Henry Smith MP has spoken in the House of Commons in praise of Sussex Police officers working to tackle extremism on Monday, 23rd November.

Henry said;

“I’m grateful for the work of Sussex Police, in Crawley and across the country, in their ongoing work to counter extremism.

“This week in the Commons I updated the Prime Minister on my recent trip to Iraq, where I listened to soldiers fighting against ISIS/Daesh, and spoke with families displaced by this barbaric death cult.

“I’m pleased to support the Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), which will see the Ministry of Defence spend £178 billion on equipment over the next ten years, an increase of £12 billion on previous plans.

“The UK Defence budget will increase by 0.5% above inflation for the rest of this parliament - the risks and threats faced by our country have increased since the last SDSR in 2010.”

Henry Smith, Member of Parliament for Crawley, asked the Prime Minister;

“The other week, I was privileged to see the good that UK aid is doing in refugee camps in the middle east and the good that the RAF is doing in helping to defeat ISIL/Daesh in the skies over Iraq.

“Closer to home, will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating the Sussex police and crime commissioner, Katy Bourne, and her officers on the work that they are doing to tackle extremism in our communities?”

The Prime Minister, Rt Hon David Cameron MP, responded;

“I certainly join my hon. Friend in doing that. This is not something that we have discussed today, but in defeating the scourge of Islamist extremist violence, as well as doing more overseas or upstream to combat it and investing in our counter-terrorism and intelligence capabilities here, it is crucial that we fight the extremist narrative.

“We must take on the extremists, out-argue them and demonstrate that what they are doing bears no relation to the true religion of Islam.”