Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reparations will be paid to HM Treasury as a result of damage caused by discharges in the Diego Garcia lagoon in the British Indian Overseas Territory by US vessels and those responsible for causing that damage are prosecuted.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
It is not clear what if any damage has been caused by the discharges by US vessels in the Diego Garcia lagoon, and the Government looks forward to the conclusions of a joint UK-US study of the lagoon water and its coral which will conclude this summer. The US have already committed to spending several million dollars over 2014-2016 to ensure that they comply with our no-discharge policy.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department is making on ensuring that a British-led team of experts carries out a scientific assessment of discharges by US vessels in the Diego Garcia lagoon in the British Indian Overseas Territory.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
The joint UK-US study of the lagoon water and its coral, which began in January 2014, is well underway and due to conclude this summer, as planned.