---

Ministry of Defence

Answer

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will hold an inquiry into the numbers of deaths of journalists during the current campaign in Iraq. [108848] Dr. Moonie: All reports of coalition action resulting in the deaths of civilians are investigated. The United Kingdom works with coalition partners to verify the facts of such reported incidents. The profession of civilian casualties is not a concern when investigating such incidents. Very careful attention is applied to ensure that in the coalition's campaign the risk of damage to civilian populations and infrastructure is minimised. However, military action is never without risk, and lawful actions against military targets may result in harm to civilians. Any civilian casualties resulting from military action are deeply regretted. The active battlefield is not a benign environment and coalition forces cannot be held responsible for, or guarantee the safety of, journalists who enter such a location independently. This is one of the reasons why we have embedded war correspondents whose activities can be properly co-ordinated with our own forces.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

108848; 403 c571W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Death Armed conflict Casualties Civilians Inquiries Iraq Journalism Iraq conflict

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk