HC Deb 26 November 2001 vol 375 cc663-5
7. Vernon Coaker (Gedling)

Which British forces are stationed in Macedonia. [15080]

15. Ross Cranston (Dudley, North)

Which British forces are in Macedonia. [15089]

The Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram)

The UK deployed some 2,000 troops to Macedonia at the end of August as lead nation in Operation Essential Harvest, the NATO operation to collect weapons from the National Liberation Army. This was a time-limited task and those troops all withdrew by 12 October, having successfully completed their mission. The operation has made a significant contribution to the peace process in Macedonia and I congratulate those involved. Currently, about 40 British service personnel are deployed to Macedonia in headquarters roles at the British Embassy and in support of the Macedonian Government.

Vernon Coaker

I join my right hon. Friend in congratulating our troops in Macedonia. Is not one of the lessons of the action that they took there that, in many more such situations, they will have to be involved in peacekeeping missions and in preventing conflict before it breaks out, rather than dealing with the consequences? Will he talk to other countries and international bodies such as the UN about how that might be brought about?

Mr. Ingram

My hon. Friend asks an interesting question. The answer must be that, yes, on occasion, what he describes may well be a requirement of a joint rapid reaction force, but it depends on the circumstances. Clearly, different demands can be made, whether the initiative is UN-led, part of a NATO deployment, or some other type of European deployment that is part of a NATO deployment. What we have achieved in Macedonia, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Bosnia has shown that we are capable and are getting better. That is why there is always a request for British troops to be deployed: we are good at what we do.

Ross Cranston

I am sure that my right hon. Friend is as concerned as I am about the recent serious ethnic conflict in Macedonia. According to certain accounts, some of that conflict has been stirred up by hard-line elements in the Government, so our presence there has been essential. Am not I right in thinking that Germany now leads that deployment? If that is so, is it not a sign that Germany now shows a more confident, active and mature approach to European defence?

Mr. Ingram

Part of Taskforce Harvest, in which United Kingdom troops were originally deployed, involved France, Germany, Greece and Italy. All provided large numbers of troops. My hon. and learned Friend is right to say that Operation Amber Fox is under German leadership. That shows an increasing involvement of European Union countries as their capabilities build alongside ours. It also shows that they can carry out those tasks successfully.

Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet)

Will the Minister confirm that the operations in Macedonia were undertaken entirely by NATO personnel and assets? Why, therefore, was it believed necessary to set up duplicate structures under the European security and defence policy? Surely EU military structures were totally unnecessary; establishing them snubs NATO European, non-EU, countries such as Turkey.

Mr. Ingram

The current operation is called Operation Amber Fox. I do not necessarily want to shoot the hon. Gentleman's fox, but he is wrong. No duplicate structures were set up and operations in Macedonia were clearly under the command of and controlled by NATO.

Patrick Mercer (Newark)

The Minister knows that operations in Macedonia and now in Afghanistan have placed an intolerable burden on our intelligence-gathering assets, especially the defence intelligence staff and the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre. After much probing in mid-October, several specialist reservists were called in specifically to help those two agencies. Why, several weeks later, is not a single reservist under arms?

Mr. Ingram

I do not accept the premise of the hon. Gentleman's question. There was no intolerable pressure on our intelligence-gathering staff. They have performed their tasks admirably, and provide advice and support to those who make the ultimate decisions about finding answers to difficult and complex problems. A request was made to reservists, and only a few have been used.