Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the Royal Air Force stopped airdropping aid to Gaza; whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on this issue; if he will make it his policy to restart airdropping aid to Gaza.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool. On 13 May 2025, along with European partners, the UK convened a UN Security Council meeting to call for Israel to lift its block on aid into Gaza. We will continue to make our views clear, both in public and in private to the Israeli government and work with our partners to achieve an enduring and sustainable end to the hostilities.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office leads on coordinating the Government’s humanitarian response to deliver lifesaving assistance to the civilian population in Gaza. The Ministry of Defence has provided military support when requested to facilitate the delivery of this assistance, including participating in airdropping aid as part of the Jordanian international coalition in 2024. Currently land routes are the only viable option for delivering aid at scale into Gaza. We remain ready to support as required.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose was of Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton’s visit to Israel between 9 and 11 January 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 January 2025 to Question 24182.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2025 to Question 36262 on Ministry of Defence: Israel, what the purpose of the meeting was; and who the senior British official was who attended.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Israeli Air Force delegation, led by their Head of Personnel Division, visited Ministry of Defence Main Building to meet and receive a briefing from the Defence Human Resources Transformation Team, as part of their visit to the UK focussing on HR and People issues.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when an Israeli Air Force aircraft last landed at an RAF station in the UK; and what its purpose was.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For operational security reasons and as a matter of policy, the Ministry of Defence will neither confirm, deny, nor comment on any foreign nations’ military aircraft movement or operations within UK airspace or UK overseas bases, whether they may or may not have happened.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose is of Project HEZUK; and whether that project (a) is ongoing or (b) has been discontinued.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has a number of active and retired project names, I will not comment further for security reasons.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) purpose, (b) strength and (c) budget is of the British Support Team in Ramallah.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As part of our commitment to stability in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UK provides the Palestinian Authority with professional support in helping develop capable and responsible security institutions that respect human rights and are accountable to the Palestinian people.
Support to the Palestinian Authority Security Forces is paid for by Ministry of Defence core funds and the UK's Integrated Security Fund (ISF). The amount spent by the UK's ISF in the Financial Year 2024-25 will be published in due course in the respective ISF annual review of 2024-25.
The number of personnel is being withheld in order to protect the security of those personnel and to avoid prejudicing international relations.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK-supplied Challenger tanks being deployed by Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia are equipped with shells containing depleted uranium.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We have sent thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armour-piercing rounds. For operational security reasons, we will not comment on Ukrainian usage rates for the rounds provided.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the UK last supplied Ukraine with tank shells containing depleted uranium.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We have sent thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armour-piercing rounds. For operational security reasons, we will not comment on Ukrainian usage rates for the rounds provided.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where his Department has recently published information about the British Support Team Ramallah.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has not published information about the British Support Team in Ramallah.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29341 on Ministry of Defence: Israel, which Israeli officials visited his Department on 5 February 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Brigadier General Yaval Harel, Israeli Air Force Head of Personnel Division, led an Israeli Air Force delegation of nine personnel as part of a three-day HR-focussed visit to the UK.