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Air Defence
14. Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab): If he will make a statement on air defence policy priorities. [150167]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): The United Kingdom's air defence capability is an important contributor to those standing military tasks that provide for the maintenance of the integrity of United Kingdom airspace, and the defence and security of the overseas territories. It also provides a valuable component of the United Kingdom's overall deployable military capability.
Mark Tami: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. I welcome the Secretary of State's announcement this morning on the future tanker aircraft as a massive boost to Airbus at Broughton and to the economy of north Wales. Can the Minister assure me that the remaining issues regarding the private finance initiative contract will be sorted out as quickly as possible and not be allowed to drag on?
Mr. Ingram: It clearly was an important announcement, and an announcement that was much awaited. My hon. Friend has alighted on one of the critical areas that must be properly resolved, and we are determined to get it resolved as quickly as possible.
Iraq
15. Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab): What steps his Department has taken to help the reconstruction of Iraq. [150168]
The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon): Since the end of major combat operations, the Ministry of Defence has supported some 750 quick-impact projects, which have improved the immediate situation, as well as preparing the ground for broader reconstruction efforts. Experts from the UK armed forces have also contributed to the emergency infrastructure programme in the south that is funded jointly by the Department for International Development and the coalition provisional authority. As a result, supply routes, such as the rail link between Basra and Umm Qasr, have been reopened, while the repair of bridges over the River Hamdan has strengthened vital transport infrastructure. Clean-water provision has been restored through our construction of
the water pipeline from Kuwait to Umm Qasr and repairs to the Umm Qasr water treatment plant, and we have also made extensive repairs to the electricity grid.Separately, we are helping provide the security needed for other reconstruction activity to flourish. Significant progress, for example, has been made in developing Iraq's own security sector. There are now around 60,000 Iraqi security personnel operating across the country.
Huw Irranca-Davies : I thank my right hon. Friend for that exhaustive update on the quick-impact projects that are under way. I must pay personal tribute to the work of our troops in carrying out this important work. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that he prioritises within the Department the work in hospitals and schools? Beyond the quick-impact projects and the benefits that they will bring, it is the long-term benefits that will be brought through health and education projects that will lead to the prosperity and health of the Iraqi people.
Mr. Hoon: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his observation. He might like to know that we supported the refurbishment of more than 90 schools in our area of operations. Another 140 further refurbishment projects are under way. As for the health service in Iraq, we have completed 65 general health projects, 16 hospital projects, 32 health centre projects and seven veterinary centre projects.
Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con): The Secretary of State will agree that one of the most important contributions that the Army can make to reconstruction in Iraq is maintaining internal security and public order, as evidenced by dealing with the recent riots in Basra. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it would be wholly unacceptable if, six months after the end of the major operations in Iraq, our armed forces did not have sufficient riot control equipment in Basra?
Mr. Hoon: If there is any serious suggestion to that effect, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will raise it with me directly so that it can be investigated. Certainly, all the television programmes that I have seen providing footage of the operations conducted by British personnel have shown how expert those soldiers are in dealing with the threats to order that we have seen from time to time in southern Iraq. They have used precisely the same kind of techniques and equipment that I myself have seen them use when they have been training in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Kevan Jones (North Durham) (Lab): I and other members of the Defence Committee visited Iraq last year and saw some of the sterling work that is being undertaken by MOD personnel in some of the quick-win projects. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the work of staff not only of the MOD but from the Department for International Development, the Foreign Office and the non-governmental organisations, who are making a real difference in regenerating schools and putting infrastructure in place—work which is unfortunately not widely reported in the British media, but which is making a real difference in Iraq?
Mr. Hoon: I am grateful to my hon. Friend and his colleagues for their visits to Iraq. That is much
appreciated by troops on the ground, who appreciate the interest shown by visiting Members. I am delighted that he saw so much that is positive about progress in Iraq. That bears out all the reports that I have received. Although there are continuing concerns about security—less in the south than in other parts of Iraq—real progress is being made in reconstructing the country.
Mr. Boris Johnson (Henley) (Con): Given that a vital part of the reconstruction of Iraq is presumably the discovery and removal of weapons of mass destruction, may I remind the Secretary of State of an answer that he gave to me more than six months ago, when I asked him whether the failure to find weapons of mass destruction undermined the legality of the case for war? He gave a four-word answer, which was, "They will be found." Does the right hon. Gentleman still believe that? If not, does he not think that it is about time that the public saw all the legal opinion upon which the Government based the case for war?
Mr. Hoon: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his ingenuity, but he needs to check more carefully the precise circumstances in which military action was taken. It was taken on the basis of resolution 1441. We know that Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction previously; 1441 was given by the United Nations to Saddam Hussein as a last opportunity to co-operate with the international community. The coalition forces judged that he had failed to take that last opportunity. I am sure that a fair-minded observer of these affairs, as the hon. Gentleman is, would reach that conclusion.
Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab): But is not unemployment in Iraq, including in the UK-occupied sector, running at a rate of about 70 per cent., and is not the UK following the approach of the United States of privatisation and foreign contractors, and in the case of the United States, corrupt sweetheart deals? There is plenty for the state to do there. Should there not be a massive programme of public spending and public ownership to get those Iraqis back into work? Would that not be better for the Iraqis and safer for the troops?
Mr. Hoon: I am sure my hon. Friend recognises that it is public money that is going into Iraq—largely the public money provided by the US taxpayer. It is not entirely surprising, therefore, that the US tends to look first to its own companies to provide assistance. Nevertheless, there are significant opportunities for British companies to participate in projects in Iraq, which they are doing, and for other countries that are not even members of the coalition.
Logistics Support
16. Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Con): What recent research has been commissioned into logistics support in the field for army operations. [150169]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): A range of reviews are under way to examine how best to deliver operational logistic support to the armed forces in the most effective and efficient manner.
These include the work being led by the Chief of Defence Logistics, under the auspices of the end-to-end review and under my direct chairmanship. We are also determined to learn the lessons of recent operations, drawing on our own Operation Telic report "Lessons for the Future" and the helpful recent report by the National Audit Office.
Bob Spink : Is the Minister aware of reports this weekend that show that the lack of a radio may have been a cause of the tragic death of six British military policemen who were killed by a mob in Iraq last year? Is that not yet another example of our troops being sent into active military operations without the proper equipment? Will the Minister support the families of those brave troops in seeking a public inquiry into those deaths?
Mr. Ingram: I suggest to the hon. Gentleman that he do something that the press does not seem to do, which is to try to establish the ground truth about the matter. They make these lurid accusations without so much as seeking the view of the Department. I can tell him that the allegations are wholly unfounded. I will write and give him greater detail on this point.
Richard Younger-Ross (Teignbridge) (LD): Could the Minister look at logistical support for our heavy armoured brigade, particularly in light of recent events in Iraq, and ensure that in future they have chemical filters that work for more than six hours?
Mr. Ingram: The reality was that those tanks—the heavy armour to which the hon. Gentleman refers—had 95 per cent. reliability. He should read the National Audit Office report and the lessons learned, and stop throwing around accusations not based upon the breadth of examination that was carried out. If any lessons need to be learned about equipment shortcomings or failures, they will be learned. That is what the NAO report is about and it is why we carry out such an intensive investigation into our own experiences. Iraq tells us a lot about what needs to be done for the future.
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