Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether information gathered by unarmed UK surveillance aircraft and provided to the Israeli military was used in Operation Arnon in Nuseirat on 8 June 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6280 on Gaza: Air Force, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information gathered by unarmed UK surveillance aircraft and shared with the Israeli military is only used to help locate hostages.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has shared information gathered from surveillance flights over Gaza with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office; and if he will (a) declassify and (b) publish that information.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The highest hourly rate paid for legal advice by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was £597.
The highest hourly rate paid for legal advice by the MOD’s arms length bodies is:
Name of Arms Length Body | Highest Rate |
Defence Electronics and Components Agency | £295 |
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory | £148 |
National Army Museum | £550 |
National Museum of the Royal Navy | £580 |
Oil and Pipelines | £250 |
Royal Air Force Museum | £280 |
Royal Hospital Chelsea | £530 |
Single Source Regulations Office | £450 |
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office | £675 |
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the locations are of the seven ground control stations used for control of his Department's 10 Reapers.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Reaper ground control stations are located at RAF Waddington, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada and the Middle East in support of the international coalition's ongoing operation to counter the threat of ISIL.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has employed unmanned aircraft (a) in and (b) around the UK to support counter-terrorism efforts.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No unmanned aircraft systems belonging to the Ministry of Defence have been used to support counter terrorism operations in or around the UK.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's budget has been allocated to the use, development or procurement of unmanned systems.
Answered by Philip Dunne
In the last financial year, some £310 million was spent by the Ministry of Defence on the development, procurement and use of unmanned systems. This represents approximately 0.9% of the defence budget for the year.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has assessed the comparative effectiveness of using GBU-12 bombs and Hellfire missiles from UK Reapers in Iraq.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
All RAF air-to-surface weapon types used in operations are continually assessed for their performance and effectiveness. Weapon selection is informed by a combination of the nature of the target, the effect desired and the broader environment in which the target sits.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what methodology his Department uses to assess levels of collateral damage from airstrikes in Iraq.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Ministry of Defence follows well established doctrine that sets out the process for considering collateral damage before and after airstrikes. All UK airstrikes are conducted in accordance with Rules of Engagement and International Humanitarian Law. Targets are selected with the utmost care, the risks of collateral damage or civilian casualties are assessed and mitigated based on intelligence and the use of precision guided weapons.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many jobs have been created in the UK by the French-Israeli Thales/Elbit Joint Venture for Watchkeeper.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Watchkeeper air vehicle is manufactured by UAV Tactical Systems Ltd, a joint venture between Elbit Systems UK and Thales UK, under a sub-contract from Thales UK, the Watchkeeper prime contractor. The Ministry of Defence has no direct commercial relationship with UAV Tactical Systems Ltd and no estimate has therefore been made of the number of persons employed by the company. The wider Watchkeeper supply-chain sustains high-quality jobs at a number of locations across the United Kingdom.