Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) RAF Weapon Systems Operators Rotary Wing personnel and (b) RAF Regiment Gunners are deployed in Mali on Operation Newcombe; and what their rules of engagement are.

There are currently eight RAF Weapon Systems Operators Rotary Wing personnel deployed in Mali on Operation Newcombe. There are no RAF Regiment Gunners deployed in Mali on Operation Newcombe.

It is a long standing convention for the Department to not publish Rules of Engagement in detail. I can reassure the right hon. Member that the Rules of Engagement issued for Op Newcombe, that have been authorised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary State for Defence, are proportionate and appropriate for the role that our forces are undertaking in Mali and that at all times deployed forces in Mali and elsewhere in the world retain their inherent right to self-defence.