24 Jan 25. Chatham House and RUSI experts to give evidence on the threats facing Europe and the UK.
Evidence Session: UK contribution to European Security
Tuesday 28 January 2025, 10.30, Committee Room 6
Watch live on parliamentlive.tv
At 10.30 on Tuesday 28 January, the Defence Committee will hold its first evidence session in its inquiry into the UK contribution to European security.
The Committee will hear from expert witnesses from Chatham House and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in a session focused on the threats facing Europe and the UK and the key capability gaps.
The session will explore the UK’s role in European security and the UK’s multilateral and bilateral relationships in Europe.
Committee Members are likely to ask questions on the UK’s current and potential future cooperation on defence and security matters with European governments and the European Commission. The session is likely to also cover the role of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), and its relationship with NATO.
10.30, Tuesday 28 January 2025:
- Armida Van Rij – Senior Research Fellow & Head of Europe Programme, Chatham House
- Ed Arnold – Senior Research Fellow for European Security, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)
24 Jan 25. How vulnerable is the UK to undersea cable attacks? MPs and Lords will examine threats to undersea cables in a new inquiry launched today by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS). Undersea fibre-optic cables are the ‘backbone’ of the world’s internet system, underpinning global commerce and communications. Over 500 cables carry around 95% of all international data, with demand set to increase in coming years. These cables are often long and remote, making them difficult and costly to monitor. They are vulnerable to natural events, accidental damage by vessels or deliberate sabotage. Around 60 cables connect the UK to the outside world. This provides reasonable resilience if one is damaged—but the impact of simultaneous damage to multiple cables would be significant, particularly during periods of heightened tension or conflict. On-shore cable landing stations may also be targeted. Although the Government has taken steps to improve maritime security in recent years, concern is growing about both the capability and intent of hostile states. Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs last week that the UK was monitoring Russian spy ship Yantar, which he said was mapping critical underwater infrastructure. A number of cables in northern European waters – including those providing links between Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and the Shetland Islands – have been severed over the past few years. Over 50 Russian vessels have been observed around areas of high cable density in the Baltic Sea. Further afield, concerns have been raised about Chinese sabotage—particularly around Taiwan. The inquiry will explore the UK’s ability to defend our subsea infrastructure, and how this might change in the coming years as technology develops. The inquiry will look at UK strategy, engagement with allies and partners, options for improving deterrence and redress, and the adequacy of cross-Government co-ordination. It will also examine the UK’s resilience in the event of major disruption to internet infrastructure.
Full terms of reference are available on the Committee’s website. Submissions can be made via the Committee’s website until 11.59pm on 6 March.
Matt Western MP, Chair of the JCNSS, said: “Our internet relies on undersea cables: around 99% of our data goes through them, connecting the UK to the outside world. As the geopolitical environment worsens, foreign states are seeking asymmetric ways to hold us at risk. Our internet cable network looks like an increasingly vulnerable soft underbelly. There is no need for panic—we have a good degree of resilience, and awareness of the challenge is growing. But we must be clear-eyed about the risks and consequences: an attack of this nature would hit us hard. Our inquiry will look at what’s needed to defend our subsea cables, and consider the UK’s national resilience should our internet face major disruption”.
22 Jan 25. Chair Correspondence: Harland & Wolff. Defence Committee seeks clarity on Harland & Wolff administration announcement. The Defence Committee is today (Wednesday 22 January) publishing a letter to the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon. John Healey, regarding Harland & Wolff’s announcement that it intends to file for administration. The letter asks the Ministry of Defence to clarify what the decision will mean for Harland & Wolff’s ongoing projects, and how it relates to the sale of the company to Navantia UK, announced in December last year. The Committee notes that when the deal was announced to the House no mention was made that the company would enter administration as part of the sale process. The letter also asks the Government what impact the company’s announcement will have on the Fleet Solid Support Ship programme and other shipbuilding projects, and how Harland & Wolff’s suppliers will be affected.
21 Jan 25. UK union urges additional Eurofighter buy. The trade union that represents manufacturing workers across the United Kingdom has urged the country’s government to place a follow-on order of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft to help secure jobs within the defence aviation sector. The House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) noted in its The Global Combat Air Programme report published on 14 January that the Unite union had written it in late 2024, calling on the government to buy more aircraft to safeguard jobs at BAE Systems’ Warton production facility in northern England.
“Union representatives at [Warton] wrote to us in November 2024 to warn that ‘there are currently no Typhoons being final assembled at [the] Warton site and no orders for any future aircraft, essentially production has stopped for British built Typhoon aircraft.’ They called for the UK government to place a further order for 24 aircraft, arguing that this would fulfil a military requirement, maintain industrial capacity, and also encourage export orders from other nations,” the HCDC said.
In making its call to the HCDC, Unite is trying to bring the UK into line with the other three Eurofighter partner countries of Germany, Italy, and Spain, who have each ordered additional Eurofighters over recent years, months, and weeks. (Source: Janes)