Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Goldie on 16 January (HL Deb, col 861), on how many occasions UK personnel embedded in partner forces were given permission for "unagreed operations" in (1) 2016, (2) 2017, and (3) 2018.

The Department does not hold these details centrally and they could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The parameters of an embeds duties are agreed before deployment. Should the host nation wish to change these after deployment the embed will seek further clearance from the MOD. As such, there are no 'unagreed operations' undertaken by UK Armed Forces embedded in our allies' Armed Forces. The reply given during the debate of 16 January was to assure the noble Lords that checks and balances are in place to protect our personnel and to ensure that they remain compliant with UK law and any policy restrictions we may place upon them.