§ 16. John Robertson (Glasgow, Anniesland)What assessment he has made of the use of the Navy in the Afghan war. [24477]
§ The Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram)Royal Navy submarines fired a small number of Tomahawk land attack missiles on 7 and 13 October 17 2001. The UK assigned an amphibious task group led by the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, converted for helicopter operations, to the coalition. Other Royal Navy vessels were assigned, including seven Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, which provided logistical support.
Our task group's commander, Rear Admiral Burnell-Nugent, is also deputy commander for all coalition naval forces in the theatre, responsible for co-ordinating all the coalition's extensive naval operations. Those operations have, since 21 December 2001, included coalition maritime interdiction operations to seize personnel or equipment linked to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
§ John RobertsonI thank my right hon. Friend for that extensive answer. When he answered my question of similar ilk, he said:
At the end of the process, a statement will be required as to how we go forward in terms of a new chapter of the strategic defence review."—[Official Report,29 October 2001; Vol. 373, c. 626.]Has he looked at the role of the Navy at the beginning of the conflict and at how we could mount another campaign using the Navy—perhaps, shall we say, bringing it up to date so that we could do it without the help of some of our coalition friends?
§ Mr. IngramIrrespective of the events of 11 September, I know that my hon. Friend is aware that the Government have an extensive shipbuilding programme planned. Orders have already been placed to meet some of the commitments. Clearly, we must learn lessons from every set of circumstances. I assure him that lessons will be learned if they need to be from the current deployment of our maritime force in the Arabian sea.
§ Mr. Mark Prisk (Hertford and Stortford)Will the Minister join me in congratulating all members of the Royal Navy on the excellent work that they performed at the beginning of the mission? I say that because a member of my family was part of that force. What progress is being made with the Tomahawk mission, and will all the submarines be equipped with that weapon?
§ Mr. IngramThe hon. Gentleman makes a good point about the extensive role played by members of the Royal Navy. In a statement to the House dealing with the situation in Afghanistan, I said that in excess of 4,000 naval personnel were being deployed. The figure remains roughly of that magnitude. In my earlier answer, I indicated the extent to which they continued to play a role, so our thanks are due to them just as much as they are due to those who are being deployed on land in Afghanistan.
On the future of the submarine fleet, clearly, what our future posture would be must be considered in the round. What we wish of our joint forces working in an expeditionary way is set out within the SDR.
§ Mr. Tony Banks (West Ham)Is there any chance of Royal Navy vessels bringing to this country some of the distressed animals from Kabul zoo? Does my right hon. Friend recall the correspondence that I have had with his Department about the plight of the animals in the zoo and the need for veterinary attention? I now understand that 18 vets have gone into the zoo. What involvement has there been on the part of Ministry of Defence personnel in helping the animals and protecting the vets in the zoo?
§ Mr. IngramI try to be as helpful as I can be in answering questions. I do not have immediate information as to the specifics of any hands-on involvement by our personnel, but I shall try to find out whether any of them have given assistance to the civil authorities and to those who take care of animals in the zoo.
My hon. Friend asks whether our naval vessels would be used for transporting animals to this country. I have no knowledge of any plans so to do, but I know that he is active in pursuing the matter and has written extensively to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, who will address some of the issues that he has raised in detail with him.