Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using open source data and other information from monitoring organisations to support investigations into possible civilian harm incidences from UK airstrikes.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK follows robust procedures and uses all available evidence when conducting battle damage assessments. Parliament will always be informed of any instance where we assess a UK airstrike is responsible for a civilian casualty incident, whether incurred during a new strike, or as a result of re-examining historic strikes using new information. Specifically under Operation SHADER, the UK's contribution to the US-led Coalition, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, the UK has conducted airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. The UK has accepted responsibility for one civilian casualty that occurred during an airstrike on Daesh fighters in eastern Syria on 26 March 2018. This incident was subject to a Written Ministerial Statement on 2 May 2018. However, we accept the possibility that there could be other instances of civilian casualties about which we are unaware, despite our best efforts to assess battle damage. For that reason, in 2016, the then Defence Secretary committed that MOD officials would work with civil society organisations on this issue. As a result, we always re-examine any new information relating to a potential incident submitted to us by such organisations, where it is possible that UK forces may have been involved.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of civilian casualties as a result of British airstrikes against ISIS as part of the US-led Coalition in Iraq and Syria.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK follows robust procedures and uses all available evidence when conducting battle damage assessments. Parliament will always be informed of any instance where we assess a UK airstrike is responsible for a civilian casualty incident, whether incurred during a new strike, or as a result of re-examining historic strikes using new information. Specifically under Operation SHADER, the UK's contribution to the US-led Coalition, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, the UK has conducted airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. The UK has accepted responsibility for one civilian casualty that occurred during an airstrike on Daesh fighters in eastern Syria on 26 March 2018. This incident was subject to a Written Ministerial Statement on 2 May 2018. However, we accept the possibility that there could be other instances of civilian casualties about which we are unaware, despite our best efforts to assess battle damage. For that reason, in 2016, the then Defence Secretary committed that MOD officials would work with civil society organisations on this issue. As a result, we always re-examine any new information relating to a potential incident submitted to us by such organisations, where it is possible that UK forces may have been involved.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery by (a) rank and (b) role are deployed with the Giraffe radars in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by James Heappey
For operational and personal security reasons I cannot disclose the number, ranks or roles of those deployed.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which organisations in Saudi Arabia the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery is working with during its Giraffe radar deployment to Saudi Arabia.
Answered by James Heappey
This deployment supports the Royal Saudi Air Force in defending the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against the increased air threats that it currently faces.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what advice or assistance Royal Navy personnel have provided to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces on their blockade of Yemen since 2015.
Answered by James Heappey
We have a very small number of liaison officers in Saudi Armed Forces headquarters. The role of these liaison officers is to provide the UK with greater insight into Saudi processes and operations. They remain under UK command and control and work to support vital access for food, fuel, and medicine by providing support to help the UN's Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) to facilitate commercial imports into Hodeidah and Saleef ports by giving the Coalition confidence that weapons are not coming in on commercial ships. The critical Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Saleef remain operational and the majority of Yemen's imports are getting in.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Royal Navy by (a) rank and (b) role are stationed at Musandam Naval Base on Jazirat Umm al Ghanam as at 7 December 2020.
Answered by James Heappey
There are no Royal Naval personnel stationed at Musandam Naval Base on Jazirat Umm al Ghanam.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Saudi Air Force pilot Mahna al-Biz received training from armed forces personnel in (a) the UK and (b) Saudi Arabia before 13 September 2017.
Answered by James Heappey
The hon. Member's question is assumed to refer to Lt Col Muhanna Al-Baiz, who completed Typhoon conversion training in the UK, delivered by RAF personnel, in 2011 - 2012.
Lt Col Al-Baiz would have received routine continuation training in Saudi Arabia, some of which will likely have been from BAE Systems pilots, including RAF personnel on secondment to the company.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Cobham Helicopter Academy is required to inform the Ministry of Defence about the nationalities of foreign military personnel that it trains at a site adjacent to RAF St Mawgan in Newquay.
Answered by James Heappey
Cobham Helicopter Academy is not required to share this information routinely. The Ministry of Defence has no involvement in the way the Cobham Helicopter Academy operates and the training it provides.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, have any British personnel accompanied the deployment of Giraffe radars to Riyadh since February 2020 to assist Saudi Arabia to track and identify objects in its airspace.
Answered by James Heappey
UK Defence personnel have accompanied the deployment of Giraffe radars to Riyadh. This deployment is purely defensive in nature and helps Saudi Arabia with the very real threats it faces.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado pilots were taught to fly the Tornado by the RAF in (a) the UK and (b) Saudi Arabia.
Answered by James Heappey
It is over 20 years since Tornado conversion training was delivered by the RAF to Saudi pilots in the UK. Information on the number of Saudi pilots trained during this period is no longer held.
The RAF has not delivered such training in Saudi Arabia.