Written question asked by Ian Davidson (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 September 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 September 2010. It was answered by Liam Fox (Conservative) on Monday, 4 October 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of UK military operations in Iraq since 2003; what factors he took into account in making this estimate; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The net additional costs of operations in Iraq from 2003 to the end of financial year 2009-10 was £8.2 billion. The estimated cost for this financial year is £179 million as recently published in Ministry of Defence's main estimates. The costs that the MOD would have incurred regardless of the operation taking place, such as wages and salaries, are not included. Savings on activities that have not occurred because of the operation—training exercises for example—are included.

Secondary information