UK Armed Forces in Iraq

Lord Stoddart of Swindon Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

I can assure my noble friend that we are in discussions with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and DfID. As my noble friend knows, General Sir Simon Mayall has been out to the Gulf. He has just returned from Egypt and has been discussing with the Egyptian Government the very point that my noble friend raised.

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Ind Lab)]

What is the position of our troops if they come under attack or are put in danger as a result of being in Iraq and helping the Iraqi forces?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

The noble Lord raises an important point about rules of engagement. As we are still scoping the numbers to go out and they are very small numbers, it is too early to say anything about the rules of engagement. But we are confident that members of the Armed Forces who are being sent out will be there in a training role and they will be far from the combat zone. Once we have finished our scoping, this important issue will be looked at very carefully.