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11 Nov 2005 : Column 857W—continued
Terrorism
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about the size of the British armed forces and their ability to meet the threats of terrorism in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the rest of the world. [27500]
John Reid: I have received no representations specifically linking the size of the armed forces and their role in the Government's comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy.
The role of the armed forces in meeting the threat of terrorism was set out clearly in the New Chapter to the Strategic Defence Review (Cmnd 5566) and the two Defence White Papers 'Delivering security in a changing world' and 'Future capabilities' in 2003 and 2004 (Cmnd 6041 and Cmnd 6269).
The armed forces continue to provide a number of specialist capabilities in support of the civil authorities in the United Kingdom. Although there is no military solution to terrorism, the Government have demonstrated that when necessary they are willing and able to deploy significant forces overseas as part of their counter-terrorism strategy.
I have received a number of representations relating to the Government's decision to disband the three Home Service battalions of The Royal Irish Regiment when their role in support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland ends as a result of the process of security normalisation which began on 1 August 2005.
Thailand
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether an agreement is in place between the Thai and the British Governments, whereby arms and munitions are supplied by the British in return for chickens from Thailand; and if he will make a statement. [26266]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 9 November 2005]: No such agreement exists. The Government are, however, supporting BAE Systems to work with the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand to assist with the modernisation of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. This was affirmed in a Joint Statement on 13 October by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The text of the Joint Statement can be found at http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page8306.asp
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
British Nationals (Drug Smuggling)
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals have been convicted and been given life sentences for drug smuggling in (a) Thailand, (b) Singapore, (c) Turkey, (d) Morocco, (e) Tunisia and (f) the Netherlands in the last five years. [25275]
Dr. Howells: The following table provides figures for the number of British nationals we are aware of who have been convicted and given life sentences for drug smuggling in each of these countries in the last five years.
| Country | Number of British nationals |
|---|---|
| Thailand | 4 |
| Singapore | 0 |
| Turkey | 0 |
| Morocco | 0 |
| Tunisia | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 |
Burundi
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the new government in Burundi regarding the killing of British citizen Charlotte Wilson in December 2000; and if he will press the Burundian Government to take action to bring the perpetrators to justice. [27634]
Ian Pearson: We have raised the case of Charlotte Wilson on several occasions with the new Burundian Government. We continue to press the Burundian authorities for progress in bringing Charlotte's killers to justice, and to remind them of the importance we attach to a resolution of the case.
Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development raised this case with President Nkurunziza in Bujumbura on 1 November. President Nkurunziza said that his Government was committed to investigating this and many similar cases. We will maintain pressure on the Burundian authorities to bring the perpetrators of this case and similar atrocities to justice.
EU Council of Ministers
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the British Presidency of the EU would support a proposal that the Council of Ministers should meet in public. [27527]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The UK Presidency supports finding ways for the Council to improve Council transparency. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said before the European Parliament on 23 June
"Mr. Watson challenged me over Council transparency and, certainly in relation to legislating, there is a strong case for that. Let us consider that under our Presidency".
We held an initial discussion with partners in October and we will continue to work on the issue of improving Council transparency during the UK Presidency.
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Foreign Students
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many foreign students have been granted visas to study in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, broken down by nationality. [26115]
Dr. Howells: The number of student visas issued in each of the last five years, broken down by post:
(23) Post not open.
(24) Statistics unavailable.
(25) Prior to 2001–02, Entry Clearance Statistics were published by Calendar year.
Source:
UK visas Global Statistics. These have been published online since 2001–02 and can be found at www.ukvisas.aogov.uk.
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