SINCE my last column, nearly 400 innocent lives have been brutally taken through appalling acts of terror by ISIL/Daesh in Egypt, Mali and of course Paris.

These were despicable, evil attacks and the perpetrators have shown themselves to place no value on human life.

These abhorrent individuals pose a threat to our security and I fully support the Prime Minister’s announcement of increased investment in our security services.

Let’s be clear; this is no time to debate whether our police should shoot a terrorist on the streets of Britain to save the lives of innocent people.

Neither is it a time to advocate the abolition of MI5 or demand the arrest of Jihadi John when for the safety of us here in Wales he could be directly stopped from inflicting terror on our shores.

Jeremy Corbyn and Labour’s leadership seems more than willing to put all of this at risk – in their eyes there is no need for such a strong defence – but recent events have emphasised otherwise.

The Conservatives’ plans will ensure that our Armed Forces always have the capabilities they need.

Over the next decade we’ll invest more than £178 billion – including doubling our investment in our Special Forces.

We’ll also create two new strike brigades, forces of up to 5,000 personnel each, fully equipped to deploy rapidly and sustain themselves in the field.

This investment is vital to fight the evil of ISIS/Daesh who are intent on destroying the way we live; from enjoying a pint down the local pub to taking in some music. They want to instil fear into our day to day lives but we’ll not let them.

We’re also delivering two extra Typhoon squadrons and a squadron of F35 Lightning combat aircraft to operate from our new aircraft carriers.

Nine maritime patrol aircraft will also be provided to protect our nuclear deterrent, hunt down hostile submarines and enhance our maritime search and rescue.

Political opponents seem to believe such investment is not required, which is politics that belongs in a fantasy world.

Our management of the economy since 2010 has allowed the United Kingdom to meet the Nato target of spending two per cent of our GDP on defence, while also increasing investment in our security and intelligence agencies and in counter-terrorism.

Not one of these investments is an optional extra or act of vanity. These capacities are required to protect our prosperity and security.

When ISIS attacked Paris, they did so in an indiscriminate manner. Jews, Muslims, Christians and atheists were all brutally slaughtered by a murderous cult which has no respect for any religion or human life.

They are not representative of any religion and we will not let them defeat us.

We’re fortunate to have some of the finest Armed Forces, counter-terrorism police and security services in the world and we’ll ensure they stay that way. We owe a great debt of gratitude to them for keeping us safe.

Using our economic strength, we’ll equip them to defeat the terrorist threat and help keep us safe for generations to come.