James Sunderland congratulates the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence on the successful evacuation of civilians from Sudan, and seeks assurance that a full threat assessment will be conducted before any decision to put British forces back into Khartoum.
James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)
I thank and pay tribute to the FCDO and the Ministry of Defence for their successful and expeditious non-combatant evacuation operation from Sudan. As any student of military history will know, no responsible Government can write a blank cheque for the evacuation of civilians from a high-threat environment, particularly somewhere as dangerous as Khartoum, sadly. Will the Minister confirm that a full threat assessment will be conducted before the decision is taken to put British forces back into Khartoum?
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)
There are no such plans, but I can assure my hon. Friend and the House that we are still alert to any help that may be required by British citizens in Sudan, and we will provide all possible support that we are physically able to provide.