15 Jul 22. State hostage taking experts to give evidence to Foreign Affairs Cttee. On Tuesday 19 July, at 14.30, the Foreign Affairs Committee will continue its inquiry into state hostage taking, hearing from non-governmental organisations REDRESS and the Counter Extremism Project, as well as international human rights lawyer, Tatyana Eatwell.
Rupert Skilbeck, the Director of REDRESS, and Tatyana Eatwell, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, were both involved in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, amongst other high profile cases.
The session will consider the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office’s approach to consular support as well as looking at possible deterrent measures for those involved in state hostage taking and wrongful detentions. It will also examine an approach adopted by the German Government in negotiating the release of detainees in Iran. Questions are likely to focus on recent cases of state hostage taking and the effectiveness of the actions of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
14.30, 19 July:
- Rupert Skilbeck, Director at REDRESS
- Tatyana Eatwell, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers
15.30:
- Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard Written Answers
Armed Forces: Protective Clothing
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total value is of the Urgent Capability Requirement procurement programme.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 13 July 2022
At the time of writing Defence expects to spend in the vicinity of £77 million within this financial year on Urgent Capability Requirements.
Armed Forces: Protective Clothing
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether headsets procured through the Urgent Capability Requirement procurement programme will be used on Ajax vehicles.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 13 July 2022
The specific headsets procured through the Urgent Capability Requirement are for current in-service vehicles only.
Armed Forces: Protective Clothing
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which armoured vehicles the headsets procured through the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Headset project will be used for.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 13 July 2022
It is intended that the headsets to be procured through the future Armoured Fighting Vehicle Headset project will be used across the entire Armoured Fighting Vehicle fleet.
Military Aircraft and Trident Missiles: Procurement
Question for Ministry of Defence
Mr Kevan Jones
Labour
North Durham
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether payments to contractors for (a) F-35B Lightning II, (b) AH-64E Apache Guardian, (c) E-7 Wedgetail, (d) CH-47 Chinook, (e) Trident missiles and (f) Protector UAV are made in US dollars.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 12 July 2022
The position in respect of these programmes is as follows: F-35B Lightning: The F-35 programme is managed through a US Government F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) based in the USA. The F-35 JPO places all of its contracts under US law and US federal acquisition rules and regulations. Consequently, all of the JPO’s contracts are denominated in US dollars and the UK makes its payments to the JPO in US dollars. The F-35 JPO places the F-35 contracts with the F-35 industry/suppliers and makes the contractual payments to the F-35 industry/suppliers on behalf of the F-35 Partner Nations.
AH-64E Apache: The aircraft procurement and initial support is through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case with the US government and UK has no direct contract with the manufacturer. The FMS case and payments are denominated in US Dollars. The Long Term Training and Support Service to provide support to the fleet is through a contract with Boeing UK. The contract and payments are dual denominated in Pound Sterling and US Dollars according to each specified line-item.
E-7 Wedgetail: The acquisition contract is denominated in Pound Sterling, US Dollars and Australian Dollars. Payments to the contractor are made in the currency denominated in the contract.
CH-47 Chinook: The majority of contracts supporting the current fleet are priced in Pound Sterling. Boeing, as the Design Organisation of the Chinook Aircraft, and US based sub-contractors, do attract US Dollars payments and therefore some of the contracts are dual denominated. Payments are therefore made in both Pound Sterling and US Dollars in accordance with the terms of the contract. Separately, the Chinook Capability Sustainment Programme, which is the acquisition of 14 new Extended Range (H-47(ER)) aircraft via a FMS arrangement with the US Government, is priced and payments are made, in US Dollars.
Trident Missiles: The supply of the Trident Weapon System is managed through a government-to-government arrangement under the Polaris Sales Agreement (as amended for Trident in 1982) and payments are made to the US Department of Defense in US Dollars. Related in-service support contracts with UK companies are paid in Pound Sterling.
Protector UAV: Protector is being acquired through a combination of Direct Commercial Sales contracts with General Atomics – Aeronautical Systems Inc. and FMS. The contracts are denominated, and payments are made, in US Dollars.
Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Ministry of Defence annual report and accounts 2020 to 2021, published on 20 January 2022, which cancelled project led to a cost of £2,284,000; and what technical difficulties were associated with that project.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 12 July 2022
The Ministry of Defence placed a commercial contract to design and manufacture a potential counter Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) capability. The project proved technically demanding and was subsequently cancelled following a Design Review in March 2019 after the equipment failed to meet the user requirements.
This expenditure occurred during the development phase of a commercial contract. The Department is content that the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) did all they could to achieve the capability. The Department is also content that, in the circumstances the decision to cancel the contract and avoid further expenditure was correct.
Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure
Question for Ministry of Defence
John Healey
Labour
Wentworth and Dearne
Commons
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Ministry of Defence annual report and accounts 2020 to 2021, published on 20 January 2022, what the intended purpose was of the overseas personnel support; and for what reason it was listed as a fruitless payment with a cost of £10,596,000.
Answer
Jeremy Quin
Conservative
Horsham
Commons
Answered on 12 July 2022
The item referenced was actually a loss under the category of Claim Waived or Abandoned rather than a Fruitless Payment. The specific details of this case cannot be released for security purposes and other sensitivities given the involvement of other governments.