Written question asked by Alan Simpson (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 January 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 16 January 2002. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 January 2002 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions during 2001 the UK was involved in missions that involved (a) bombing and (b) firing into Iraq. - Inc figures.(Corrected figure given on 1 February 2002 at 379 c603W)

Answer: Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions during 2001 the UK was involved in missions that involved (a) bombing and (b) firing into Iraq. [27173] Mr. Ingram: During 2001, the coalition responded in self-defence against the Iraqi air defence system on 44 occasions. Of these, UK aircraft released precision guided munitions on 14 occasions. In the majority of the remaining 30, UK aircraft provided indirect support to other coalition aircraft but did not release weapons.

Secondary information