make no difference whatsoever. The SNP are not credible at all when it comes to defence in Scotland, and I urge every member of every party in the House to get behind the Prime Minister in our national interest.