Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by David Kidney (Labour). It was answered on Monday, 16 July 2007 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Iraq

Question: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. I welcome recent troop withdrawals and look forward to more soon. My question is about the safety of troops during withdrawal. Is a transitional period between active patrols and returning home envisaged, during which troops will be, as it were, confined to barracks? Will that be at the Basra air base? As I am sure he is aware, that base is subject to dozens of rocket attacks every day. If there must be such a transitional period, could our troops be safely elsewhere in the region but close enough to be on call if needed?

Answer: It is not envisaged that our troops will be confined to barracks, as it were, at any time. Operational decisions in relation to force protection are a matter for commanders. Invariably, such operations, which are known as layered, include attempts to interdict those who try to attack the base. I reassure my hon. Friend that no effort is spared to ensure that the best possible protection is provided to our forces deployed on operations. In the last year alone, we have invested millions of pounds in new equipment, including body armour and armoured vehicles. In relation to indirect fire—IDF—a number of kinetic and static capabilities have been deployed better to protect our personnel from such attacks. For reasons of operational security, I cannot elaborate on that or on the equipment employed. Unfortunately, however, the effects of indirect fire attacks can never be mitigated completely. We ought to expect those to continue in the current environment.

Secondary information