§ Mr. BoyesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he intends to publish a White Paper on the lessons of the Gulf war.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe work to evaluate the lessons of Operation Granby is continuing, but is unlikely to be completed before the end of the year. We are considering the most appropriate method of publishing our conclusions.
§ Mr. David YoungTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action was taken in respect of parcels sent to troops in the Gulf and not distributed to them; and how many such parcels reached the troops for whom they were intended and how many did not.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlislePersonally addressed parcels to the Gulf were, whenever possible, delivered to the individuals concerned. Parcels that arrived in the Gulf after the departure of the addressees were redirected to the individual's peacetime location.
In addition, welfare parcels were distributed to all three services in the Gulf; any that had not been sent on closure of the BFPO 3000 appeal were redirected to service personnel in other locations.
It is not possible to provide the statistical data requested, as neither the Post Office nor BFPO London maintained a record of individual parcels processed.