My Lords, I, too, thank the Minister for coming to repeat the Statement to the House and I join in expressing from these Benches our heartfelt condolences to the families of the five people who lost their lives in the tragic loss of the Lynx helicopter on Saturday morning.
It has been an anxious time for many service families, as all those associated with helicopter operations—by the Army, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Marines—have been waiting for the knock on their front door with bad news about their loved ones. As we now learn from the names revealed today, it has affected all branches of the services. There will also be Iraqi families in Basra mourning the loss and injuries to their families sustained during the demonstrations that followed.
I agree with the Minister that this is not an occasion to debate where we are going with our campaign in Iraq and accept that the Minister will have few answers available to the more short-term operational concerns that arise from that loss. It is not sensible to take this single event as an indication that there is some step-change in the situation on the ground. Helicopter operations, as I know only too well, are intrinsically more hazardous than fixed-wing ones, both for technical and for operational reasons. We were unhappily reminded of that by the loss of the United States Chinook in Afghanistan, not necessarily the result of hostile action, this weekend, too.
It is important that we determine the cause of the downing of the Lynx as quickly and with as much certainty as possible. To that end, can the Minister tell us whether it proved possible to secure the accident site continuously after the impact? From some of the media pictures, it looked as if it might not have been for some hours. Has the board of inquiry which the Statement mentioned been convened and, if so, what is the rank, and of what service, is its president? Is the present guarding of the site under Iraqi police or UK control?
I do not expect the Minister to be forthcoming about the nature of the Lynx's mission, but the inquiry will need to consider whether the flight profile could have been a contributory factor, and I ask the Minister to confirm that the theatre command has reappraised the risks associated with whatever the particular profile was in this case. Although I agree that it is not helpful to speculate on the cause of the downing of the Lynx and whether it was the result of hostile action, will the Minister undertake to return to the House when there is a clearer picture of the cause, and to report on whether it has wider implications for operations in the south of Iraq and knock-on implications for operations in Afghanistan?
It is, however, right to pursue one area of questioning at this stage; the noble Lord, Lord Astor of Hever, referred to it. Last week, the Minister answered an important Starred Question tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Astor, about the shortage of transport helicopters for operations. In answer to me, the Minister admitted that the MoD assessment was that there was a lift shortfall of 15 per cent. He said:
"We are looking at a project that will aim to take decisions about the total number of battlefield helicopters during the next 18 months".—[Official Report, 2/5/06; col. 293.]He failed, however, to address the main thrust of my question, which was about the parallel shortage of trained helicopter crews, which is worsened by the shortage of available helicopters. The loss, too, is worsened when you consider the biographies of the five who died in the Lynx accident; three of them are very experienced helicopter people.
We have challenging operations in hostile conditions in two theatres—Iraq and Afghanistan. They both rely on helicopters, and the tragic event on Saturday has reminded us that we must plan for attrition. I fear that we shall come deeply to regret putting off decisions for 18 months. Will the Minister undertake to make it a matter of the highest priority to get the numbers of support helicopter aircraft and trained crew up to the requirement? The ability to sustain current operations depends on it.
Finally, I shall say a few words about the public's support for the Iraq operation. The television pictures of the jubilant demonstrators in Basra will not have helped. Indeed, those who seek to rule by the gun in Iraq know that. There may have been only a few hundred, but their leaders know the power of the global media. If the Government want support for the continued presence of our troops and for the risks of death and injury to those troops, they must be prepared to make the case that there is a long-term plan beyond waiting for something to turn up or, worse still, waiting until the United States or the Iraq Government tell us all to go home.
In the three years since President Bush proudly but rather prematurely announced, "Mission accomplished", we on these Benches have argued for internationalising the political, economic and security forward-planning. That is becoming ever more difficult as the situation deteriorates. Will the Minister undertake to ask the usual channels to provide time for a full debate on the future of Iraq, so that we can use the expertise of this House to try to develop together a way forward that can bring some relief to the people of Iraq?