§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) he, (b) a member of the Chief of the Staff and (c) a naval vessel last visited each of the (i) British Overseas Territories and (ii) sovereign bases. [44034]
§ Dr. MoonieThe information requested is as follows
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence visited the Falkland Islands and Ascension Island in March 2002, Gibraltar in July 2001 and the sovereign base areas (SBAs) on Cyprus in July 2001. He has not visited any other Overseas Territories.Chief of the Defence Staff visited the Falkland Islands in January 2001 and Gibraltar in May 2001.Chief of the General Staff visited Bermuda in November 2001.Vice Chief of the Defence Staff visited the SBA in December 2001.We have no records of visits by the Chiefs of Staff to any other Overseas Territories during the last five years.The last visits by naval vessels were as follows:
- Anguilla—June 2001
- Bermuda—July 2001
- British Antarctic Territory—March 2002
- British Indian Ocean Territory—November 2001
- British Virgin Islands—November 2001
- Cayman Islands—August 2001
- Falkland Islands—March 2002
- Gibraltar—March 2002
- Montserrat—November 2001
- Pitcairn Islands—September 2000
- St. Helena—December 2001
- Ascension Island—July 2001
- Tristan Da Cunha—January 2002
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands—February 2002
- Turks and Caicos Islands—July 2001
- Sovereign base area, Cyprus—March 2002.