Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of repainting RAF Voyager.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The total forecast cost for completing the repaint of the RAF Voyager VIP aircraft (including related costs) is approximately £900,000. The project will be carried out by Marshall Aerospace Defence Group (MADG) in Cambridge.
The decision to repaint the VIP Voyager - and approval of a design that best projected Global Britain - was taken on a cross-Government basis, to be funded by the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is Government policy that the (a) prohibition of torture is absolute and (b) obligation to prosecute torture is absolute.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
The Government is committed to its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT). There is an absolute prohibition of torture under international law. The UNCAT requires each State Party to ensure that all acts of torture are listed as offences under its criminal law, however the prosecution of any crime is never automatic. The statutory presumption in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill does not act as a pardon, amnesty or statute of limitations. Prosecutors will continue to have discretion on whether to prosecute for criminal offences, including torture, taking into account factors such as sufficiency of evidence and public interest.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the circumstances are in which a prosecutor is able to exercise their discretion not to prosecute an offence of torture.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
Prosecutors will continue to have discretion on whether to prosecute for criminal offences, including torture, on the basis of their assessment of the sufficiency of evidence and whether a prosecution would be in the public interest. The statutory presumption in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill is compliant with the UN Convention Against Torture, as it is a rebuttable presumption which leaves a prosecutor with discretion to prosecute where they consider it appropriate to do so. It does not act as a pardon, amnesty or statute of limitations.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the criteria are for deeming a claim for damages in respect of the alleged conduct of British forces in overseas operations to be meritorious; and whether claims deemed to be ummeritorious are excluded from settlement.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
When a claim is received it is investigated and considered on the basis of whether the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation and where there is such a liability, compensation is paid. This applies whatever the alleged circumstances leading to the claim.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the UK's status as a signatory to the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT), what his policy is on the prohibition against the limitation of criminal and civil proceedings in respect of torture, as set out in General Comment No 3 2012 UNCAT.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
The limitation longstops in the Overseas Operations Bill do not compromise our compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture as individuals are able to bring claims for six years after the alleged torture (or within six years of being diagnosed with a psychological illness as a result of the alleged torture). The statutory presumption in the Bill is compliant with the UN Convention Against Torture as it is a rebuttable presumption which leaves a prosecutor with discretion to prosecute where they consider it appropriate to do so. It is not a statute of limitation or an immunity.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the evidence base is for the decision to issue the armed services with insect repellent containing Citriodiol as part of the enhanced force health protection measures during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Heappey
I will write to the hon. Member in response to his letter to the Defence Secretary on the same subject, and place a copy in Library of the House.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times and at what cost to the public purse military aircraft were used for non-military purposes by companies with Government contracts in 2015.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
We are only aware of military aircraft being used for the purposes of executing defence tasks.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times and at what cost to the public purse military aircraft were used for non-military purposes by companies with Government contracts in 2016.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
We are only aware of military aircraft being used for the purposes of executing defence tasks.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times and at what cost to the public purse military aircraft were used for non-military purposes by companies with Government contracts in 2017.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
We are only aware of military aircraft being used for the purposes of executing defence tasks.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times and at what cost to the public purse military aircraft were used for non-military purposes by companies with Government contracts in 2018.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
We are only aware of military aircraft being used for the purposes of executing defence tasks.