§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF planes have landed at Gibraltar in each of the last five years. [104087]
§ Mr. IngramThe number of RAF aircraft landings at Gibraltar over the last five years is as follows:
Year Number of RAF landings 1998 1,028 1999 1,532 2000 1,160 2001 520 2002 454
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships have docked in Gibraltar in each of the last five years. [104088]
§ Mr. IngramThe number of Royal Navy ship visits to Gibraltar in each of the past five years is detailed in the table. For completeness the information has been presented to show visits by Royal Navy ships, Royal Fleet auxiliary vessels and Royal Navy submarines.
Royal Navy ship Royal Fleet auxiliary ship RN submarine 1998 40 18 2 1999 26 40 6 2000 31 40 5 2001 31 17 1 2002 43 14 —
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will initiate discussions with Spain to allow(a) RAF planes to fly direct to Gibraltar over Spain and (b) Royal Navy ships to sail in Spanish waters on the way to Gibraltar. [104101]
§ Mr. IngramThere are no immediate plans to do so. The future of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain over Gibraltar, and hence the restrictions on access, remain to be resolved. However, our defence relations with Spain are close and it remains our view that dialogue with Spain and Gibraltar is the best way to resolve these access issues.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role Gibraltar's military base played in preparing for conflict in Iraq. [104086]
§ Mr. IngramGibraltar is a key staging post and forward mounting base. The Naval Task Group headed by HMS Ark Royal transited the Straits en route to the Gulf and some vessels called at Gibraltar. Elements of the Air Group also embarked via Gibraltar as the Task Group transited east. Six Royal Gibraltar Regiment officers and soldiers are currently in the Gulf attached to deployed units.