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Lord Coaker (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 3 March 2026

Debate

Defence Industrial Strategy 2025: Economic Growth and Job Creation

Contribution

As the noble Baroness, Lady Foster, said, there have been meetings in Northern Ireland to drive the strategy forward. We are hoping to make an announcement about the growth deal for Northern Ireland to build on the consultations that have taken place. Northern Ireland is home to Thales and a diverse range of defence and dual-use industries. The country is recognised as a leading cyber security hub, boosted by the Queen’s University Belfast Centre for Secure Information Technologies and Momentum One Zero. It is also a critical home to Thales and Harland & Wolff, companies that are critical to our support for Ukraine and our maritime strength. That is a good news story for Northern Ireland and for the whole of the UK.

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