§ 5. Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate)How many men were at battalion duty on 15 May with (a) 1 Para, (b) 2 Para and (c) 3 Para. [122643]
§ The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. John Spellar)The trained strengths of 1 Para, 2 Para and 3 Para as at 1 April 2000—the latest date for which figures are available—were 584, 551 and 620 respectively. These figures are for UK trained army personnel only and include attached arms.
§ Mr. BluntI take it that that answer does not reflect the deployment to Sierra Leone, which I asked about in a question on 15 May, or the fact that more than a company of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, had to reinforce the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, in Sierra Leone. That reflects the woeful state of understrength infantry battalions, not just in the Parachute Regiment but across the board. What does the Minister expect the undermanning to be in the Scottish Division in six months' time? Will he undertake not to try to blame the previous Conservative Government, because Labour has now been in office for more than three years, which is longer than a soldier's standard engagement?
§ Mr. SpellarI am more than happy to blame the Conservative Government, and will continue to do so, for leaving us a deficit of more than 5,000 in the Army. We have had to add 3,000 additional posts to fulfil the strategic defence review and our assessment of the requirement. The total trained strength of the three regular Parachute Battalions is 1,755, and that is 153 higher than at the same time last year. I shall announce later, in answer to other questions, the increase in the Army overall. However, we are not complacent. We are pleased by the levels of recruitment, especially at a time—thanks to the policies of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer—of record employment. We are considering the issue of retention and we have made some improvements, but we can go much further.
§ Mr. Denis MacShane (Rotherham)After the Americans had to scuttle out of Somalia and the French left Brazzaville to burn, is not it a matter of some pride that British paratroopers can go in and restore order in Sierra Leone, working with the United Nations? Is not it a matter of some shame that all the Conservatives can do, having left the Army grievously undermanned for this Government to put right, is to undermine the Army in 7 every way with constant criticisms of what our men are achieving abroad for the Government and for the international community?
§ Mr. SpellarI thank my hon. Friend for that question. In spite of the Opposition's earlier performance, they have improved a little recently, probably in response to the spectacular success of our armed forces and the great national pride that is taken in their performance. As my hon. Friend knows, the Parachute Regiment has returned to the timetable that we initially announced and its job is now being performed, equally professionally, by the Marines. We are proud of them and, in our discussions with our international counterparts, we have learned that they have been impressed by the speed with which our forces reacted and the professionalism with which they perform their jobs.
§ Mr. Gerald Howarth (Aldershot)I am glad that the Minister had the opportunity to visit the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, on Thursday morning and to take breakfast with it to congratulate the men on their magnificent achievements in Sierra Leone. I am only sorry that he was not able to inform me in advance, because I would have been happy to have joined him in that trip to my constituency. The Minister will know, from his close connections with that regiment, of the enormous pride that it has, so it is unfortunate that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Mr. Blunt) pointed out, the 1st Battalion recently had to be reinforced. I understand that a Gurkha company is also with the Paras. Does the Minister agree that it would be advisable, and beneficial to the Government, if the Parachute Regiment could be brought up to full strength?
§ Mr. SpellarCertainly, the Parachute Regiment is working on that. As the hon. Gentleman knows, there are always more applicants than there are places available, and the training regime is extremely rigorous. When I spoke to officers of the regiment on Saturday, I was pleased to see the work being done to rectify the problem.
I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman was unable to get a free breakfast on Saturday, and I apologise for the fact that my officials did not notify him of my visit. However, given the speed of the withdrawal of our troops from Freetown, he will understand that the timing of my visit was slightly uncertain until the last moment.
The hon. Gentleman is right about the skills of the Parachute Regiment. I only wish that he would not overlay the constructive points that he makes with so much carping criticism. Members of the Parachute Regiment are enormously, and justifiably, proud of the role that they played in the crisis.