§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) equipment and (b) personnel his Department has provided to the Government of Macedonia since 1 January. [2823]
§ Mr. HoonWe have given the Macedonian Government 500 pieces of body armour, 15 mine detectors and 100 handheld Global Positioning Systems. In addition, we will be providing one remote control bomb disposal vehicle and 1,000 parachute flares.
In March this year at the start of the crisis we sent out a small team of eight military officers for five days to assess how we might assist the Macedonian Government. Two of these officers remained for a limited period to provide support to the UK Defence Adviser to the Macedonian Government (Brigadier James Short); their 518W role was to provide assistance with planning. At present, a military officer is working alongside Brigadier Short providing operational advice.