One of the consequences of soaring gas prices saw a producer of carbon dioxide (CO2), CF Industries, which supplies most of the CO2, having to stop work at two of its factories. Quite extraordinary. CO2 is widely used in the food industry in brewing and in packaging for meat and salads to prolong shelf life. However, the Government has struck a deal with the US company, although it was not clear yet what incentives the government had offered. The Prime Minister, currently in the US, said people should not worry about putting food on the table this winter, amid surging energy prices and a cut to universal credit. Mr Johnson told BBC News: "I don't believe people will be short of food - and wages are actually rising." It came after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng warned some households face a "very difficult winter". First up was a morning meeting of our Defence Select Committee in CR8. We took virtual evidence from our two witnesses, Christopher Pyne, a former Australian defence minister, and Professor Tetsuo Kotani, Senior Research Fellow, The Japan Institute of International Affairs. The session was well timed, with the announcement that we, the US and Australia have signed a deal to build nuclear submarines for the latter. This has mightily offended France, who was hoping to get the contract. Clearly, this topic was the first to be covered, before we moved on to our role in the Indo-Pacific and the success, or otherwise, of the deployment of our carrier strike group to the region. The session was in public and can be found on Hansard. I was delighted to read that Dorset County Hospital had been ranked as one of the top 10 hospitals in the country for emergency care. This is no mean achievement and I wrote to CEO Patricia Miller to congratulate her and her team. At 1300, I and all colleagues voted for new members of committees that had lost MPs post reshuffle. Over in the US, President Joe Biden gave his first address to the United Nations and urged global co-operation through "a decisive decade for our world". His calls for unity came amid tensions with allies over the US' Afghanistan withdrawal and a major diplomatic row with France over a submarine deal, which I have referred to. The US also announced it was doubling its climate finance pledge by 2024. Reaffirming his support for democracy and diplomacy, Mr Biden said: "We must work together like never before."