§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken by British forces and their coalition allies to recover destroyed Iraqi military equipment abandoned in Kuwait for(a) scrap metal recycling and (b) rebuilding for civilian uses; and if he has made an estimate of the monetary scrap value of all destroyed military equipment left over from the Gulf war.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonWe are considering arrangements for the disposal of Iraqi equipment captured by British forces. These may include recovery for use as hard targets or display exhibits, and disposal for recycling. We have no information on the monetary scrap value of all destroyed military equipment resulting from the Gulf conflict.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British, United States and other coalition forces are in Iraq; and if he will make a statement on their withdrawal.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThere are no British forces in Iraq. Coalition forces will withdraw from Iraq as soon as appropriate.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to recycling the materials of defunct and irreparably damaged vehicles and other British military equipment presently in Kuwait, southern Iraq or Saudi Arabia.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe small number of British vehicles which were seriously damaged during operations are being recovered to our logistic base in Saudi Arabia. Those that can be economically repaired will be returned to the United Kingdom or Germany. The remainder will be stripped of any useful items and arrangements will be made for the disposal of the residue, including recycling where appropriate.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service women are deployed in the Gulf; and how many were involved in combat.
§ Mr. Archie Hamilton[holding answer 15 March 1991]: As at 28 February 1991 there were over 1,200 British service women deployed in the Gulf. No British service women were involved in combat.