News Release

17th October 2007

QUESTION TO GORDON BROWN

In a question to Gordon Brown today (Wednesday 17th October) in Prime Minister's Question Time at the House of Commons, Michael Fabricant sought clarification as to the exact number of troop reduction expected in Iraq. The question was coupled with mention of the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum which was opened by the Queen last Friday (12th October) and which both the Prime Minister and Michael Fabricant attended.

The Question and Answer as recorded by Hansard now follows:-

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): Last Friday, I saw how moved the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary were at the opening of the armed forces memorial near Lichfield. It has places for the names of the 16,000 men and women who lost their lives serving their country since 1945, but will the Prime Minister now take this opportunity to clarify precisely how many troops currently in Iraq will return to the UK before Christmas?

The Prime Minister: I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to all those who made that new national memorial possible. It is in the centre of our nation, so friends, relatives and families from all over the country can visit and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives since the second world war. As he rightly says, there are already 16,000 names commemorated in the stone of what is a most magnificent statue and memorial, which has been created using donations from large numbers of people. I hope that all Members of Parliament will be able to help their constituents to visit it. The hon. Gentleman also asked about Iraq. As I have said before, the numbers go down from 5,500 to 2,500 by next spring. They go down from 5,500 to 4,500 and then to 4,000 in southern Iraq over the next few months.