Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which officials attended meetings with Israeli Major General Oded Basyuk on 22 January 2025; and for what reason.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As part of the concerted UK effort to reduce the risk of escalation in the Middle East and to achieve a peaceful resolution in Gaza and Lebanon, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) hosted counterparts from Israel on 22 January, led by Major General Basyuk. UK attendees included officials from the MOD, FCDO and Cabinet Office, and discussions included UK calls to implement all phases of the Gaza ceasefire deal in full and establish a pathway to lasting peace and security for the region.
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 20 January 2024 to Question 23609 on Israel: F-35 Aircraft, how many components manufactured exclusively for Israel's F-35I Adir version of the F-35A fighter jet have been exported from the UK.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
None. UK suppliers have not manufactured nor exported components that are exclusively used on the Israeli variant of the F-35 aircraft.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK forces (a) took part and (b) provided support to their Israeli counterparts in the airstrikes on Yemen on Friday 10 January 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK did not take part in, or provide support to, Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Friday 10 January 2025.
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 5 December 2024 to Question 16963 on Israel: F-35 Aircraft, whether any F-35 components manufactured in Britain are designed specifically for the F-35I Adir variant of the F-35 fighter jet.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
F-35 components produced in the UK are crucial to the production and support of the global F-35 fleet and are present on all three variants of F-35 aircraft. Israel uses the F-35 A variant.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office, part of the US Department of Defense, manages the F-35 programme for all F-35 Partner Nations through its global industry supply chain.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has (a) shared F-35 flight mission data files with the Israeli air force and (b) received such files from that air force since October 2023.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
No.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications for exemption to overfly the UK with war munitions with a final destination of Israel have been (a) received, (b) approved and (c) rejected since 7 October 2023.
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.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times F-35 components were sent from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
At the request of the US led F-35 Programme there were 14 transfers of F-35 components from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024. The transferred components are the property of the US Department of Defence.
In keeping with the Government's announcement on arms exports in September, there have been no exports of F-35 parts direct to Israel via RAF Marham since the licensing suspension.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times F-35 components have been sent from RAF bases in the UK, not including RAF Marham, to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Excluding the 14 transfers of US Department of Defense owned F-35 components from RAF Marham, no F-35 components have been sent by the RAF from the UK to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024.