The GCAP contract is funded by the three nations and the costs will be split to reflect the work undertaken by each nation, distributed based on equity principle and under a spirit of equal partnership.

This Government welcomes the efforts of prosecutors in Italy and elsewhere to investigate these very serious allegations and ascertain the facts. The UK continues to support international and domestic mechanisms for prosecuting war crimes. We will, wherever needed, cooperate with the governments of Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and other relevant authorities to ensure justice is done. The UK remains in close contact with BiH authorities to address the legacies of past conflicts and prevent their recurrence. I met Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković on 1 June to reaffirm UK support and condemn divisive rhetoric by some BiH politicians. These allegations remind us of the enduring need to confront impunity, for the sake of lasting peace and reconciliation.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with his international counterparts on a range of issues. We have always maintained that we remain open to others joining GCAP.

This Government remains committed to strengthening sovereign industrial capability and modernising frontier industries.

Ministers and senior officials engage regularly with industry stakeholders and Defence has continued to work with suppliers on the Global Combat Air Programme whilst developing the Defence Investment Plan.

The UK remains committed to the Global Combat Air Programme, working closely with our international partners to deliver a next generation combat air capability. On 14 June the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK Government would proceed with the next international contract for the Global Combat Air Programme by the end of June.

Italy is a close NATO ally of the United Kingdom, and as carrier nations that both operate F-35B aircraft there is consistent collaboration, both bilaterally and through the European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative (ECGII).

As part of Operation HIGHMAST, UK and Italian Carrier Strike Groups conducted integrated carrier operations in the Mediterranean Sea, which included the embarkation of Italian F-35Bs aboard HMS PRINCE OF WALES, with UK F-35s also operating onboard ITS CAVOUR.

All three trilateral partners are making significant investments in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), with the partnership itself designed to enhance affordability through shared development and delivery.

The precise investment profiles of our international partners are matters for their respective Governments to comment on.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.

DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.

We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.

Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

The Young Leaders Programme was launched in 2023 and aims to strengthen ties between the UK and Italy, the third largest economy in the EU, the UK's 9th largest trading partner, and a key NATO ally. The programme promotes collaboration between young UK and Italian professionals, including in trade and commercial fields, and its 26 participants to date have been evenly split between citizens of the two countries. The UK allocated £20,000 to the programme in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, our selection process is still open for 25/26 and we have allocated £46,500 in 2025/26 to reflect the increasing number of participants and the activities of the alumni network for past participants.

The UK welcomes the investigation being conducted into these very serious allegations, and we will, wherever needed, cooperate with the governments of Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other relevant authorities to ensure justice is done.

Through regular meetings between our Defence Secretaries, our bilateral High-Level Military Dialogue, and interaction through other groupings such as NATO and E5 Defence Ministers Group, we continuously explore how the UK and Italy can better work together to address issues of shared strategic interest.

In recent years, the relationship has been consolidated by our commitment to the Global Combat Air Programme alongside Japan which achieved Treaty Ratification in December 2024. Additionally, in February 2025, we signed the Statement of Intent for Capabilities and Complex Weapons which will enable deeper collaboration on defence exports and industry. Operationally, only two European nations with carrier-capable F-35B aircraft, we continue to deepen interoperability between our Carrier Strike Groups. This was clear to see during Ex MED STRIKE which took place during the UK Carrier Strike Group's transit of the Mediterranean earlier this year. During this exercise, the UK's Carrier Strike Group combined with the Italian Carrier Strike Group, conducting essential training together including on anti-submarine warfare and air defence tactics.

Italy is an important partner of the United Kingdom, demonstrated in the context of Carrier Strike, through our memberships of NATO, the F-35 Lightning II programme, and the European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative (ECGII).

Interoperability has been strengthened during the ongoing deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on Operation HIGHMAST, during which HMS PRINCE OF WALES worked alongside the Italian Navy’s ITS CAVOUR CSG in the Mediterranean Sea in May 2025. Combined training activity emphasised UK-Italian CSG interoperability and integration across all domains, including UK and Italian F-35B jets flying sorties by day and night, and the opportunity for Italian Navy F-35Bs to land on, and launch from, HMS PRINCE OF WALES. Further combined training opportunities to strengthen UK-Italian CSG interoperability are planned during the UK CSG’s return passage later this year.