Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the flight path of the RAF surveillance plane that overflew Gaza on 1 April 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since the terrorist attacks against Israel of 7 October 2023, the UK government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals, who were kidnapped.
In support of these efforts, the Ministry of Defence conducted surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza from December 2023. The surveillance aircraft were always unarmed, did not have a combat role, and were tasked solely to locate hostages.
Following the agreement of the Gaza peace plan between Israel and Hamas, and the release of remaining hostages, the Ministry of Defence has ceased surveillance flights over Gaza. The last fight took place on the 10 October 2025.
We thank our UK personnel for their dedication and professionalism. I am unable to disclose the information requested as to do so would undermine Defence’s ability to respond to hostage rescue scenarios in the future.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has shared footage from RAF surveillance planes over Gaza with the Foreign Office's International Humanitarian Law Cell.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since the terrorist attacks against Israel of 7 October 2023, the UK government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals, who were kidnapped.
In support of these efforts, the Ministry of Defence conducted surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza from December 2023. The surveillance aircraft were always unarmed, did not have a combat role, and were tasked solely to locate hostages.
Following the agreement of the Gaza peace plan between Israel and Hamas, and the release of remaining hostages, the Ministry of Defence has ceased surveillance flights over Gaza. The last fight took place on the 10 October 2025.
We thank our UK personnel for their dedication and professionalism. I am unable to disclose the information requested as to do so would undermine Defence’s ability to respond to hostage rescue scenarios in the future.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 61511 on F-35 Aircraft: Israel, what information his Department holds on the re-export of UK-made F-35 components from Israeli suppliers to the global F-35 programme.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are clear that Israel must stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately lift restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
We have suspended export licences to Israel that could be used in military operations in Gaza.
The UK is the only producer of certain critical components, not least for the F35 global spares pool. Suspending the UK’s contribution to the F-35programme would have serious implications for NATO and international peace and security.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether information gathered by unarmed UK surveillance aircraft and provided to the Israeli military was used in Operation Arnon in Nuseirat on 8 June 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6280 on Gaza: Air Force, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information gathered by unarmed UK surveillance aircraft and shared with the Israeli military is only used to help locate hostages.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has shared information gathered from surveillance flights over Gaza with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office; and if he will (a) declassify and (b) publish that information.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The highest hourly rate paid for legal advice by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was £597.
The highest hourly rate paid for legal advice by the MOD’s arms length bodies is:
Name of Arms Length Body | Highest Rate |
Defence Electronics and Components Agency | £295 |
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory | £148 |
National Army Museum | £550 |
National Museum of the Royal Navy | £580 |
Oil and Pipelines | £250 |
Royal Air Force Museum | £280 |
Royal Hospital Chelsea | £530 |
Single Source Regulations Office | £450 |
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office | £675 |
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the locations are of the seven ground control stations used for control of his Department's 10 Reapers.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Reaper ground control stations are located at RAF Waddington, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada and the Middle East in support of the international coalition's ongoing operation to counter the threat of ISIL.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has employed unmanned aircraft (a) in and (b) around the UK to support counter-terrorism efforts.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No unmanned aircraft systems belonging to the Ministry of Defence have been used to support counter terrorism operations in or around the UK.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's budget has been allocated to the use, development or procurement of unmanned systems.
Answered by Philip Dunne
In the last financial year, some £310 million was spent by the Ministry of Defence on the development, procurement and use of unmanned systems. This represents approximately 0.9% of the defence budget for the year.