UK lacks defence strategy, MPs say, as plan unveiled for more weapons factories – UK politics live

8.50am GMT Good morning. Rachel Reeves will be unveiling her budget a week today, but the roll-out of budget-related news has already started and this morning John Healey, the defence secretary, will hold a press conference to announce that the government has identified 13 sites for new munitions factory. In a news release, the Ministry of Defence says Healey will commit to “building the factories of the future in Britain” and expects industry to break ground on the first energetics factory in the next year. The MoD says: The defence secretary will confirm that MoD has now funded a number of feasibility studies for the new energetics factories to kickstart high volume energetics production at scale for the first time in nearly two decades. The engineering design work on the first of these factories has been commissioned with a view to start production for UK armed forces and to enable our continued support to Ukraine. Potential sites include Grangemouth in Scotland, Teesside in Northeast England, and Milton Haven in Wales. The factories will produce the components essential for bolstering the UK’s weapons arsenal including propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics. “Energetics” are weapon parts, including propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics. Healey will also say that the decisions in the budget will ensure there is no return to the “hollowed out and underfunded” armed forces of the past. And about time too, the Commons defence committee says (sort of). In a report out today, it says Britain does not have a plan to defend itself from attacks. It says: The UK’s defence industrial base is not yet configured for sustained collective defence. It faces challenges in capacity, skills, innovation, procurement, and financing. The SDR [strategic defence review] and defence industrial strategy outline a reform agenda, but implementation will be key. The government must ensure that defence finance is accessible, predictable, and resilient— including for SMEs and start-ups. The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories with little progress on the home defence programme. The prime minister’s ‘national conversation on defence and security’, highlighted in the SDR, is yet to start. The proposed defence readiness bill, vital to empower government in the event of crisis or conflict, has not yet been written. The government must improve cross-departmental coordination, clarify responsibilities, and engage the public meaningfully in preparedness efforts. Here is the agenda for the day. 9.15am: Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, gives evidence to the Commons work and pensions committee. 10am: John Healey, the defence secretary, holds a press conference in Downing Street to announce investment in armaments production. Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs. 2pm: John Swinney, the Scottish first minister, speaks at an Institute for Government event. Afternoon: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, holds a press conference in Berlin with her German counterpart, Johann Wadephul. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog. Updated at 8.57am GMT