Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said today the Government would 'do whatever it takes' to keep the UK safe from the threat of spy balloons.
Speaking on a visit to a new £10m health diagnosis centre in Royton, Oldham, the PM said 'national security matters' prevented him from commenting in more detail, but insisted the UK was in 'constant touch' with allies. Mr Sunak also spoke out on the amount of aid being sent to Turkey and Syria after the devastating earthquake and around water sewage pollution.
His comments came after Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, announced Britain would conduct a security review after a series of objects in western airspace were shot down by the US military, including a suspected Chinese spy balloon.
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US fighter jets shot down an 'unidentified object' over Lake Huron on Sunday – the fourth object to enter US or Canadian airspace in just over a week. On February 4, the US military downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it travelled over sensitive military sites across North America.
And almost a week later on Friday, they shot down an unknown 'car-sized' object flying in US airspace off the coast of Alaska.
"I want people to know that we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe," Mr Sunak told broadcasters during a visit to the Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) located in Salmon Fields, Royton, and opened in December.
"We have something called the quick reaction alert force which involves Typhoon planes, which are kept on 24/7 readiness to police our airspace, which is incredibly important. I can't obviously comment in detail on national security matters, but we are in constant touch with our allies and, as I said, we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.”
The Prime Minister declined to be drawn on the possibility of similar incidents in UK airspace. "People should be reassured that we have all the capabilities in place to keep the country safe," he said.
The Oldham CDC is a one-stop-shop for cancer checks, scans, and tests. It provides a wide range of diagnostic imaging technology, heart and lung tests and blood tests, and it's estimated that more than 30,000 patients a year will use the facility.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, today announced 19 approved new centres would be rolled out across the country this year. Mr Sunak was photographed chatting to patients and staff.
He said he would welcome tougher fines for water companies as he denied reports his Government is backing away from hitting sewage polluters with penalties.
Mr Sunak was asked about a report in The Times and if the Government was prepared to water down fines for water companies that spill sewage.
The PM said: "That reporting is categorically not true, right. I want to… actually would welcome tougher fines for water companies and that is what we are putting place.
"Not only are we holding them to account for putting in place the largest investment in our water infrastructure in decades – £56 billion of investment that we are expecting the water companies to put in – we will hold them to account for their part in reducing the overflows, and there will be very significant fines for them if they don’t do their part in this.
"That is what the Government is delivering and that’s what I’m committed to doing."
Mr Sunak declined to commit to increasing the Government's £5 million support for areas in Turkey and Syria devastated by earthquakes despite public support passing £60 million.
Asked during the visit the Prime Minister said: "It's been amazing to see the response from the country to what is an unbelievable, devastating tragedy that is hard to comprehend the scale of…That's why it's important that we do our bit and I'm grateful to everyone who's given generously, the Government has matched £5 million of those donations but we're also providing lots of other support directly to the authorities in the region."
He said Britain has provided support including rescue workers, tents, blankets, hygiene equipment, adding: "We're also continually in touch with the authorities and if they need more assistance we’re ready to provide it."
Mr Sunak was also pressed on whether he has confidence in Richard Sharp, as the BBC chairman faces calls to quit after MPs found he made 'significant errors of judgment' by acting as a go-between for a loan guarantee for Boris Johnson.
"This relates to a process that happened before I was Prime Minister, obviously," he said.
"It is currently being looked at by the independent office of public appointments and that process is ongoing so I can't speculate or pre-judge the outcome of that, but it is an independent process that is going to look at it and make sure that everything was followed correctly and all the rules and procedures were adhered to and obviously we will wait for that report."
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