§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the cost in the year 1988–89 of military action taken overseas by British armed forces acting other than as part of the United Nations forces. [HL2169]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)The only significant military action taken overseas in 1988–89 was the reinforcement of the Armilla Patrol, which had been responsible for providing reassurance and protection to UK merchant shipping in the Gulf and Indian Ocean since 1980, with four additional minesweepers. These vessels participated in a joint UK-Belgian-Dutch operation, under the auspices of the Western European Union, to clear shipping lanes of mines laid during the Iran/Iraq war. The costs of the reinforcement are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.