Up early and into the office. The Prime Minister was making a statement on Europe this afternoon and I did not want to miss it. Arriving at the Commons, I learnt that an Urgent Question had been tabled about the growing row as to where our new blue passports should be produced. A French company is the running to win the contract and many feel this is not appropriate. The main reason is that passports are surely a security matter and really should be handled by a UK company. The final decision has yet to be made and the Daily Mail have started a campaign to keep this role in the UK. I did ask the junior minister later outside the Chamber what would happen if the French company went on strike? A moment of doubt crept over the minister's face before she said something like, that's a good point, and moved on. The PM's statement followed. Mrs May spoke well, covering subjects such as the European Council, Russia, US steel tariffs and Brexit. I caught the Speaker's eye and asked a question on defence. It worries me that our European allies and friends spend far too little on defence. I think I am right in saying that only we and America meet the NATO minimum of two per cent of our GDP. As I said in my question to the PM, the world is a dangerous place today and we need to be prepared. At 1800 I had to attend a piece of delegated legislation in committee room 16. In the Chamber, a debate was held about Russia.