Latest defence news

• RESPECT SCOTLAND'S REGIMENTS CAMPAIGN Dumfries and Galloway MP and Shadow Defence Minister Russell Brown has helped launch a cross-party campaign to persuade the UK Government to show respect for the history of Scotland’s regiments. The UK Government’s defence cuts mean that the historic n...
• Britain is a maritime nation and we have a proud history on the seas A speech to the confederation of shipbuilding and engineering unions maritime forum by Russell Brown MP, Shadow Minister for International Security Strategy. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today. Britain is a maritime nation and we h...
• Responding to the Cyber Security threat By Russell Brown MP, Shadow Minister for International Security Strategy Last month, Jim Murphy, Shadow Defence Secretary, and I launched our defence review. The first stage of this review is to measure the threats facing the UK and assess our capabili...
• Labour launch defence policy review Yesterday the Shadow Defence Team launched Labour’s defence policy review. Dramatic events around the world and the deployment of brave UK Armed Forces make this an important time for debate on issues surrounding defence policy. For the country this is...

About my role

In October 2010 I was appointed to Labour’s front bench team as a Shadow Defence Minister.

As Shadow Minister for International Security Strategy I am focused on our security strategy for the present and future. My role involves looking at threats to our national security and speaking with experts in the field to identify future issues. It’s a wide ranging brief that covers international security threats and political upheaval, issues arising from natural disasters, cyber security and security of energy supplies.

Defence has always been an issue close to my heart. I am in awe of our brave fighting men and women in Afghanistan and across the world. Increasingly concerning developments in Iran and North Korea and the constant terrorist threat means I am under no illusions as to the scale of role.

Labour’s defence review

Along with Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy MP, I am carrying out a review of Labour’s defence and security policy. The review will examine the future security landscape and how Britain’s future security policy should be adapted to meet it, therefore guiding the work of other reviews the Shadow Defence team are undertaking looking at the future shape of the armed forces or multinational defence architecture. The review will look at humanitarian intervention, increased international interoperability and partnership, defence diplomacy and the use of preventative soft power.

Key areas for the review include:

• Which threats are likely to dominate the security agenda in the next decade and which actors are drivers of them?
• To what extent can we improve our ability to predict and pre-empt threats?
• How can security and defence architecture be used to help combat and prevent the principal drivers of the conditions for conflict?
• What forms can ‘military intervention’ and ‘humanitarian intervention’ take, and in what circumstances should their deployment be considered?
• What are the most effective diplomatic, preventative soft power tools that are not currently being deployed or maximised by the UK?

Read more about Labour’s defence review.