Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 240620 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid, what roles were undertaken by those personnel in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 March 2019 to Question 234801.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 240620 on Saudi Arabia, how many UK military forces are in Saudi Arabia in support of the Saudi Royal Airforce.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
As of March 2019, around 20 military personnel (all of whom are from the RAF) provide routine engineering and generic training support to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) and are seconded to BAE Systems.
UK military personnel do not provide direct support to RSAF operations in Yemen. They do not prepare aircraft for operations, do not load weapons, and do not get involved in the planning of operational sorties.
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 (a) BAE Systems employees and (b) seconded RAF personnel working in Saudi Arabia under government-to-government arrangements have (i) worked with and (ii) supported Royal Saudi Air Force squadrons involved in the air war in Yemen and (A) Weapons Load Technicians, (B) Line Control Supervisors, (C) Flight Dispatchers and (D) Weapons Supervisors.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold the information requested on the number of BAE Systems employees and seconded RAF personnel working in Saudi Arabia under government-to-government arrangements who have worked with and supported Royal Saudi Air Force squadrons involved in the air war in Yemen and Weapons Load Technicians, Line Control Supervisors, Flight Dispatchers and Weapons Supervisors.
BAE Systems employees, including those RAF personnel on secondment to the company, do not provide direct support for Royal Saudi Air Force operational squadrons when engaged in operations in Yemen. They do not prepare aircraft for operations, do not load weapons, and do not get involved in the planning of operational sorties.
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 UK (a) contracted companies and (b) military personnel have fused munitions in support of the Saudi Royal Air Force since 2015.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Neither UK contract personnel nor UK military personnel, who operate under the long-standing government-to-government arrangements, programme or arm fuses for operational sorties.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2019 to Question 234804, how many RAF personnel in total are operating in Saudi Arabia; what roles those personnel are deployed to; and what the rank is of each of those personnel.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The ranks of RAF personnel in Saudi Arabia range from Corporal to Air Vice-Marshal inclusive.
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 steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the armed forces and (b) BAE systems employees in Saudi Arabia are not in violation of international humanitarian law as a result of in-country services to the Royal Saudi Air Force.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
There are restrictions on the provision of direct support to Royal Saudi Air Force operations.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 March 2019 to question 232090.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2019 to Question 228123 and the Answer of 18 March 2019 to Question 232088, how UK military personnel support Saudi compliance with International Humanitarian Law (a) without advance knowledge of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen and (b) not having witnessed any violations International Humanitarian Law.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
We provide training and advice to the Saudi Coalition to support compliance with International Humanitarian Law. The British military has some of the highest standards in the world in how we conduct ourselves in armed conflicts and seek to avoid civilian casualties; we are happy to share our hard-won experience with our partners.
We draw from our own experiences in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere to learn lessons and to improve our processes even further. It is entirely right that we share techniques for minimising civilian casualties with other countries to ensure their military campaigns can be conducted in the most humane manner possible.
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 (a) RAF personnel, (b) RAF personnel on secondment to BAE and (c) former RAF personnel now working for BAE, are working in Saudi Arabia; and what is the nature of the work for each of those groups.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
As of March 2019, around 80 RAF personnel are working in Saudi Arabia of which around 20 are on secondment to BAE. Information regarding the number of former RAF personnel now working for BAE in Saudi Arabia is not held.
The Ministry of Defence is not required to maintain a record of the employment status of former personnel.
RAF personnel roles include routine engineering support, generic training support and liaison roles.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Situation of human rights in Yemen, including violations and abuses since September 2014, published on 13 September 2017, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the legal exposure of (a) the armed forces and (b) workers supporting the Royal Saudi Air Force under contract to the UK government from alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
UK Armed Forces are not exposed to legal liability because the UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition and all UK military assistance to Saudi Arabia is in accordance with international and national law. All UK personnel in Saudi Arabia remain under UK command and control.
Regarding workers supporting the Royal Saudi Air Force under contract to the UK Government, our arms export regime is one of the most rigorous in the world. The key test for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to international humanitarian law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that those items subject to the licence might be used in a serious violation of IHL. The situation is kept under careful and continual review.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2019 to Question 232088 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid, how many reports of suspected violations of international humanitarian law have been made by (a) UK armed forces operating in Saudi Arabia and (b) BAE personnel working under contract to the UK Government.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
None.