Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to lawfully discharge the outstanding debt owed to Iran by International Military Service Ltd incurred on purchases of UK manufactured military equipment in the 1970s.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Her Majesty’s Government acknowledges International Military Services’ debt and remains committed to exploring all options for a practicable and legally-viable means of discharging it and intensive efforts are underway to that end.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan nationals who have been approved for relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy remain in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Heappey
Regrettably we have not been able to evacuate all those we want to, despite the huge efforts that have been made. We have identified 311 individuals and their families who are eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and were called forward for evacuation under Operation Pitting, but have not yet arrived in the UK. We are working hard to contact all of those individuals to confirm their status. Some have already made their way to third countries.
The nature of the security situation in Afghanistan, and our responsibility to keep our people safe, meant that we were not able to evacuate everyone we wanted to. We are continuing to work as hard as we can to relocate more people and are looking at all possible avenues to facilitate relocation, from third countries if possible, for those ARAP eligible people who have not arrived in the UK.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed overseas, by country of deployment.
Answered by James Heappey
In addition to the 7,025 at sea in Ships and Submarines around the globe, figures for those deployed overseas on 22 Jul 2021, including in Defence Sections of Embassies, International Headquarters, permanent deployments, on UN Duties, on Operations, participating in international exercises, or in support of other Defence activity, are listed in the table below. This represents a snapshot as numbers are continuously changing. Some of these details have been withheld due to operational sensitivity, including our current presence in Afghanistan.
COUNTRY | Personnel |
ALBANIA | 1 |
ALGERIA | 2 |
ARGENTINA | 2 |
AUSTRALIA | 200 |
AUSTRIA | 2 |
BAHRAIN | 193 |
BANGLADESH | 1 |
BARBADOS | 3 |
BELGIUM | 280 |
BELIZE | 67 |
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 3 |
BRAZIL | 2 |
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM | 734 |
BULGARIA | 1 |
CAMEROON | 17 |
CANADA | 295 |
CHAD | 1 |
CHILE | 2 |
CHINA | 5 |
COLOMBIA | 3 |
CROATIA | 5 |
CURACAO | 2 |
CYPRUS | 3,272 |
CZECH REPUBLIC | 18 |
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO | 4 |
DENMARK | 4 |
DIEGO GARCIA | 43 |
DJIBOUTI | 4 |
EGYPT | 4 |
ESTONIA | 716 |
ETHIOPIA | 2 |
FALKLAND ISLANDS | 843 |
FIJI | 1 |
FINLAND | 1 |
FRANCE | 83 |
GEORGIA | 34 |
GERMANY | 585 |
GHANA | 3 |
GIBRALTAR | 516 |
GREECE | 53 |
INDIA | 8 |
INDONESIA | 2 |
IRAQ | 152 |
IRELAND | 1 |
ISRAEL | 4 |
ITALY | 196 |
JAMAICA | 2 |
JAPAN | 5 |
JORDAN | 215 |
KAZAKHSTAN | 2 |
KENYA | 617 |
KOSOVO | 36 |
KUWAIT | 84 |
LATVIA | 19 |
LEBANON | 4 |
LITHUANIA | 2 |
MALAYSIA | 7 |
MALI | 442 |
MEXICO | 2 |
MOLDOVA | 1 |
MOROCCO | 2 |
NEPAL | 69 |
NETHERLANDS | 116 |
NEW ZEALAND | 6 |
NIGERIA | 53 |
NORTH MACEDONIA | 3 |
NORWAY | 49 |
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 6 |
OMAN | 235 |
PAKISTAN | 13 |
POLAND | 164 |
PORTUGAL | 27 |
QATAR | 134 |
ROMANIA | 175 |
RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 1 |
SAINT HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA | 23 |
SAUDI ARABIA | 142 |
SENEGAL | 6 |
SERBIA | 1 |
SEYCHELLES | 1 |
SIERRA LEONE | 2 |
SINGAPORE | 9 |
SLOVAKIA | 1 |
SLOVENIA | 11 |
SOMALIA | 63 |
SOUTH AFRICA | 2 |
SOUTH KOREA | 7 |
SOUTH SUDAN | 5 |
SPAIN | 37 |
SRI LANKA | 1 |
SWEDEN | 3 |
THAILAND | 2 |
TUNISIA | 4 |
TURKEY | 46 |
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS | 15 |
UGANDA | 2 |
UKRAINE | 436 |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | 141 |
UNITED STATES | 1,053 |
UZBEKISTAN | 1 |
VIETNAM | 2 |
ZAMBIA | 6 |
ZIMBABWE | 1 |
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recommendation of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Russia published on 21 July 2020, what progress the Government has made in working with its international allies to develop a common international approach to offensive cyber.
Answered by James Heappey
Working with international partners to deter and respond to malicious cyber activity is a core part of the Government's approach. As a responsible and democratic cyber power, the UK is at the forefront of developing a shared international understanding of the laws and norms that govern states' conduct in cyberspace. Earlier this year the UK submitted its national contribution on the application of international law to cyberspace to the UN's Group of Government Experts, for their consensus report on advancing responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. Furthermore, the UK was key to the establishment of a European cyber sanctions regime in 2019 and remains committed to working with our European allies to respond to malicious cyber activity.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the amount of outstanding debt is owed to Iran by International Military Service Ltd incurred on purchases of UK manufactured military equipment in the 1970s; and what steps his Department is taking to lawfully discharge that debt.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
It is acknowledged that there is a debt to be paid but it would be inappropriate to comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing. The Government continues to explore every avenue for the lawful discharge of that debt.