§ 4. Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey)What commitment of British forces he plans that the UK should make to the NATO or UN forces in the Balkans in the next six months. [86533]
§ The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. George Robertson): The United Kingdom is committed to supporting NATO operations in the Balkans. At the peak, we shall be deploying up to 13,000 ground troops as part of KFOR, with up to 7,000 more remaining ready in the UK for deployment in the region if needed. Additionally, 4,500 personnel are serving with SFOR in Bosnia. As of today, 900 Royal Navy personnel and 1,800 Royal Air Force personnel are also deployed in support of operations in the Balkans. The size of those contributions will be kept under review.
§ Mr. HughesIt is clear that Britain is playing the pre-eminent role in the peacekeeping force in the Balkans—for which we should be grateful not only to the Government, but to our armed forces. Will the Secretary of State confirm—as I asked him to do some weeks ago—that it is very clear to all our troops that they are part of one integrated force which is in Kosovo to ensure that Kosovo remains one integrated territory, and that Kosovo will not be partitioned among different forces?
About three weeks ago, the International Labour Organisation treaty on child labour—which included undertakings by the British Government—was signed. What implications will that treaty have for armed forces personal under 18, who now may not be eligible to serve in front-line positions?
§ Mr. RobertsonAll the understandings and agreements have been driving precisely at achieving the objective, which the hon. Gentleman shares, of one unified force for one Kosovo: we are not interested in the creation of a new Berlin wall in any other part of the European continent. The Russians' acceptance of one unified command inside Kosovo, under General Mike Jackson of KFOR, underlines that clear line of command.
The hon. Gentleman also mentioned the ILO child labour statement. The statement will have no implications for British armed forces. It is to do with compulsory service in armed forces, not with volunteers—of whom our armed forces are composed.
§ Maria Eagle (Liverpool, Garston)Given the sustained progress that we have seen in implementing the Dayton accords in Bosnia, is now the time to consider switching some of our troops from that province towards Kosovo, where their services are more clearly needed?
§ Mr. RobertsonMy hon. Friend is right to point out that we have a considerable commitment to SFOR in Bosnia, and that the record there is extremely good. The circumstances may well lead to some force reconfiguration. We will be looking to reduce our numbers in Bosnia, and I have made that clear on a number of occasions to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The commitments that we have taken on in Kosovo—which are serious and demanding—require us to ensure that all of our commitments are matched with our capabilities.
§ Mr. Tom King (Bridgwater)In giving those sombre figures, the Secretary of State has announced, effectively, 751 something close to a commitment similar to that in Northern Ireland. The implications of a further unaccompanied tour obligation for our armed forces are profound for them, and for their families. If we are to sustain this commitment, and if we are to ensure that the implications for families do not have a serious impact on recruitment, we must look carefully at all the implications of this major new undertaking.
§ Mr. RobertsonI always listen with great care to the right hon. Gentleman, who held the position that I hold now. He knows the weighty responsibilities that are involved, especially in deploying troops. He was in a similar position to me now when he deployed some 52,000 troops to the Gulf during the conflict in that area. At that time, he—like me now—could not have stood back from our obligation to do the right thing at the right time. He and I must keep uppermost in our minds the reality of what the strain means for the individuals who are on the front lines in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and the other parts of the world where we send them. We have an obligation to think of their families, especially at this time. There will be a great deal of satisfaction and relief that so much has been achieved so far. However, it is not over, and there are still huge risks and dangers in Kosovo for those involved in mine clearance, boobytrap clearance and some other troublesome elements.
Our recruitment figures are up dramatically, but retention figures continue to give us cause for concern. We will continue to look at the demands on our forces and on their families with great care, and we will make sure that that is high on our list of priorities.
§ Mr. Martin Bell (Tatton)Since the Government came to office concerned about the problems of overstretch in the armed forces—quite rightly—will the Secretary of State give an undertaking to monitor in the months ahead the rising divorce rate among serving soldiers, as that is the best indicator of overstretch there is?
§ Mr. RobertsonWe are looking carefully and seriously at the problems affecting families during long-term commitments overseas. Clearly, the divorce rate is one of the symptoms of what can be a growing problem. We established a service families task force last year, which came out of the strategic defence review and the people policy that was part of that. We are looking at all the factors that we believe are impacting on families and, therefore, on retention in the armed forces.
This is an opportunity for the House to say a word of real gratitude to the families of our service personnel, some of whom have been without their loved ones for considerable periods of time as our forces have set out to confront an unpardonable evil in our continent. Today, they can have satisfaction that it has been a job well done.
§ Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)Following the highly pertinent question from the former Defence Secretary, the right hon. Member for Bridgwater (Mr. King), will the Secretary of State tell us which is the most likely—that the commitment will last for my lifetime, for my right hon. Friend's lifetime or for that of the youngest among us?
§ Mr. RobertsonIt may last a long time and we will have to be there for however long it takes. That is the 752 reality that we undertook when we got involved. On the other hand, there are signs, such as the agreement with the KLA last night and the speed with which the Serb forces left Kosovo, that suggest that we might be able to reach an accommodation between the different elements, as indeed we have been able to do remarkably well in Bosnia. We will hope for the best, as ever, but prepare for the worst. My hon. Friend might have offered a word of apology on this subject.
§ Mr. kin Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green)The Secretary of State is right to talk about the professionalism of our armed forces, for which the House is always grateful. We owe a debt of gratitude also to the families of our service personnel, who have a very special relationship with us because of what their loved ones are expected to do on behalf of the state. Does he accept that politicians have a duty to do as much as possible to ensure that those families are not undermined in any way by circumstances brought about by policy?
The extra deployments into Kosovo mean that we must carefully consider the pressure being put on service personnel and their families, above and beyond what was expected in the strategic defence review: for example, a parachute battalion finds itself short of men when it is called to deploy; Territorial Army para units are in difficulties because they, too, lack the personnel to make up the difference; TA engineer units serving in Kosovo know full well that their numbers will be cut as and when the SDR breaks upon them; and there are extra pressures in Northern Ireland that the Government may not have expected.
The Government should make absolutely clear their foreign policy—ethical foreign policy, as they call it—objectives, especially given the Blair doctrine of a new world order, which could lead to our armed forces being deployed in many new circumstances. Otherwise, we will have greater and greater problems in recruitment and retention.
§ Mr. RobertsonNo doubt, when the hon. Gentleman gets into the reading for his brief, he will read the strategic defence review and our analysis of foreign policy and will take note of the outcome and the recommendations, which are being implemented even as we speak. We set out to deal with the overstretch and the shortfall in manning that we inherited. That is why the Regular Army is to be increased in strength, especially in its specialist arms, by an extra 300, and why we proposed and are implementing a sixth deployable brigade, which will help to get the tour intervals back to the length that was always intended.
Of course there will be short-term penalties to pay, and I am more aware of them than most, as I have responsibility. We searchingly examine all the time what we are doing to implement the review, which we believe is vital, and how best to tackle the problem of recruitment and retention, which is hardly confined to this Government; indeed, we have made considerable progress in recruitment, which is up dramatically on last year.