§ Lord BachMy honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I am announcing today that a new order has been made under Section 54 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 so that Reservists may continue to be called out into service to support operations in Iraq. The new order is effective until 6 January 2006. This replaces the order which expired earlier this month.
During the course of past year some 2,350 Reservists were called out and accepted into service to support operations in Iraq. Details of the next tranche of Reservists to be called out were announced to the House on 14 December 2004 (Official Repor, col. 121WS). Some 900 Army reservists are involved and they will be deployed to theatre from April where the majority will complete six-month tours. We are very appreciative of the continuing support and commitment shown by both Reservists, their employers and their families.