Security and Defence

Bloody Sunday events outlined in Lord Saville’s report

The Saville Inquiry was the investigation set up to examine the tragic actions that occurred on 30 January 1972 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

On the day named Bloody Sunday, 13 people died after members of the British Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights marchers in the Bogside area.

Report encourages improvements to the Intelligence and Security Committee

'Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Seventeenth Report): Bringing Human Rights Back In' (HL 86 & HC 111) reports on The Joint Committee on Human Rights call for a fundamental, independent review of the necessity for and proportionality of all counter-terrorism measures adopted since September 11 2001. It questions the way that the policy imperatives of national security and public safety have been used to justify squeezing out human rights considerations.

Report examines the MoD’s ability to deliver equipment programme

The ability of the Defence Equipment and Support organisation within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver the equipment programme is overshadowed by the existence of a funding gap which the National Audit Office (NAO) estimates could be as much as £36 billion over the next ten years.

Both the NAO's 'Major Projects Report 2009' (HC 85-I) and Bernard Gray's 'Review of Acquisition' for the MoD have confirmed that the MoD's ten year equipment programme is unaffordable. Furthermore the MoD's practice of delaying projects so as to reduce costs in the early years of a programme is adding to overall procurement costs and so further increases the funding gap.

UK care capacity for injured service personnel should be improved

This report, 'Treating Injury and Illness Arising on Military Operations (HC 294)' finds the clinical treatment and rehabilitation of service personnel seriously injured on military operations to be highly effective, but notes that the rate of illness and minor injury among personnel on operations has almost doubled in three years.

522 military personnel were seriously injured on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan between October 2001 and October 2009. Personnel on operations have attended medical facilities 125,000 times for minor injury and illness since 2006 and a further 1,700 times for mental health conditions. The NAO has estimated that the cost of medical care provided as a result of military operations was £71 million in 2008-09.

Government to implement improvements to the Armed Forced Compensation Scheme

In 2009 Lord Boyce independently chaired a review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. This report, 'The Review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (Cm. 7798)' announces that the government will implement in full all of the recommendations from that Review.

Ministry of Defence must accelerate the reform process

The Government has announced a strategic defence review, the first since 1998, to take place after the next election. This green paper, 'Adaptability and Partnership: Issues for the Strategic Defence Review’ (Cm. 7794) aims to contribute to discussion of the key issues and to build a broad consensus on the direction to take.

It sets out the assessment of the UK's interests, the changing international context in which they will be promoted, the use of force in this changing context, and key areas where there is a need to adjust policy and process.

Report calls for the formation of a National Security Committee

The Home Affairs Committee believes that while the structures now in place may be suitable for combating the terrorist threat as currently constituted, it is not confident that government institutions have the desire to constantly adapt to meet ever-changing threats. A lack of political will has hindered the institution of valuable reforms such as regional policing counter-terrorism units and a degree of institutional inertia has set in to counter-terror operations in the UK.

'The Home Office's Response to Terrorist Attacks’ (HC 117-I) calls for the merger of many different counter-terrorism committees into a single, formalised National Security Committee, chaired by the Home Secretary or Prime Minister and assisted by a National Security Advisor.

Current defence programme is unaffordable reports NAO

'The Major Projects Report 2009: Ministry of Defence’ (HC 85-I) reports that the current defence programme is unaffordable. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has already reduced the deficit between the defence budget and planned expenditure by £15 billion, but a shortfall of between £6 billion and £36 billion remains.

The financial crisis means a substantial increase in funding is unlikely, and closing the gap will require bold action as part of the Strategic Defence Review which is expected after the General Election.

RAF Nimrod XV230 loss 'a failure of leadership, culture and priorities'

On 02 September 2006, RAF Nimrod XV230 was on a routine mission in southern Afghanistan when she suffered a catastrophic mid-air fire, leading to the total loss of the aircraft and the death of the 12 crew and two mission specialists on board. An RAF Board of Inquiry (2007) concluded that the loss was caused by a fuel escape and its ignition by contact with an exposed element of the Cross-Feed/Supplementary Cooling Pack (SCP) duct.

42 day detention plans examined

This Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, 'Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights (Eleventh Report): 42 Days and Public Emergencies' (HL 116 / HC 635), comments on the adequacy of the additional safeguards that the Government has indicated it intends to bring forward to meet the human rights concerns about its proposal to extend the maximum period of pre-charge detention to 42 days.

Excessive surveillance 'erodes trust', Government warned

Surveillance is defined as the use of monitoring and recording technology, along with the creation and use of databases of personal information, and the record of communications in the digital age. The potential for surveillance of citizens in public spaces and private communications has increased dramatically over the last decade, making it possible for what the Information Commissioner calls 'the electronic footprint' people leave in their daily lives to be built up into a detailed picture of activities.

This Report from the Home Affairs Committee, 'A Surveillance Society?' (HC 58-I), examines the benefits of surveillance in terms of public safety and public services, and the risks in terms of the consequences of mistakes, misidentification, and loss of sensitive information.

MoD criticised over non-operational Chinook fleet

In 1995 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered 15 Chinook Mk2a helicopters from Boeing, of which six were retained as Mk2a with the other eight modified as Mk3 to meet a longstanding requirement for dedicated helicopters for special operations. Those eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters cost some £259 million and the Department took delivery of them in December 2001. Although Boeing met its contractual obligations, the avionics software fell short of UK military airworthiness standards and the helicopters have not flown in operations.

This Report from the National Audit Office, 'Chinook Mk3 Helicopters' (HC 512), examines whether the MoD has taken appropriate steps to make the eight Chinook Mk3s operational.

First National Security Strategy set out by Government

The Cold War threat has been replaced by a new set of threats and risks - including international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, conflicts and failed states, pandemics, and trans-national crime - which affect the United Kingdom directly and have the potential to undermine wider international stability. These threats and risks are driven by a diverse set of underlying factors, including: climate change; competition for energy; poverty and poor governance; demographic changes; and globalisation.

The 'National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom: Security in an Interdependent World' (Cm. 7291) sets out how the Government will address and manage both the risks and the underlying factors that drive them.

Medical care for the Armed Forces examined

In this Report, 'Medical Care for the Armed Forces' (HC 327), the Defence Committee investigated the provision of healthcare for the armed forces, examining six key areas including the treatment of personnel seriously wounded on operations and the procedures for caring for them, from the point of wounding to evacuation and treatment in the United Kingdom.

Use of intercept as evidence recommended

The creation of this Privy Council Review, 'Privy Council Review of Intercept as Evidence: Report to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary' (Cm. 7324), was announced on 25 July 2007 to 'advise on whether a regime to allow the use of intercepted material in court can be devised that facilitates bringing cases to trial while meeting the overriding imperative to safeguard national security'.

Fulton Report into Iran hostages reviewed

In this Report, ‘The Iran Hostages Incident: The Lessons Learned’ (HC 181), the House of Commons Defence Committee reviews the Fulton Report into the capture of Royal Navy personnel by Iranian Revolutionary Guard in March 2007.

Proposed Counter Terrorism Bill reviewed

These publications both focus on the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill.

'Report on Proposed Measures for Inclusion in a Counter Terrorism Bill (Cm. 7262)' examines the range of measures proposed for inclusion in the Counter Terrorism Bill while 'Summary of Responses to the Counter Terrorism Bill Consultation (Cm. 7269)' summarises responses gathered during the 2007 consultation period.

Privatisation of QinetiQ reviewed

'The Privatisation of QinetiQ’ (HC 52) examines whether the privatisation of the defence technology business QinetiQ was a good deal for the taxpayer. QinetiQ was created out of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001, specifically to allow the majority of DERA's activities to be privatised.

Freedom of Information reforms

This White Paper, ‘Government Response to the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee Report' (Cm. 7187), contains the Government response to 'Freedom of Information: Government's Proposals for Reform' (HC 415) published by the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee in June 2007.

Ministry of Defence project performance criticised

This Report ‘Ministry of Defence: Major Projects Report 2006’ (HC 295) provides information on the time, cost and performance of the twenty largest Ministry of Defence projects where the main investment decision (known as ‘Main Gate’) had been taken.

Tighter controls on arms exports needed

In this Report ‘Strategic Export Controls: 2007 Review’ (HC 117), the Quadripartite Committee calls for tighter controls on UK arms export trade.

“Not enough evidence” for 56-day detention

'Counter-Terrorism Policy and Human Rights: 28 Days, Intercept and Post-Charge Questioning’ (HL 157 / HC 394) focuses on the Government's new proposals on counter-terrorism, including the suggestion to double the pre-trial detention period from 28 days to 56 days.

PM’s anti-terror statement

On July 25th 2007, the Prime Minister made a statement in the House of Commons, outlining plans to increase anti-terrorism capabilities in the UK.

Detention of naval personnel by Iran

In March 2007, eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines were seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

This Report ‘Foreign policy aspects of the detention of naval personnel by the Islamic Republic of Iran’ (HC 880) examines the UK Government's diplomatic handling of the incident.

Deployment of UK forces in Afghanistan

'UK Operations in Afghanistan’ (HC 408) examines the effectiveness of UK operations in Afghanistan.

At present UK forces are deployed in the Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, which comprises in total a 37-nation coalition. There are now approximately 7,700 UK troops stationed in the region. The aim of ISAF and the international community is to establish stability in the country and so deny the Taliban and Al-Qaeda the environment to operate.

EU/US Passenger Name Record Agreement examined

This Report 'The EU/US Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement' (HL 108) from the House of Lords European Union Committee examines the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement between the United States and the European Union.

For every flight into, out of or over their territory the United States requires detailed information on all passengers and crew. Much of the information is collected by the airlines - the Passenger Name Record (PNR).

MoD investigations into ‘friendly fire’ deaths reviewed

Combat identification is the way military personnel distinguish friend from foe and non-combatants during operations, thereby minimising the risk of deaths and injuries from friendly fire as well as damage to property and infrastructure, whilst maintaining operational effectiveness.

NHS, armed forces and prison officers’ pay reviewed

These Reports review the salaries of the armed forces, senior civil servants, prison offers and health professionals, including doctors, dentists and nurses.

Recommendations set out in these Reports are applicable from 1 April 2007.

ePassport chips have only 2-year warranty

This Report from the National Audit Office 'Identity and Passport Service: Introduction of ePassports' (HC 152) examines the Identity and Passport Service's project to introduce ePassports. An ePassport contains an electronic chip and antenna, to store and transmit the passport holder's digital photograph and biographical information to an electronic reader. The chip also contains an electronic signature confirming the issuing country and the integrity of the data to provide extra checks at border control.

IRA set on political strategy

This assessment, part of the Independent Monitoring Commission's (IMC) six-monthly cycle of reporting on paramilitary activity, concludes that the IRA has undergone substantial changes and is firmly set on a political strategy.

Government to invest in Trident and nuclear capability

Since 1956, the Trident nuclear-powered submarines have contributed to the UK’s military defences.

In this White Paper, the Government reaffirms its commitment to maintaining Britain's independent nuclear capability – proposals include investing in a new generation of ballistic missile-carrying submarines and extending the life of the Trident D5 missile.

Identity Card Technologies: Weaknesses in scientific evidence

This Report focuses upon the Home Office's identity cards scheme, which uses various technologies including biometrics, information and communication technology (ICT), and smart cards. It explores the ways in which scientific advice, risk, and evidence are being managed in relation to technologies that are continually developing.

UK Immigration Statistics for 2005

Immigration control regulates the entry and refusal of entry of passengers into the UK; the conditions of stay and any variations following entry; settlement and deportation. In 2005 the estimated number of international arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area rose by 5% while asylum applications, excluding dependants, fell by 24%.

Army personnel shortfall of 1.8%

As of July 2006, the trained strength of the armed forces stood at around 180,690, with an estimated shortfall of 5,170 against the Department's requirements.

This Report examines in detail the issue of recruitment and retention in the Armed Forces. It discusses the extent to which manning requirements have not been adjusted to reflect current levels of activity faced by the Forces. Overall, the armed forces are not in "manning balance", with the figures showing a wider shortage of trained personnel within a range of specific trade groups across all three services.

The Report is accompanied by a second volume, ‘Recruitment and Retention in the Armed Forces: Volume II: Detailed Survey Results and Case Studies' (HC 1633-II).

UK Operations in Iraq

This report highlights some of the issues raised during the Committee's visit to Iraq in June 2006, undertaken in order to examine the operating environment being experienced by UK forces and to meet senior members of the new Iraqi Government.