00:00I think there are two reflections I would offer about the Battle of Britain, thinking about
00:05what happened then and the lessons for Britain today. The first is that even in those darkest
00:13of times for our country, Britain was never alone. We had service personnel from across Europe,
00:23from across what's now the modern Commonwealth was, the British Empire, flying, serving and
00:29fighting for the liberty that we enjoy today. And moments like this are a chance for us to remember,
00:36particularly the 856 service personnel who never return, the great many civilian casualties,
00:42but also the success, the victory that was won, the democracy that was preserved.
00:49That, I'm afraid, is still a modern battle for us today. It's not clear in this century whether
00:55democracy and freedom or tyranny will triumph in the 21st century. And that's why investing in our
01:03defence, investing in our capability, investing in our military advantage is important because having
01:10stronger defence makes it far less likely that this country will find itself at a war of a kind that
01:17they had to confront 86 years ago when the Battle of Britain was fought. There is more to do. My
01:24early
01:24reflections two months in as Defence Secretary is that there are lots of things that this country does
01:28and is capable of that we can be really proud of. But at the same time, the nature of warfare
01:34is changing,
01:35the nature of the threat is evolving and we need to move with the times and invest in our defence
01:40and
01:40that's what this government is doing.
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