§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the funding allocated to his Ministry for humanitarian relief in Iraq. [105007]
§ Mr. IngramThe ambit of Defence Votes does not ordinarily include funding for humanitarian aid, which is a Department for International Development responsibility. However, £30 million has been made available, so far, for the conflict in Iraq, to cover the United Kingdom's legal requirements under the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Time of War.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the protocol for media access to(a) information and (b) field operations during the conflict in Iraq. [105373]
§ Dr. MoonieArrangements between the media and the Ministry of Defence during the conflict in Iraq are conducted in accordance with the details laid out in the Green Book—"Working Arrangements with the Media in times of Emergency, Tension, Conflict or War". This covers the practical arrangements for enabling media representatives to report events both at home and abroad and includes our plans for representative numbers of correspondents to accompany British Forces in the frontline. It also outlines the policy that would facilitate or restrict the activities of journalists 307W during operations. A copy of the Green Book is available on the MOD website, at: www.mod.uk/news/green book/index, htm
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on arrangements he has made with the media to ensure that there is no release of information on casualties prior to the next of kin being informed. [105374]
§ Dr. MoonieArrangements between the media and the Ministry of Defence during the conflict in Iraq are conducted in accordance with the details laid out in the Green Book—"Working Arrangements with the Media in times of Emergency, Tension, Conflict or War". The document has been made available to the media and has been placed on the MOD website at:
www.mod.uk/news/green book/index.htm
The MOD recognises that casualty information is of legitimate interest to the media and the general public. However, the Green Book explains that our casualty notification process has been developed to minimise the distress of the families concerned, and states that the names of casualties will not be released or confirmed until the next of kin have been told officially. We recognise that on occasions the media may become aware of the names of individual casualties before official announcements are made. Editors are urged not to publish such information, gained from whatever source—even if it comes directly from a next of kin—until it is released or confirmed by the MOD. Editors are also urged to exercise extreme discretion in approaching next of kin.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the advice he has given to the(a) print and (b) broadcast media to permit them to have access to the conflict in Iraq whilst maintaining personal safety. [105375]
§ Dr. MoonieIn relation to war correspondents embedded with United Kingdom forces in the Gulf, the arrangements for the print and broadcast media are conducted in accordance with the guidance set out in the Green Book, which is entitled "Working Arrangements with the Media in times of Emergency, Tension, Conflict or War". A copy of this is available on the Ministry of Defence web-site (www.MOD.UK).
The Green Book sets out the arrangements for the selection of, and regulations for, accredited war correspondents. In return for protection and support, and access to other facilities, correspondents agree to undergo the necessary training and to abide by the operational security and safety measures required by the unit to which they are attached.
The Ministry of Defence has no responsibility for the activities of independent media personnel. The current FCO travel advice is not to travel to Iraq. This advice has been strongly emphasised to the media by the Ministry of Defence.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) print and (b) broadcast journalists are accredited to coalition forces in Iraq; and how many are accredited to British forces. [105376]
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§ Dr. MoonieThere are 128 print and broadcast journalists accredited to British forces in the Gulf. The Ministry of Defence does not hold the number of journalists that are currently in Iraq or the number of journalists accredited to coalition forces.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what monitoring his Department undertakes of reports from(a) print and (b) broadcast journalists operating in Iraq. [105377]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence does not exclusively monitor reports from print and broadcast journalists operating in Iraq. However, we do receive a daily press cutting service highlighting stories in the printed media with a defence interest and, during the present crisis, we have appointed a watchkeeper in our Press Office to monitor the broadcast output from the main channels. The Media Monitoring Unit of the Cabinet Office also provides the Department with a daily Iraq briefing.
Separately, we have let a contract to provide a weekly evaluation of the printed media's coverage of the Iraq crisis.