Written question asked by Ross Cranston (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 11 November 2003. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 November 2003 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in recruiting police to serve in Iraq. (Failed OPQ) - Inc figures.

Answer: Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in recruiting police to serve in Iraq. [137419] Mr. Rammell: The Home Secretary has agreed to establish a pool of 200 serving UK police officers to sustain a deployment of 100 officers at any one time. A total of 20 officers have been deployed so far. The focus of the UK effort is on deploying UK officers to train Iraqi policemen in the police academy in Basra and at the Iraqi Police Training Centre being established in Jordan. 24 officers are currently in training for deployment to Basra in mid December. Provision has been made for up to 75 officers to deploy to Jordan in the next few months, with the first group of 26 set to deploy on 23 November and a further 35 in December. In addition, A British police Officer, Deputy Chief Constable Douglas Brand, is the senior adviser in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. Deputy Chief Constable Stephen White of the Police Service of Northern Ireland is senior police adviser in the South of Iraq. Rin Shadforth (Superintendent Warwickshire Police Retired) is Deputy Director of the Jordan Training School.

Secondary information