§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations have been received by his Department from families of forces personnel serving in the Gulf regarding inefficiencies in, and the cost of, the postal service from Britain to the Gulf.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave her on 6 March 1991 at columns221–22.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the costs of operations in the Gulf; and from which subheads of which votes these funds are taken.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe additional costs of the Gulf conflict, as so far assessed, are £1.75 billion. Indications are that the eventual costs may be up to £3 billion. Vote subheads which have borne or are likely to bear the additional costs of the Gulf conflict are:
Vote 1:
A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, B4, BZ, C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, DZ, E1, E2, EZ, F1, F2, F3, F5, F6, F7, FZ, G1, G2, GZ, HI, H2, HZ, I1, L1, L2, L3, L5, L6, L7, L9, LZ.
Vote 2:1
E1, F1, F2, F3, F4, 12, J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J7, J8, K1, L1, L2, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, N1
Vote 3:
A1, A2, A3, AZ.
Vote 4:
A1, A2.
Vote 5:
A1, A3.
1 Costs have also fallen upon vote 2, sections A to D, but these cannot be attributed to individual subheads.
§ Mr. AshtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British military personnel were killed in the Gulf war; how many were injured; and how many of these were killed or injured by Iraqi forces.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonSeventeen British servicemen are confirmed to have been killed and 43 injured in action. Of these, nine have been been confirmed killed and 11 injured in a single incident, when a US A–10 aircraft attacked two Warrior armoured vehicles. The circumstances surround-ing the other casualties are still under investigation. Eight British servicemen are still missing in action.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are taken to allow independent groups to assess whether Iraqi prisoners of war being held in Saudi Arabia are being treated to the standards set out in the Geneva convention.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe International Committee of the Red Cross has full access to Iraqi prisoners of war in Saudi Arabia, as required by the third Geneva convention.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any NATO-assigned munitions from RAF Welford are being used by B52 aircraft operating from the United Kingdom to bomb targets in the Gulf.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThis is a matter for the United States Government.