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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has procured any contracts for life cycle maintenance of the Reaper fleet; and for what periods.

Mr Philip Dunne

No contracts for life cycle maintenance have been procured. Through Life maintenance and support of the UK Reaper fleet is provided through the Foreign Military Sales agreement at the time the Reaper system was procured,under the previous administration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Joint Services Publication 398 on UK Rules of Engagement has been amended to reflect use of remotely piloted aircraft systems.

Mr Mark Francois

JSP 398 was updated on 21 October 2013, replacing the previous 2004 edition. Rules of engagement govern how force can be applied in any given operation. They are not tailored to weapon system types per se, but are written to be applied as appropriate to the full spectrum of weapons systems available to UK Forces. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are governed by the same rules and regulations as any other weapons system; therefore the amendment of JSP 398 did not require any special provision to reflect the use of RPAS by UK Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 169W, on Djibouti, from which squadron armed forces have been deployed at Camp Lemonnier; and what role is undertaken by each UK officer embedded with US forces at that location.

Mr Mark Francois

The three UK Armed Forces personnel embedded in Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJFT-HOA) at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti are currently from the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the Corps of Royal Engineers, and the Intelligence Corps. Their roles involve planning and supporting US military operations in East Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2014, Official Report, column 578W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether his Department maintains munitions records from the UK Reaper fleet on a sortie-by-sortie basis or for each operation carried out.

Mr Mark Francois

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department maintains (a) mission reports, (b) guided missile firing reports, (c) weapon system videos and (d) any other munitions release records for the UK Reaper fleet following the change of operational command to US pilots.

Mr Mark Francois

Each UK Reaper sortie has a mission report produced post flight. If a weapon is fired during a sortie, a weapon report is completed detailing the engagement, as well as a video produced of the engagement itself. There are no other munitions release records for the UK Reaper fleet. US pilots have not flown UK Reaper except during the launch and recovery phase.

Outside of the launch and recovery phase, UK Remotely Piloted Air Systems have always been operated by UK pilots.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2014, Official Report, column 180W, on Africa, whether any service personnel are embedded with host forces or otherwise stationed in (a) Niger, (b) Nigeria and (c) the Seychelles.

Mr Mark Francois

There are no UK service personnel embedded with host forces or otherwise stationed in Niger.

The UK has a small number of personnel deployed to Nigeria in roles including diplomatic representation, defence engagement, liaison and training. As part of the package of support to Nigeria announced by the Prime Minister last month, an additional small team of experts has also deployed to help Nigeria establish an Intelligence Fusion Cell with French and US partners to assist the Nigerian government in locating the abducted school girls.

In the Seychelles, a Royal Naval officer is currently serving as a Liaison officer for the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 474, on unmanned air vehicles: guided weapons, if his Department will publish the method and results from the UK-US firing trials of Brimstone missiles from MQ-9 Reaper.

Mr Philip Dunne

The firing trials successfully demonstrated rapid integration of Brimstone missiles onto the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted air system – safe carriage, safe release and system targeting – with a high success rate against static and high-speed manoeuvring targets.

However, the final trials report has not yet been completed and it remains too early to say what information from the report, or the trial method, will be published.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the advice of Jemima Stratford QC to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson

The UK intelligence agencies work in accordance with UK law, as described by the Foreign Secretary in his statement to the House on 10 June 2013 (Official Report of 10 June 2013, column 31). In addition, Section 6 of the recently published Annual Report for 2013 by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, Sir Anthony May, addresses the legal basis for intelligence sharing between the UK and its partners.

The UK Intelligence Agencies adhere to the law at all times. We have one of the world’s strongest legal and regulatory frameworks governing the use of secret intelligence. All of GCHQ’s activities are legal, necessary and proportionate. GCHQ does not disclose or share information other than is appropriate under the Intelligence Services Act 1994 and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the advice of Jemima Stratford QC to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green

Existing regulation and guidance, which includes the Covert Surveillance and
Property Interference Code of Practice, applies to the use of aircraft
including remotely piloted aerial vehicles. The Code provides a framework of good
practice for public authorities using covert surveillance techniques. The
Department has noted the responses by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on
Drones to the recent consultation on a revised version of the Code and intend
to lay a further draft before Parliament in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided any advice to public communications providers on the consequences of the decision of the European Court of Justice in Digital Rights Ireland and Seitlinger and Others on data retention by those companies.

James Brokenshire

The Government continues to consider the judgment of the European Court, but we consider that the UK Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 remain in
force. Those in receipt of a notice under the Regulations have been informed that they should continue to observe their obligations as outlined in any notice.