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: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take in response to recent increased levels of unrest between Palestinians and Israelis.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered a message of de-escalation in his calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 11 May, and with Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and to the Palestinian Head of Mission in London on the 11 May to urge them to de-escalate and restore calm. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence. UK embassies throughout the Middle East are engaging regional partners, and we remain in close contact with the US administration and European allies.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent an escalation of intercommunal violence in Israel.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered a message of de-escalation in his calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and with Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and to the Palestinian Head of Mission in London on the 11 May to urge them to de-escalate and restore calm. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence. UK embassies throughout the Middle East are engaging regional partners, and we remain in close contact with the US administration and European allies. We call on all sides to reduce tensions, restore calm and avoid provocation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to prevent escalation of the recent violence in (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered a message of de-escalation in his calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and with Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and to the Palestinian Head of Mission in London on the 11 May to urge them to de-escalate and restore calm. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence. UK embassies throughout the Middle East are engaging regional partners, and we remain in close contact with the US administration and European allies. We call on all sides to reduce tensions, restore calm and avoid provocation.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will condemn the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza in response to the recent deaths of 28 Palestinians.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered messages of de-escalation in calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and Palestinian Head of Mission in London on 11 May to urge them to de-escalate and restore calm and reiterate our position on this issue. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence. UK embassies throughout the Middle East are engaging regional partners, and we remain in close contact with the US administration and European allies.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will condemn the violence in Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered messages of de-escalation in calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and Palestinian Head of Mission in London on 11 May to urge them to de-escalate and restore calm and reiterate our position on this issue. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence. UK embassies throughout the Middle East are engaging regional partners, and we remain in close contact with the US administration and European allies.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to deescalate the growing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered messages of de-escalation in calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and Palestinian Head of Mission in London on 11 May to urge them to de-escalate and restore calm and reiterate our position on this issue. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence. UK embassies throughout the Middle East are engaging regional partners, and we remain in close contact with the US administration and European allies.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the validity of reports that an Iranian-affiliated group detonated an explosive device outside Israel’s embassy in New Delhi in January 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Government works closely with international counterparts on security issues. This particular incident has not been raised by partners - but we work closely with both India and Israel on security issues.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving the UK Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The British Embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department plans to keep the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The British Embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it.