Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the merits of the possible guiding principles set out in the final report of the 2018 Group of Governmental Experts on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty's Government welcomes the Chair's summary of possible guiding principles in the field of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). These principles mark a move towards international consensus on the key considerations in the LAWS debate, and will provide a useful basis for further discussions as the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) continues its work next year.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 23 April 2018, whether he will plans to realigning the definition of lethal autonomous weapons within the eight month period recommended by the House of Lords Report on Artificial Intelligence, published on 16 April 2018.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence has no plans to change the definition of an autonomous system, referred to in the House of Lords' Artificial Intelligence Committee Report of 16 April 2018. The UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Group of Government Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) continues to look at the issue but has yet to agree on the definition and characteristics of possible LAWS. The UK will continue to actively participate in future GGE meetings, trying to reach agreement at the earliest possible stage.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel were embedded in the National Security Agency Cryptologic Centre in Georgia USA, in each month between 1 October 2016 and 1 October 2017.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence places personnel in a wide variety of roles in the United States in order to further cooperation with our most important ally on defence matters. I am witholding information on specific roles or postings as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations he has made to coalition partners on trends in the number of civilian deaths caused by coalition airstrikes.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
My right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary speaks regularly with his counterparts in the Global Coalition on the Counter Daesh campaign. The Coalition applies a rigorous targeting process to air strikes taking strict measures to minimise risk while providing the support needed on the ground and has shown that it will investigate any incidents reported to it.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the number of civilians killed by coalition airstrikes in Syria.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
As operations in Iraq and Syria have intensified we are seeing increasing evidence of Daesh's callous disregard for human life, their unwillingness to allow civilians to leave their homes and in some cases their deliberate attempts to use civilians to shield fighters from coalition strikes. This is why we must accept the risk of inadvertent civilian casualties. Rigorous coalition targeting processes take into account the conditions on the ground, including the potential presence of a civilian population. Reports of civilian casualties are and will continue to be taken very seriously. The Coalition investigates all credible claims and the results of any investigation are published.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the number of civilians killed by UK airstrikes in Syria.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
In carrying out airstrikes, expert analysts routinely examine data from every UK strike to assess its effect, and we do everything we can to minimise the risk of civilian casualties through rigorous targeting processes and the professionalism of the RAF crews. We co-operate fully with NGOs such as Airwars, who provide evidence they gather of civilian casualties. After detailed work on each case, we have been able to discount RAF involvement in any civilian casualties as a result of any of the strikes that have been brought to our attention.