Royal Marine was forced to test military underwater drone in his own garden pond, Streeting tells Lords

A Royal Marine working on underwater drone technology was left with no option but to test it in his back garden pond, after regulations made proper facilities inaccessible. Wes Streeting brought the anecdote before the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee on Tuesday as evidence that 'regulatory handcuffs' are strangling British defence innovation. The Defence Secretary said he admired the Marine's resourcefulness but argued that the same inventive spirit should thrive within military settings, not be driven into people's back gardens.

Streeting told the committee that while there had been a 'big drive on deregulation' across government, 'regulatory frictions' were still hampering trials of defence technology.

The Marine opted to test the classified drone capability at home himself because, in Streeting's words, the regulatory hurdles to use other environments were 'too high'.

Streeting called for action whenever the armed forces flag 'pointless regulation getting in the way' of developing lethal capabilities.