Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK personnel deployed on Operation Newcombe have fired on enemy positions in Mali.
Answered by James Heappey
UK personnel deployed on Operation Newcombe have not fired upon enemy positions in Mali.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether RAF Chinook helicopters deployed in Mali have transported captured enemy personnel in that country.
Answered by James Heappey
RAF Chinook helicopters have not been involved in transporting captured enemy personnel in Mali.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all correspondence and documentation held or produced by his Department on how the Government's Overseas Justice and Assistance Human Rights Guidance would affect the decision to enter an agreement with Bahrain to establish a naval base in the Gulf; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of this decision with (a) international human rights treaties to which the UK is a party and (b) the promotion of human rights in Bahrain.
Answered by Mark Francois
The UK has had a naval presence in Bahrain since the 1950s which has supported naval patrols operating in and around the Gulf. Under the new arrangement signed by the Foreign Secretary in December 2014, the UK and Bahrain agreed to working together to enhance the existing facilities at the port. This arrangement is fully in accordance with the UK's international human rights obligations, which the Government takes extremely seriously.
The Government's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Guidance (OSJA) is a tool to ensure that security and justice assistance provided by the UK to a government overseas meets our human rights obligations and values. The recent defence agreement does not involve the provision of assistance to Bahrain, and therefore no assessment was required.
However, the UK Government is supporting the government of Bahrain in its reform programme, including work to help Bahrain strengthen its human rights and justice sector, and all elements of this work that could have implications for human rights are subject to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the costs to the public purse of (a) establishing and (b) operating the proposed British military base in Bahrain; and what contribution to those costs will be made by the government of Bahrain.
Answered by Mark Francois
The costs of naval and logistics facilities in Bahrain to support operations in the Gulf region will depend on the outcome of continuing negotiations with the government of Bahrain over how best to enhance and improve the existing facilities, and on the extent of the operations we undertake. The running costs are likely to be comparable to current expenditure, although in any event we expect the enhanced facilities to provide a more cost-effective use of Defence resources. Costs funded from the Defence budget will be borne by the appropriate Top Level Budgets.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what involvement his Department has had in the negotiations between Ascent Flight Training, comprising Lockheed Martin and Babcock, and the Elbit Systems and KBR Affinity Team to provide fixed-wing aircraft training under the UK Military Flying Training Systems programme; when those negotiations are likely to be completed; how long he plans the contract for that training to last; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Responsibility for the selection of UK Military Flying Training System sub-contractors rests wholly with Ascent Flight Training, the Ministry of Defence's Training System Partner. Under the fixed-wing aircraft training competition, Ascent Flight Training will, subject to the satisfactory completion of commercial negotiations, place a direct sub-contract with the Affinity consortium to provide a training service until 2033. Contract award is anticipated early in 2015.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish either as excerpts or in full official analysis of the destructive effect of the detonation of those UK nuclear warheads which were in service before the current Trident warhead.
Answered by Michael Fallon
No. This information remains highly classified for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will commission and publish a report on the likely effect of a UK Trident warhead in time to allow this report to be presented at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in a level of detail that corresponds with maintaining national security.
Answered by Michael Fallon
No, I will not.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2014 to Question 217946, for what reasons publishing an analysis of the effects of a UK nuclear weapon would prejudice the defence of the UK.
Answered by Michael Fallon
Providing details of the possible effects of the UK's Trident system would enable deductions to be made that could prejudice national security and would or would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other States.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the titles and dates of publication are of all reports held by the Government on the impact of the detonation of a UK Trident warhead.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Further to my answer of 10 Sep 2014, (Official Report, column 618W), a number of reports were identified that relate to the impact of the detonation of a UK Trident warhead. This information is, however, being withheld to safeguard national security, because its release would prejudice the defence of the UK, and because it relates to the formulation of Government policy.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Israeli Defence Force officers have visited UK defence establishments since 1 July 2014; and what the purpose of each such visit was.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Israel is an important strategic partner of the UK and, as part of that relationship, the Ministry of Defence has an ongoing and wide ranging dialogue with the Israeli Defence Force and Israeli Ministry of Defence. This engagement is in line with the Government's policy of supporting the Middle East peace process by having a balanced relationship with the Israelis and the Palestinians. Due to the widespread nature of our engagement with Israel throughout the Services the requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.