Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 16 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 March 2010. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Thursday, 25 March 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Cluster Munitions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what US cluster munitions are stored at US bases in the UK.

Answer: The United States stores various weapons in the UK. The US inventory of weapons is declared annually to the Ministry of Defence who ensure that all weapons are appropriately licensed and stored. It would be inappropriate to disclose the numbers, types and locations of such weapons. Therefore, I am withholding the detailed information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and another state.However, I can confirm that the US has identified their cluster munitions on UK territory as exceeding their worldwide operational planning requirements. Therefore, these cluster munitions will be removed from sites in the UK in 2010 and from all UK territories by 2013 (as declared by Baroness Kinnock during the Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill Second Reading in the House of Lords on 8 December 2009, Official Report, column 1020.

Secondary information