Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East during the Oral Statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, column 1291, if it remains his position that the most proximate and most potentially serious legal threat that could undermine the operations of the Diego Garcia military base is an adverse ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We have always been clear that, if a long-term deal was not reached, there was a risk of further litigation being brought rapidly which could have had serious implications for the operation of the military base on Diego Garcia.
There are various avenues through which Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling, including under dispute provisions of treaties to which both States are parties or further arbitral proceedings against the UK under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). A ruling from such an arbitral tribunal would be legally binding on the parties to it.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to apply the principle of constructive dismissal, when applying the provisions of the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS), to veterans who resigned from the armed forces after being questioned about their sexual orientation and before they could be dismissed.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) was designed to address the broadest range of experiences possible to ensure the inclusion of, and a sense of closure for, all affected by the Ban. There are therefore two types of payment available under the FRS.
Those who were dismissed or administratively discharged from Service because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity are able to apply for the Dismissed and Discharged Payment.
Those who felt or experienced pressure to resign after being questioned, investigated or otherwise subject to other unacceptable experiences are able to apply instead for the Impact Payment. Applications for the Impact Payment are determined by the Independent Panel, which is able to consider all the available evidence, including the veteran's testimony, and award a payment based on the severity of the impact the applicant experienced.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure that NHS practitioners are informed of the vulnerability to suicidal ideation of veterans impacted by Lariam; and what steps veterans can take with his Department to help improve awareness within the NHS of the nature and effects of mefloquine toxicity.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Mefloquine is recommended as an effective anti-malarial by international health agencies, including the World Health Organisation. Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the National Health Service both follow National Institute for Care and Excellence guidelines on the prescription and management of side effects associated with mefloquine.
The MOD is engaged with NHS England (NHSE) through the NHSE Armed Forces Clinical Reference Group. This group has recently reviewed the clinical management of the side effects associated with mefloquine. As symptoms can resemble acute psychiatric conditions, clinicians are advised to assess patients individually and are expected to take a full drug and alcohol history, including any previous mefloquine use.
In England, Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE provide a broad range of specialist mental health, physical and wellbeing care services to veterans, with similar services available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
I would encourage any Veteran who is struggling with their mental health to self-refer or seek the support of their GP to access Op COURAGE, the Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Service. The side effects that may be experienced whilst taking, or with a history of having taken mefloquine, will be treated according to the diagnosis; for example, if the patient is experiencing depressive symptoms, the treatment for depression will be instigated.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his oral statement of 7 January 2026 on Ukraine, whether the multinational force to be led by the UK and France would be be deployed to Ukraine (a) as part of a ceasefire agreement or (b) only after a peace agreement.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Multinational Force Ukraine will only deploy following a cessation in hostilities. We are preparing to move at pace—but no troops will deploy unless and until the conditions are right. As stated by the Prime Minister, if there were a decision to deploy UK Armed Forces in line with the Declaration of Intent signed on the 6 January 2026, the matter would be put to the House for a debate and a vote on that deployment.
Detailed military planning continues to be focused on building a force that is able to flex to the requirements of any ceasefire arrangement and ensure Ukraine’s Armed Forces are able to regenerate to defend Ukraine and support European security for generations to come.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking enable veterans who were dismissed from the Armed Forces on the basis of their sexuality to have their service records amended to reflect their treatment.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Service personnel who were dismissed from the Armed Forces on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, can apply to have their discharge qualified. This qualification of administrative discharge will set right the records of Veterans who were administratively discharged under the ban in place between 1967 and 2000, as well as those discharged prior to 1967 due to historic law.
The qualification of administrative discharge addresses recommendation 26 of Lord Etherton’s Independent Review and serves to remove any dishonour from their Service files and recognises that their discharge was wrong. Personnel who were administratively discharged following conviction/s for same-sex sexual offences will first need to apply for a disregard of their conviction/s through the Home Office’s Disregard and Pardon scheme. More information about the qualification of administrative discharge can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lgbt-veterans-support-and-next-steps
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the contract to build small craft to support the Royal Navy was awarded to a foreign shipbuilder; and what British-based firms competing for that contract had their bids rejected.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The contract in question is a sub-contract awarded by Serco to procure 24 new vessels for the Royal Navy. This sub-contract is part of the Defence Marine Services In-Port Services contract between the Ministry of Defence and Serco, and accounts for less than 25% of the total contract value. The In-Port Services contract was sourced via a competitive tender process; however, Serco was the only tenderer to submit a bid. In accordance with the legislation in force at the time, Serco was free to select its sub-contractors, and the Ministry of Defence was not permitted under this legislation to require Serco to discriminate on grounds of nationality.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the personal file (PF44288) relating to Major General JFC Fuller has not been made available by his Department for release to the National Archives.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Under the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Service Records Project approximately 10 million Service records of personnel with a date of birth prior to 1 January 1939, are in the process of being transferred from the MOD to The National Archives for permanent preservation. Service Records pertaining to Officers are yet to be transferred. A copy of Major General JFC Fuller’s Service Record can be requested through the following link:
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the numbers of Afghan (a) interpreters and (b) other personnel, who assisted UK armed forces and remain at risk from the Taliban whilst stranded in (i) Afghanistan and (ii) neighbouring countries, following the closure of UK resettlement schemes; and what legal routes will continue to exist for such individuals to seek safety.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government does not hold an estimate of the total number of people who may have been eligible for ARAP but did not apply. ARAP is a well-known scheme amongst the Afghan communities and has seen over 190,000 applications since it was opened in April 2021. Our assessment that the majority of those likely to be found eligible had already applied has been deduced from the fact that over the past two years, 95% of applications to the ARAP scheme have been found ineligible. The period following the first 12 months after Operation PITTING in Aug 2021 saw ineligible decisions begin to significantly overtake eligible ones. This trend has continued consistently to July 2025, when the ARAP scheme was shut to new applications.
Individuals wishing to relocate to the UK can find further information online.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the relocation of Armed Forces personnel causing families to lose their place in the waiting list for NHS dental provision in their new location; and what requirements the Armed Forces Covenant makes on this matter.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Armed Forces Covenant requires organisations to give due regard to the principle that Service personnel and their families should face no disadvantage when developing, delivering, and reviewing policies and decisions that may impact the Armed Forces community. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to supporting the Armed Forces community under the Armed Forces Covenant and as announced by the Prime Minister in June, work is currently underway to put the Covenant fully into law. This means that the Legal Duty will apply across 14 broad policy areas, increasing from three, applying also to Central Government, Devolved Governments and at a local level.
The MOD recognises that, while there are challenges in accessing NHS dental care nationally, these difficulties are often exacerbated by the mobile nature of Service life. Defence actively works in close partnership with the NHS and other government departments to address these issues and explore solutions to improve access to essential services for Service families. Families of Service personnel who are currently receiving dental treatment in the UK and are about to be mobilised, or are returning from overseas can contact NHS England at england.armedforceshealth@nhs.net for advice on continuity of care.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason records of Service personnel previously dismissed from the Armed Forces for reasons of sexual orientation were ordered to be destroyed in 2010; how fully that policy of destruction was implemented; and whether such reasons for dismissal would routinely be included in the Record of Service which each veteran would normally have received on leaving the Armed Forces.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
In 2010 and 2011, most remaining investigative records concerning decriminalised sexual offences were destroyed in line with Ministry of Defence policy and data protection legislation. These records were deemed to have no further investigative value, and there was therefore no basis for further retaining them, particularly where records contain sensitive personal information.
The destruction was implemented as a general policy. It is not possible to establish an accurate statistic on the completeness of implementation. However, is it recognised that some relevant records were not destroyed.
Personnel Service records were not affected by the destruction of investigative records and remain intact. Whether reasons for dismissal were routinely included in the Record of Service provided to Veterans would depend on the specific practices at the time and may require further investigation.