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Unidentified Flying Objects
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consultation has taken place in each of the last five years by his Department with the French Ministry of Defence Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in respect of unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [41048]
- (2) if a lodger unit housed within his Department's Flying Complaints Flight specialises in unidentified flying object investigations; and if he will make a statement;[41036]
(3) how many records currently held by his Department's Scientific Intelligence Branch are under extended closure for (a) 50 years, (b) 75 years and (c) 100 years; how many of these records refer to unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [40911]
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(4) what consultation has taken place in each of the last five years by his Department with the Royal Australian air force in respect of unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [41042]
(5) what consultation has taken place in each of the last five years by his Department with the Spanish Ministry of Defence's intelligence section of the Spanish air forces air operations command in respect of unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [41050]
(6) if he will make statement on his Department's policy towards unidentified flying objects and on how this has developed during the past 30 years; [40913]
(7) what co-operation there is between the Royal Air Force and the United States air force in respect of establishing the facts relating to unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [40918]
(8) how many alleged landings by unidentified flying objects have been recorded in each year since 1980 and this year to date; how many have been investigated by his Department's personnel; which of these had been traced by radar and with what result; and if he will make a statement; [40921]
(9) what consultation has taken place in each of the last five years by his Department with the Italian Ministry of Defence air force general staff (2. Department) in respect of unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [41049]
(10) what instructions have been sent to the commanders of Royal Air Force stations to collect reports from air crews having allegedly sighted unidentified flying objects; what inquiries have been held following such sightings; to what extent there has been collaboration between his Department and departments in (a) Canada and (b) the United States of America on this problem; and if he will make a statement; [40917]
(11) what consultation has taken place in each of the last five years by his Department with New Zealand's Ministry of Defence in respect of unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [41043]
(12) what consultation has taken place in each of the last five years by his Department with the Portuguese Ministry of Defence's joint staff of the armed forces intelligence division in respect of unidentified flying objects; and if he will make a statement; [41051]
(13) how many instances of unidentified flying objects have been reported on by the defence services of the United Kingdom during the last 12 months; what steps are taken to co-ordinate such observations; and if he will make a statement; [40910]
(14) if he will list by year for the last 30 years how many structured craft of unknown origin have penetrated the United Kingdom's air defence region; and if he will make a statement. [40919]
Mr. Soames: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Tornado Crash (Blackpool)
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 14 October,
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Official Report, column 476, on what date the F3 Tornado which crashed on Blackpool beach in September, received its certificate of airworthiness. [41070]
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 14 October, Official Report, column 484, by whom the investigation into the crash of the Tornado F3 off Blackpool on 28 September will be carried out. [41336]
Mr. Arbuthnot: The Tornado F3 that crashed near Blackpool on 28 September 1996 had been authorised to fly by the Ministry of Defence on the same day as the accident.
The authorisation was issued, at British Aerospace Warton where the aircraft was being refurbished, in accordance with standard procedures for aircraft undergoing such work.
The aircraft which crashed was the ninth of a series of 16 aircraft being refurbished by British Aerospace. The previous eight had already been returned to the RAF in fully operational condition.
A Ministry of Defence board of inquiry is under way into the causes of the crash and not one by the Department of Transport as suggested by my right hon. Friend on 14 October, Official Report, column 484.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total expenditure on new buildings and premises by his Department and its agencies; and if he will indicate the square footage of new office space purchased or newly rented in each of the last five years. [41147]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the strength of the British armed forces on 1 April 1992; and what will be its strength on (a) 1 April 1999 and (b) 1 April 2000. [41111]
Mr. Soames:
The total service strength of the regular armed forces on 1 April 1992 was 302,400. The estimated strength on 1 April 1999 and 1 April 2000 is 213,500 for each year. Both figures include Gurkha strengths, Royal Marines and Queen Alexandra Royal Naval Nursing Service, and an element for personnel undergoing training.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the result of his Department's investigations into an incident on board HMS Sceptre on 22 July; and if he will make a statement. [40835]
Mr. Soames:
The Royal Navy board of inquiry into the incident on 22 July, when two peace demonstrators were apprehended shortly after gaining access to HMS Sceptre, identified the need to tighten certain aspects of the specific security procedures relating to our nuclear hunter killer submarines. This has been done. It also recommended a number of additional security and
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management measures to minimise the possibility of such an incident happening again. Many of these have already been put in place, and others are being addressed with the greatest urgency.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the titles of the records of the Ministry of Defence's scientific intelligence branch in respect of correspondence sent to Mr. Nicholas Redfern by the Public Record Office, Kew on 21 September 1990.[40889]
Mr. Soames:
I will write to hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library in the House.
Mr. Fatchett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether his Department entered into an agreement with the developers of Peninsula barracks, Winchester, so that his Department could share in any gain arising from development; and if he will make a statement; [41227]
Mr. Soames:
I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Battle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what capacity of electricity used in his Department's buildings is generated in a combined heat and power plant; and what plans he has to increase that capacity.[41317]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what authority (a) members of visiting forces and (b) US security police officers arrest and detain United Kingdom citizens on public highways for (i) theft and (ii) other alleged offences against United Kingdom law. [41328]
Mr. Soames:
I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 July to the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mrs. Currie), Official Report, columns 532-33, if he will now make a statement on the outcome of the Medical Research Council selection process on the 37 outline proposals for research into Gulf war syndrome mentioned in his answer. [41306]
Mr. Soames:
I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
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(2) if he will set out (a) the purchase and (b) the sale price of Peninsula barracks, Winchester. [41228]
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