'We are living in an increasingly dangerous world' - Telford MP reacts to Government defence spending review

At least six new munitions factories are set to open alongside the procurement of up to 7,000 long-range weapons, as part of a new strategic defence review announced by the Government.

Moreover, up to 12 attack submarines will be built for the Royal Navy as part of the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership while £1 billion will be invested in a new cyber command and increasing the UK's digital capabilities.

Last year, the Government spent more than £1.5 billion on defence contracts across the West Midlands. Defence industry firms across the county and the West Midlands also employed more than 22,000 people.

Defence firm Rheinmetall recently said that its new £400 million gun-barrel factory that is set to be built in Telford will help triple the UK's defence capacity by 2030.

The German-headquartered defence firm has announced a new factory development based at the RBSL Hadley Castle Works in Telford. The project is set to begin by 2027 and could create up to 400 jobs in Shropshire.

The facility will manufacture gun-barrel systems for both the UK and NATO countries - the first time these systems have been built in the UK for almost a decade.

Telford MP Shaun Davies has welcomed the news and reacted to Sir Keir Starmer's announcements.

"I think this is good for national security and industrial strategy," said Mr Davies.

"These are real-life jobs that are being created in Telford at places like RBSL and other defence companies who are recruiting people to work for them right now and who are expanding their facilities.

"The first duty of Government is to defend Britain and we are living in an increasingly dangerous world. I welcome the steps that the Government is taking in terms of increasing defence spending.

"Defence spending has never been as high as it will be under the Labour Government compared to when the party was last in power.

"People know that we have a long way to go. I speak to military personnel all the time: housing for serving military people is not at the right state, there are more seats at Wembley Stadium than there are members of the full-time army, and we need to make sure that we are fixing those things so that Britain can be safe.

"It is also about making sure that we are thinking about the future battles. It isn't just about tanks and aeroplanes, it is also about cyber security, and improving national infrastructure to make sure we can defend ourselves against that as well."