Gavin Williamson sure PM's Brexit deal will pass through Commons

The Defence Secretary and South Staffordshire MP claimed Britain will still be a force for 'peace, stability and security' from outside the EU, after leaving at the end of March.

Mr Williamson was speaking at the Nelson Monument in Edinburgh to announce the name of a new frigate, the HMS Edinburgh, which will be built on the Clyde.

He said: "Britain has always played a major role in terms of defending not just continental Europe but bringing peace and stability right around the world.

"The cornerstone of defence for Europe and the North Atlantic is not the European Union, it's Nato that's delivered security in Europe for the last 69 years and that is something that Britain leads in.

"We're absolutely integral to bringing that stability. We're the biggest investor in our armed forces of any nation in Europe, we are Europe's military superpower and it's Britain's role in bringing that security.

"It's not just about making Britain more secure, it's making the whole of continental Europe more secure as well, but that's done through Nato.

"We are going to be continuing to invest more and more in defence over the next few years and this is something I think that everyone recognises is really important."

Mr Williamson also said he believes Theresa May's Brexit deal will pass when it is put to a vote in the House of Commons on December 11, despite around two-thirds of MPs indicating they will vote it down.

"The Prime Minister has been out there, the British people voted to leave the European Union in 2016 and it's delivering Brexit, making sure that we have the very best deal," said Mr Williamson.

Mrs May is on a two week tour of the UK in an attempt to sell her deal to the public.

"She's taking out the message, talking to people and explaining the benefits this will bring to the whole of the United Kingdom," Mr Williamson added.

The Defence Secretary also said justice must be brought following the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

He said: "What we've seen in terms of what happened in Turkey is absolutely vitally important and this is what the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been doing is getting right behind the Turkish authorities in terms of this investigation

"There needs to be a very detailed criminal investigation and people need to be brought to justice as a result of it, and that is very much what the British Government is going to be supporting.

"There is a criminal investigation that is ongoing in Turkey and what is important to do is make sure that any support that can be given to that criminal investigation is given, but actually a criminal investigation has to take its course.

"What we want to do is see people brought to justice as a result of it".