Nicky Morgan MP begins Industry & Parliament Trust Fellowship with Thales UK

During the visit Mrs Morgan was able to talk to Thales employees working on civil aircraft cabin connectivity systems, Chinook helicopter cockpit upgrades, and civil and military flight simulators. In addition she was briefed on Thales’s transport activities and was shown our impressive suite of environmental test chambers and electro-magnetic compatibility facilities.

Various topics were discussed throughout the course of visit, including the challenges and opportunities surrounding advanced manufacturing in the UK. Mrs Morgan, who is Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, was also very interested to hear about Thales’s strong support of science and engineering in educational institutions throughout the country.

Mrs Morgan has also recently visited Thales UK’s Glasgow facility to learn in more detail about Thales’s optronics business and the key technologies that it has delivered to the UK Armed Forces. The recent success for this part of the business winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, was also a topic of conversation. The award was in the International Trade category.

Mrs Morgan says: “It is always good to get out of Westminster and talk to businesses about the challenges and opportunities facing them. This is something I do as much as possible in my own constituency. I am grateful to Thales UK for supporting the IPT fellowship scheme and for the briefings they have given me on manufacturing generally as well as on specific issues such as defence equipment, skills and cyber security.”

Mrs Morgan will be visiting Thales sites in Leicester, London, Bristol, Templecombe, Basingstoke and Reading as part of her Fellowship.
 
Thales UK is proud to work with the IPT in their aim of promoting mutual understanding between Parliament and the worlds of business, industry and commerce, for public benefit.