Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total number of troops and units which the UK, USA and Canada have stationed in other NATO countries in Europe.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The most recent figures for UK military personnel based in European NATO countries can be found in the document entitled 'Quarterly location statistics: 1 October 2016', which can be found on the gov.uk website at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-2016
The following units are based in Germany: HQ British Forces Germany; HQ 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade; The Queen's Royal Hussars; 26 Regiment Royal Artillery; 35 Engineer Regiment; 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment; 1 Medical Regiment; 3rd Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; Theatre Fleet Support Unit (Germany).
The UK does not hold information on the personnel and units of the US and Canada based in European NATO countries.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will paint the RAF Voyager which conveys Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister in distinctive colours which clearly indicate that it is British rather than RAF sky camouflage grey.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are no plans to repaint the Voyager aircraft, as its primary role remains the provision of military air-to-air refuelling capability.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to propose to NATO that NATO members which do not spend two per cent of their GDP on defence should not receive help or protection under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, the principle of collective defence.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The UK plays a leading role in the NATO Alliance, which is one of the cornerstones of UK defence. NATO's strength lies in the clear message Article 5 sends that an attack against one Ally shall be considered an attack against all. The UK and all NATO Allies are committed to upholding Article 5 and any suggestion that we would not help protect our Allies weakens the Alliance.
All Allies agreed to meet the Defence Investment Pledge at the Wales Summit in 2014, and since then defence investment across the Alliance has increased in real terms. The UK regularly encourages all Allies to meet the commitment made to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence by 2024, because defence investment is how the Alliance will continue to have the military capabilities needed to tackle the full range of threats that it faces.
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Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Prime Minister's statement that the President of the United States is 100 per cent behind NATO, what pressure they are placing on those NATO members which do not contribute two per cent of their GDP to defence.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The United Kingdom meets the Defence Investment Pledge from the NATO summit in Wales, and has committed to do so for the rest of this decade. NATO's ability to deter potential adversaries requires modern capabilities, and these need appropriate funding. Government ministers regularly encourage Allies to fulfil the commitments they have made to spend two per cent of GDP on defence by 2024 (and 20 per cent of that on equipment). Better burden-sharing is an important issue for the new US Administration, and we expect this to be a focus of discussion at the NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting later this month.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the governments of NATO countries which spend less than two per cent of GDP on defence.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The United Kingdom meets the Defence Investment Pledge from the NATO summit in Wales, and has committed to do so for the rest of this decade. NATO's ability to deter potential adversaries requires modern capabilities, and these need appropriate funding. Government ministers regularly encourage Allies to fulfil the commitments they have made to spend two per cent of GDP on defence by 2024 (and 20 per cent of that on equipment). Better burden-sharing is an important issue for the new US Administration, and we expect this to be a focus of discussion at the NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting later this month.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the names and firms of all lawyers involved in pursuing claims against soldiers and former soldiers for alleged abuses in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
It would not be appropriate to provide the names of individual lawyers acting on behalf of claimants. However, it is a matter of public record that the vast majority of claims alleging abuses by British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq have been brought by Leigh Day Solicitors and Public Interest Lawyers Ltd (PIL) law firms. PIL closed earlier this year after the Ministry of Defence triggered an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the names of all the investigators who have been recruited to investigate alleged abuses by soldiers and former soldiers whilst serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
It is our policy that the names of individuals below Senior Civil Service level are withheld under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. All investigators who have been recruited to investigate alleged abuses by soldiers and former soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are below this level.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 2 November (HL2682), in what way they consider that the tweet may have been misinterpreted; and why the Department did not issue an explanation at the time of the tweet's removal in order to ensure public understanding that they did not consider those types of photographs to be racist.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Some media reporting and public comments suggested that the picture together with the tag line was racist. In the answer I gave on 2 November 2016 to Question HL2682, it was acknowledged that this could have been open to misinterpretation. This is because such things are a matter of judgement and personal perception. Officials therefore decided that it should be removed, and an apology was issued for any offence which may have been caused.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the deletion from Twitter by the Ministry of Defence of an Army photograph showing a soldier wearing black camouflage cream, what assessment they have made of the extent to which such photographs are racist.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The tweet from 19 October included a photograph of a soldier from the Irish Guards practising camouflage and concealment measures during standard jungle training in Belize. We do not consider these types of photographs to be racist.
We can see, however, how the tweet consisting of both the photograph and caption may have been misinterpreted. It was immediately removed, and the Department subsequently released an apology for any offence that may have been caused.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 September (HL1842), whether any of the soldiers who fought in Musa Qala in 2006 were considered for medals within the timescale of the five-year rule.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence does not retain unsuccessful recommendations for Military Honours and Awards. It is, therefore, not possible to ascertain whether any Service personnel who fought in Musa Qala in 2006 were recommended for an award outside of the five-year rule.