Kind of decent intelligence assessment. You are right, general stuart. There is tension between intelligence capability particularly, but those members of the feminist community bring. You know, some of the restrictions on sharing that intelligence because of the way this source, sharing it more widely. Im happy to report to you that the warsaw summit the summit did adopt what is called the joint Intelligence Survey and the initiative which would maximize the resources that the individual members of nato have and enhance the interconnectivity if i could describe it between the different Intelligence Systems will help improve the training and expertise that the intelligence function in each of the different member states. There are better procedures for information handling information sharing. There is quite a way to go in that as seem drawn attention to pay we did make some progress. Is a member of the nato parliamentary assembly, i had to resist quite strongly and other british members at the demand by senator parliamentarian in the nato states to actually insist that all intelligence should be shared equally among nato members. This particularly came from countries like belgium. I. End quote others were quite robust to say you must be joking. There is a dilemma here. When i served in nato, we recognize that anything classified on it took half an hour for the russian. So there is huge leakage. Its a big problem. I just raised the matter. I am just raising that for the committee to understand the real dilemma when someone has made a secret comment thats the last bloody thing it is. Sorry for the use of the language that ive seen a bridge so many times. He met quite already. Soldier talk no doubt. There is attention and there are more and are members to consider. What i want to assure you both if everybody recognizes the problems not least because of the terrorism members are facing in western europe and a problem is recognizing they have this initiative to try and position. One soldier to another. The office is going to spin on just the one question. They communicate states responding to nato. Its adopted a strategy and actionable implementation plan. Would you be prepared to share in some broad brush strokes what they are and potentially what our role in that may be. As far as hybrid is concerned, and i think nato in the individual allies will understand the activity that is designed to introduce uncertainty and ambiguity below the article side threshold is becoming a real issue for the allies. The lessons of ukraine have been unlikely that the next use of hybrid tactics will be the same as the pack acts we saw in ukraine. It is important to develop and the alliance and agility of response to that to be able to respond next time we see these kind of tactics. The strategy of country hybrid workfare at the end of last year, there is an implementation plan. It is now being agreed and there was a joint declaration at the warsaw summit between the nato secretarygeneral and president of the european council, president of the commission in c. And getting nato out of the e. U. Where there is a role because of the funds of which hybrid workfare can take in getting nato and e. U. To work much more closely on a coordinated approach between the two different institutions. Dealing with prevention and protection and information sharing of hybrid workfare cooperated not the response and communications and better resilience and hardening targets. Those institutions of our state states that are most likely than hybrid workfare. What is the next conflict in europe i missed the first part. What is your assessment of the next region a potential conflict within europe. Enough well, i think one of the successes of the later summit if they did not ask lucidly favored focus on the eastern border, where significant reassurance was required and met by the deployment of enhanced forward presence as weve discussed. But we also looked in an entire system is devoted that some of the pressures on nato further south. There are rising tensions in at least two parts. One of the black sea region by the militarization of crimea is causing particular concern in romania, bulgaria. Countries that are not that far away and nursing increase neglect dvd in the black sea area and of course in the mediterranean south, where we see enhanced russian activity of the coast of syria, but we also need the smuggling of arms from syria along the libyan supply and the french along that coast, very much closer to the nato order. So there are these areas attached. I dont think it would be wise of me to start speculating to break out, but there are these pressures and the alliance recognizes. He wants to come and. Mostly you referred to the policies. What their effectiveness is and their structure that theres no meeting. The surveillance and reconnaissance. I just came to get your steps are your ideas of how you can improve it. Crimea is a prime example to many of us feel the criteria, the priorities again come to see how they could be war fighters. Admits to be more fact. The alliance of the members of nato failed to predict and indeed fail to predict the intensity of the urgent need for brescia in the eastern ukraine. These were predicted accurately. So that wasnt there. The response was a little fragmented out of style a wakeup call for the alliance. Not to be an intelligent, but getting the alliance to look hard again at itself and reverse the decline in defense spending at it to the commitment that the whale summit, which led on to warsaw. Mr. Watkins may be able to have her more specifically. After with the secretary of state said earlier, one of the things we have been arguing for since crimea, since ukraine in 2014 is that nato needs to be calm more adaptable, more flexible. And needs to be better able to anticipate and respond to desert of event that affects not only just the intelligence arrangement, but also more broadly so there has been extensive work over the last year or so on it proving natos intelligent arrangement in the initiative that the defense secretary mentioned. It is an area fraught with difficulties for regions that have very eloquently already. We are pushing ahead for this and we are very determined to make it better. Can i ask the vicechief was specific assessment arrangement do you have within the military, versus the u. K. Military and do you feel in the light of the fact that it was the surprise would have been in ukraine crimea that changes are necessary has such changes been made . Ill take us back to the first question about how as you yourself said we had drawn down on russian expertise and russian intelligence specialists in the intervening years. That is what has been addressing for some time. The comments the secretary of state made earlier about developing both in the policy area, but also the intelligent area are absolutely valid and are an area of quite considerable investment. I would also highlight the fact that nato collected leave is absolutely addressing the challenge in this skit back to the serious question on how we can best leverage that. On the more recent question of the effectiveness of our isr and how we can leverage the nearly 29 patients more effectively. There is precedent they are and that we have for many years now committed our century aircraft nato. They have been tasked by nato essentially with those of other nations to the object is set by nato and even today free a stark white tight in our capability, for many across the alliance to develop a pen thats reducing the opportunities for collaboration or growth. I do not it was emphasized strongly in the growth from warsaw. I was preparing for any military confrontation in north korea and south china sea. Well, there is no direct nato road in korea. Obviously, we can then any Ongoing Nuclear activity by the peoples republic of korea and they continue to emphasize the committee is in violation of the Security Council resolution and we want north korea to put a stop to these provocations and start reengaging constructively with the International Community and we work as the united kingdom, within the United Nations to maintain that pressure. We were instrumental in drafting the latest resolution 2270 and that you will see contains some of the toughest measures yet restrict being the transfer of technology and doing more to impede north korea suffers to develop a deployable nuclear weapon. It was also the statement by the European Union on the 27th of june, which the u. K. Supported that, too, condemned the missile test. So those are the foreign weeper enhanced to bear on what happened in north korea. You think thered be any point in the future for north korea could see a direct challenge . Certainly its development of Nuclear Weapons is a very direct challenge and yes another reason by parliament was right yesterday to endorse the replacement for vanguard does. Too many Nuclear Weapons out there in north korea is a very good example of a red state developing his weapons of them continue to protect ourselves. Thank you are a much indeed. Simply stated the comments yesterday were highly given the opportunity to go on what is always going to be a very substantial margin. I look at the summit communique Security Threat in the black sea region. What would you say the threats that caused nato security in the black sea region . First, can i welcome what she said about yesterdays vote. It is debating info we promised before christmas. You know ive been pressing for it for some time and its like a delayed because of the referendum. The majority achieved last night was really have enormous significance, a much bigger majority in the previous vote and sends a very strong signal to our allies around the world. I am sure should be debated. Voted on w. Advises subject to qualifications as we set up by the British National interest and it isnt possible to consult paltry in town or whether some humanitarian catastrophe which has to be dealt with very, very quickly. People will vote in favor in iraq and the particular case but equally as possible on other occasions parliament will vote against the doing something which will turn up the right thing to do. You yourself perhaps would argue the case thats the case in syria in 2014. I quite accept your definition and who would want to to become a matter for the courts but surely its a question of crafting such a way that allows the executive to act the way they wish to act with the authority of parliament by a particular vote. Im always ready to keep thinking but in general terms i prefer conventions that evolved out of in the legalistic approach of trying to define in subparagraph what constitutes a particular mission. I think does leach into difficult and im afraid does involve the courts. Parliament, i think of the wrong decision in the first syria voter i think of a number of people his boat into chilcot debate is to believe parliament did the right decision back then although it may have been misled about the information about the intelligence about wmd. I think probably wrong to start off by saying parliament cant or shouldnt debate and decide these matters. Thank you very much. John. Yes, before we go to the chilcot can erase the announcement of a the 17th of july appointed by the Prime Minister to conduct a review into use of reserves in the army. That raises the question that with the independent Research Commission in 2011 and the reserves white paper and 2013, why a new review necessary because weve made considerable progress in recruiting reserves. A lot of focus on that through advertising and encouraging the regular units to team up with the reserve units in their area and so on. But i think it is right to look more broadly as the reserve numbers have increased particularly into army to look again at the possibilities that open up to how reserves can be used in future. And also whether the boundary between regulars and reserves is the right one. Whether it is too artificial, for example, whether there might be ways at different stages, peoples career of encouraging more flexibility and movement. I noticed that when significant numbers of regulars leaving the armed forces who want to be reservists. We may a people who want to move from the reserves to the regulars. Is the boundary between the 22 formalized . Thats one of the things that we havent finalized, we havent finalized the reference for mr. Francoise but that is a lease one area alongside we should use reserves that i think would be useful to have another look at. Any idea when that is expected to report . Not. I think this was only announced a couple of days ago. In terms of reference for mr. Francoise and i for mr. Francoise at the camp by the way think of anybody better to do this, former armed forces minister. He himself i think serve as a reservist and he is ideally suited to carry this out. Will we still than half a minister for the reserves in the structure speak was we will have a minister who deals with these personal issues including the reserves. The minister will be dealing, the new minister will be dealing sorry. Mr. Lancaster will be dealing with armed personnel issues, that includes regular service but it also would include veterans and reserves. So he will be able to look at all these issues together. Is of this review just look at those issues you just described going forward, or is it reviewing whether, in fact, the number of reserves coming forward has frankly been inadequate to replace the number of those who have been going out over the regular forces . I wouldnt a great it has been inadequate. We have some time yet to meet the target that was fixed. The numbers coming in the last two years have gone up and up, and i would like to pay tribute to the former minister of the reserves who did huge amount to drive up recruitment and to focus in this particular area. No, i want mr. Francoise to look forward now to how we can find more opportunities to deploy reserves and as i say, to look at making the boundary between a regular and a reservist more flexible. But im not yet actually finalized history of reference so your input at this stage is a very welcomed. On that very specific point about terms of reference, as long as the issue, will one of the issues under the report be about women coming in and out, what are the issues we will see women leave the service . Its also possible to return and that instant affecting the number of female senior officers. Will also be part of the inquiry . Thats exactly. Exactly that. We needed better entrance in recruiting women into the reserves and we need to understand womens priorities will change at different points in their career and why we are losing too many people that we would like to retain. Can we make it easier, for example, for them to come back again after a short break without losing some of the damage they might have had by staying in all a long . And candid look again at the liabilities can we could those be more flexible, different stages of somebodys life. Thats exactly the kind of area i think we would be willing to look at. In the remaining time which is just over half an hour, we would like to focus now on the chilcot report and lessons from it. John, if you would like to start with questions. What measures if any would you say the m. O. D. Is setting to absorb the lessons and analysis of the chilcot report . First of all we welcomed the report. It tells a very important story about our recent history of the period, a military campaign where we could clearly have done better. It concludes that we did not achieve our strategic objective, however well the troops did fight. Clearly we could have done better and we need to learn from that. And establish why we didnt do better at the time. So we are looking at everything chilcot has said about the ministry itself, but some of our own decisionmaking processes, the way in which advice is tendered both to ministers and from military commanders to very senior ministers. We are looking again at the armed forces as how we can improve the structures there and the ability of proper, the ability to ensure proper challenge within the armed forces to avoid the dangers of groupthink. And, of course, well have another look at our equipment processes, some of which were improved for the Afghanistan Campaign but there may again be for the lessons in terms of getting the equipment that is needed for particular campaigns to the front more quickly. So there is an awful lot there that we need to pick up on, and im quite sure as i said when i spoke in the debate last week . Thursday. The debate on thursday, we are not at all complacent about this. We believe that ministry has improved since those days but i suspect we have a lot more to do. Will debate any sort of dedicated unit within the ministry that will claw through this huge font of the cure in order to extrapolate the lessons and make recommendations . The short answer to that is yes. I have set out the team did exactly that, to go right through the report and to make sure that proper lessons are learned and they are hard at work doing that at the moment. Wouldve a chance of its findings be made public, even if slightly redacted form of . We can report on how we get on, you know, in the findings. And more importantly how were implementing the changes that you would like us are expect to see. Im happy to look about. Can you tell us who is in charge of unit . Can adjust perhaps add one thing to your earlier question . Has to be a government response to the chilcot report in due course, and it may be that form, summarizes some of our initial work in how our findings are going to be implemented. I just asked that question but that was very helpful. Can you tell us whos in charge of the unit that is going to be trawling through the m. O. D. . Im in overall charge of everything. I appreciate that but even given your superhuman capacity for work might not extend to how many million words, such as what was your able to tell us who the officials are going to . Sure. People describe the structure of the team for your. Basically set up a teen. We have a directorate and the minister of defense, which has been dealing with inquiries, investigation and so on for many years. We have set up a team within a directorate, some of whose members are actually sitting behind us and they are doing just what the defensive secretary sedney they are trawling through all 2. 6 million words. One of the points i think i should make about the report is aactually noticed it doesnt contain a source of simple table of recommendations and conclusions. The findings come to conclusions, the lessons are actually spread not just across the whole report, not just an executive summary but deep and to some of the other rather thick volumes so theyre going through it every single volume line by line to pull out all that information. Maybe they felt they didnt have enough time to prepare a summary. At can you just tell me who is in charge o