Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received of submarine activity in the Irish Sea on 15 April 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Following reports of damage to the fishing vessel KAREN on 15 April 2015, Ministers were advised of the Royal Navy's confidence that no UK submarine was responsible. We do not comment in detail on submarine operations as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has held with NATO and the EU on the effect of submarine activity on fishing in the Irish Sea in April 2015.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
There have been no such discussions between the Secretary of State and other Ministers with NATO and the EU, nor have there been such discussions at official level. The Royal Navy takes this issue particularly seriously and has a Fishery Liaison Officer to provide a central point of contact with the UK Fishing Industry, as well as regular consultation with fishermen's associations, training for personnel, and strict rules and procedures on reporting any incidents that might occur.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what current assessment he has made of the relevance of unreleased historical documents relating to Northern Ireland held at Swadlincote to the work of the Historical Enquiries Team in investigating cases from the past; and whether he plans to release these records to the National Archive under the Public Records Act 1958.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2013, (Official Report, column 483W).
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the investigation into the deaths of soldiers at Abercorn barracks in Ballykinler in December 2012 and February 2013.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The deaths of two soldiers at Abercorn Barracks are a personal tragedy for their families and loved ones, and our thoughts remain with them. As is normal with the death of Armed Forces personnel in the UK, these have been investigated by the local Home Office police force, in this case the Police Service of Northern Ireland. We understand that they have concluded their investigations and passed their conclusions to the Coroner, who is in the process of establishing formal inquests into the soldiers’ deaths.
An internal service inquiry has been established by the Army to consider the facts and identify any lessons to prevent anything like this happening again. This is a complex inquiry, involving a significant number of witnesses and, while we are seeking to complete it as soon as possible, determining the findings and recommendations will naturally take time. It is important that the inquiry is conducted properly and given the appropriate space to reach its conclusions. The families have been kept informed throughout.