Neil Parish – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Parish on 2014-03-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what non-lethal military support his Department has provided to Libya in each year since 2012.

Dr Andrew Murrison

Since 2012 the UK has provided advice, training and Defence Education to Libya.

An advisory team was established in Tripoli in 2012 to support the UK / Libya relationship and provide advice through a number of personnel embedded in the Libyan Ministry of Defence, Navy, Air Force, Land Forces and Border Security Force.

In 2013 the advisory team was renamed the Defence Advisory and Training Team (DATT) to reflect the variety of support programmes, including strategic communication, developing explosive ordnance disposal schools, supporting the creation of a joint operational planning staff and naval training. The DATT currently numbers 34 personnel which includes a Senior Disarmament Advisor working with the Government of Libya, the UN and international partners on disarmament issues. The DATT also provides the platform for Short Term Training Team deployments from the UK.

In 2013 HMS Echo surveyed the coast off Tripoli including a number of ports and in February 2014 the Libyans signed a data sharing agreement with the UK Hydrographic Office.

Libyan personnel have undergone defence education and training in the UK including: English Language Training, Initial Officer Training, Economic Exclusion Zone Protection Officers courses and Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context.

In November 2013 the UK also established a Defence Section within the British Embassy, Tripoli with a Defence Attaché.