Topical Questions

Part of Defence – in the House of Commons at 2:36 pm on 5 July 2021.

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Photo of John Healey John Healey Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 2:36, 5 July 2021

We pay tribute to the total professionalism of the HMS Defender crew.

This is a profound moment for the more than 150,000 UK men and women who served in Afghanistan. I pay tribute to their service and their sacrifice, especially those of the 457 who have lost their lives. Where does this withdrawal leave the UK strategy of forward deployment in a region that sits between Russia, China and Iran—three of the main state-based threats identified in the integrated review—and how will the Government ensure that Afghanistan does not again become an operating base for terrorism directed against the west?