HC Deb 10 June 1991 vol 192 cc463-4W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many qualified interpreters in(a) Arabic and (b) Turkish are currently serving in (i) the armed forces and (ii) the reserves; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

There are 45 qualified interpreters in Arabic and seven in Turkish currently serving in the regular forces. We do not hold central records of the number of qualified interpreters in the reserve forces, but they are know to number at least 27 in Arabic and one in Turkish.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many interpreters in(a) Arabic and (b) Turkish are currently serving with the British forces in (i) south-eastern Turkey and (ii) northern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

Eleven Arabic-speaking members of the armed forces are currently deployed to south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq on operation Haven. Six are trained to linguist or interpreter standard and two also have Turkish language qualifications. The other five are students on the services' long Arabic language course. They are deployed within Turkey and northern Iraq as required. Local interpreters are employed as necessary.