§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the number of unexploded cluster bombs and bomblets that remain in Iraq having been dropped by British military operations. [166415]
§ Mr. IngramTo date, around 930,000 individual items of unexploded ordnance have been cleared from the Multi-National Division (South East) Area of Operations. This figure includes around 5,800 items of submunitions, however this category is not broken down further into type of submunition or county of origin. Therefore it is not possible to quantify the number of unexploded cluster bombs and bomblets that remain in Iraq having been dropped by British military operations.
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§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department has implemented to(a) trace and (b) recover munitions containing depleted uranium used by British forces in Iraq. [166871]
§ Mr. IngramAn initial survey of the region has been started to mark known sites for clearance. Surface lying depleted uranium (DU) fragments are being removed from the battlefield as they are discovered.
The Ministry of Defence has provided the coordinates of targets attacked by British forces using DU ammunition to the United Nations Environment Programme which will assess DU levels as part of its post-conflict environmental survey of Iraq when the security situation allows.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that all investigations into alleged abuses by Coalition Forces in Iraq are conducted by a body that is(a) competent, (b) impartial and (c) independent. [166936]
§ Mr. IngramFormal investigations into alleged cases of misconduct by members of the UK Armed Forces are conducted by the Royal Military Police who are competent, impartial and, in exercising their constabulary powers, fully independent of the Army chain of command.
Investigations into allegations against members of other Coalition partners' Armed Forces are a matter for them to comment on.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that the findings of all investigations into alleged abuses by United Kingdom forces in Iraq are made public. [166937]
§ Mr. IngramI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 February 2004,Official Report, column 45W to the hon. Member for Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr (Mr. Price).
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements exist for the sharing of information between United States military forces and(a) British forces and (b) the United Kingdom diplomatic representation to the Coalition Provisional Authority respectively, in respect of Iraqi civilians (i) killed and (ii) injured by military activities by US forces in Iraq. [167403]
§ Mr. IngramWe liaise closely with all our partners in the International Coalition on a range of issues but casualties allegedly caused by other than UK Forces are a matter for the relevant partner nation to comment on.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what attempts have been made to ascertain the number of Iraqi civilians(a) killed and (b) injured by British forces in Iraq since 1 May 2003. [167421]
§ Mr. IngramUK units report all confirmed fatalities of which they are aware arising from incidents in which they were involved and we have put in place a mechanism for central collation of unit reports. However, it is not always possible to confirm whether fatalities or injuries have occurred during a particular incident. For example, in some incidents we believe Iraqi dead and/or injured may have been taken away by their compatriots before UK forces could investigate. In other incidents UK forces have been forced to withdraw 1521W before any Iraqi fatalities and/or injuries could be confirmed. Consequently, we have no reliable means of assessing the completeness of the information.
§ Michael FabricantTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many students in full-time employment have interrupted their studies to serve with reserve forces in Iraq and the adjoining theatre over the last 24 months; [169225]
(2) how many students in full-time employment now serving with reserve forces in Iraq and the adjoining theatre interrupted their studies in order to do so. [169224]
§ Mr. CaplinGenerally, it is Ministry of Defence policy to grant an exemption from or deferral of call-out for reservists who are in full-time education if such an exemption or deferral is sought. Therefore, the overall number of individuals who have served or who are serving in Iraq and who were in full time education prior to call-out is thought to be very small. Precise figures are not held centrally, as this would require a trawl of computer records and an examination of individual personnel files to establish the information requested. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.