NEWPORT could play a central role in battling cyber terrorism and hacking, a Gwent AM has said.

The University of South Wales' City Campus is host to the Welsh Government-supported National Cyber Security Academy.

And, speaking during First Minister's Questions earlier today, South Wales East AM Steffan Lewis said Newport is the ideal place to base cyber security operations.

"This week, we saw the unprecedented step of a joint statement between the UK cyber security centre, the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security, warning of heightened risks to our internet infrastructure and hardware from Russian state-sponsored hackers," he said.

"Newport is at the forefront of cyber security expertise, with the excellent cyber security academy located in that city.

"As we need to increase capacity in the UK to face this very real threat with economic and political implications for us all, what discussions is (Mr Jones) planning with UK Government to ensure that it's not centralised in London and that the UK response is actually shared between the different cities of the UK where expertise exists?"

The first minister replied: "This work cannot be centralised in London, not just economically but, I would suspect, from a security perspective as well."