Labour’s promise to spend 5% GDP on defence is just unfunded smoke & mirrors - not like 1985, the last time we actually spent 5% on the military. So what’s the difference? 👇

Congratulations to Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton on his new position as Chief of Defence Staff. Working together at the MoD I found him very approachable & recall our first select committee together when he was Chief of the Air Staff designate, or CAS-D. I wish him well.

This Armed Forces Day, we honour all those who serve, and their families who carry the burden of separation, worry, and sometimes unbearable loss. We say thank you - we’ve got your back.

On #ArmedForcesDay, as Shadow Defence Secretary I’m honoured to send my best wishes & profound thanks to all who serve, their families & our veterans.

Warfare is changing rapidly, but Labour are rearming far too slowly.   We need another u-turn from Keir Starmer to fund rapid drone procurement for the British Army.👇 #DronesNotChagos

This is an utter capitulation. Labour's welfare bill is now a TOTAL waste of time. It effectively saves £0, helps no one into work, and does NOT control spending. It’s pointless. They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern.

After the farcical scenes yesterday, reality dawns for the government. Keir Starmer’s u-turns and capitulations have blown an enormous hole in the public finances. And who is going to pay for this rank incompetence? Labour’s magazine of choice makes it clear: all of us.

Chagos latest: confirmation that the US will not contribute at all to the £30bn leaseback deal, they will only contribute to ‘operational costs’ for Diego Garcia, as at present. No wonder the US backs this deal - the £30bn cost falls entirely on UK taxpayers.

Chagos - with Labour’s massive U-turn on welfare this week, it’s even more vital they scrap their crazy surrender deal. After all, where else are they going to get the money for Defence spending? express.co.uk/news/politics/…

We need to do everything possible to back our veterans. As such, I was delighted to meet the founder of Combat2Coffee, Nigel Seaman. Using his own experiences, Nigel launched Combat2Coffee to support the mental health of veterans by sparking conversations in community cafés.

Horrified to hear of even more widespread indiscriminate drone attacks on Kyiv than usual, by Russian forces. Putin started this war - it’s clear he has no intention of stopping. We must continue doing everything possible to support Ukraine 🇺🇦 🇬🇧bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

My left-leaning, champagne-socialist friends were so excited at the prospect of a Labour government last year. “Of course we want you to win Kemi” they told me, “but after 14 years, it’s time for change”. Well they got that change and they are absolutely aghast at what's

Today, we stand with those who carry the pain of the 7/7 attacks, the families, friends and colleagues of those who never came home. We will remember them always.

Saddened to hear about the passing of Lord Tebbit. He was a true giant of British politics who defied terrorism and always stayed true to his principles. He’ll be sorely missed, and my thoughts are with his family and friends.

More shameless smoke & mirrors from Labour on defence spending, with Rachel Reeves claiming it's ‘increasing to 2.6%' - at best, it's going to 2.5%, but that's pre-Chagos. 2.6% only comes from adding the Intelligence budget, which was previously separate. gov.uk/government/new…

Having been sworn in a year ago today - here’s my look back on a busy 12 months👇