Written question asked by Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative) on Wednesday, 14 December 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 December 2016 (named day). It was answered by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Monday, 19 December 2016 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Dubai

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the establishment is to be of the new British Defence Staff in Dubai; and when that staff will be stood up.

Answer: Establishment of a British Defence Staff (Gulf) was a 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review commitment. Based at the British Consulate in Dubai, the BDS (Gulf) has already begun its work following the deployment at the end of November of an RAF Wing Commander. She will be joined in spring 2017 by two other officers, an Army Colonel and a Major. The BDS will help co-ordinate British Defence activity in the Gulf, building on the work done by the six Defence Sections in our Gulf Cooperation Countries nation embassies, our 200-plus Loan Service personnel, our short-term training teams, and our liaison and exchange officers across the region. The BDS (Gulf) will be headed by the Defence Senior Adviser Middle East, Lt Gen Tom Beckett, who will remain primarily London-based.

Secondary information