THE Barrow MP has called on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to work more closely with like-minded countries in the face of the ever increasing threats against cyber security.

The call came as part of Foreign Office questions in the House of Commons on Tuesday. MP’s have only returned to Parliament for a day.

Simon Fell MP didn’t hang around in taking the opportunity to scrutinise the government from the back benches, and to reference Barrow built submarines, specifically HMS Anson.

Questioning FCDO Minister of State, the Right Honourable Amanda Milling MP, Simon said: “I was pleased last week to welcome the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary to Barrow, alongside the Australian Deputy Prime Minister, for the commissioning of HMS Anson. An important sign of the strength of our AUKUS partnership.”

The MP continued: “Would my Rt. Hon. Friend agree with me, that the future requires much more close working, between like minded countries to counter authoritarian regimes, not just in the physical domain, but in cybersecurity and intelligence sharing to?”

Ms Milling said in response: “The Government has been very clear that we must build a network of likeminded countries and flexible groupings if we are going to protect our interests globally.”

Commenting after the exchange, Simon said: “Last week saw an important step in cementing the AUKUS partnership, linking Barrow, Australia and the US together in the common bond of subsea defence.

"I was glad to host the PM and defence Secretary on their visit as they commissioned HMS Anson alongside the Australian Deputy PM.

"But I’m the face of growing threats from countries like Putin’s Russia, it is crucial that we go further and work in partnership in cyber defence and intelligence sharing too. I was glad to see the Foreign Office Minister supportive of this idea when I questioned her about it in the Commons earlier today.”