Speeches

Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is giving to women soldiers in Iraq through (a) training and (b) provision of body armour.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK has trained female soldiers from the Iraqi Security Forces in infantry skills, combat first aid and explosive hazard awareness as part of the wider Coalition programme to build security force capacity in Iraq. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced to the House on 2 September 2014 (Column 16WS), the UK has also gifted non-lethal equipment to the Peshmerga including enhanced combat body armour suitable for both men and women.