18 Apr 24. First evidence session of Defence in the Grey Zone.
Evidence Session: Defence in the Grey Zone
Tuesday 23 April at 10.30, The Thatcher Room
Watch live on Parliament TV
On Tuesday 23 April, at 10.30, the Defence Committee will hold its first evidence session on Defence in the grey zone. This session will explore the threats and opportunities presented by the so-called grey zone and will examine how well UK Defence is operating in that arena.
Grey zone threats occur when a hostile power exploits a mix of diplomatic, information, military and economic levers. Examples include cyber threats and disinformation.
In this session, the Committee will hear from expert witnesses Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow the Atlantic Council, and Andrew Mumford, a professor of War Studies in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham.
The Committee will likely discuss the role of UK defence in addressing grey zone threats and what lessons can be learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The session will likely also explore grey zone capabilities, including cyber and the protection of critical national infrastructure.
10.30, Tuesday 23 April:
- Elisabeth Braw – Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
- Andrew Mumford – Professor of War Studies University of Nottingham; member of the EU/NATO Hybrid Threats Centre of Excellence
15 Apr 24. New select committee proposed to provide scrutiny of highly confidential spending. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today calls for the establishment of a new select committee, to consider sound financial practice and value for money in sensitive areas which are outside the remit of the statutory Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. In a report published today, the Committee cautions that there are a number of scrutiny gaps relating to sensitive Government expenditure. Two such areas are the defence nuclear enterprise and the UK’s Special Forces. The PAC warns that, extrapolating from government performance elsewhere, it is likely that there are problems with poor delivery or project performance which Parliament can neither see nor exercise positive influence over. The report recommends the new select committee be established as soon as possible, and before the dissolution of the current Parliament. It further recommends that the new committee, provided with the assistance of the National Audit Office, should have the specific remit of considering sound financial practice and value for money in some important but sensitive areas of expenditure outside the remit or practical working arrangements of the Defence Select Committee, Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy and the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “Parliament must no longer see through a glass darkly on whether value for money is being secured on confidential expenditure. There are of course sound reasons why certain areas of spending must be examined in a manner appropriate to their sensitivity. Such sensitivity is all the more reason why the processes around its scrutiny should be made robust. A new select committee would address the current gaps in how such matters are scrutinised, and the PAC would be pleased to work with the government to take this proposal forward.”