Bernard Jenkin (North Essex, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) how many British (a) citizens and (b) residents have been captured by (i) British and (ii) coalition forces in Afghanistan in each province in each year since 2001;

(2) how many British citizens and residents captured in Afghanistan have subsequently been charged with a crime; how many were released without charge; and how many have been detained without charge;

(3) how long on average British citizens and residents captured by British and coalition forces in Afghanistan since 2001 have been detained; and in which countries they have been detained;

(4) how many British citizens and residents captured in Afghanistan and subsequently charged with a crime remain in custody.

Bob Ainsworth (Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence; Coventry North East, Labour)

No UK citizens or residents have been captured by British forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

Her Majesty's Government are aware of six UK citizens captured by coalition forces in Afghanistan since 2001, all of whom were subsequently transferred to Guantanamo Bay. None of these individuals were charged with a crime and all have since been released without charge. The average period of detention by coalition forces, including time spent at Guantanamo Bay, for these individuals was approximately two and a half years.

It is not possible to be specific about the number of UK residents captured by coalition forces. When detained an individual will be asked their nationality, not their country of residence, and may choose not to offer this information. It should also be noted that coalition forces are not obliged to inform us of when they detain a non-UK national; therefore, we may not be informed when a British resident has been detained. Furthermore, while an individual may have resided in the UK it will not always be possible to determine whether they were lawfully resident. For this reason, any figure we give cannot be definitive. We are, however, aware of at least one UK resident captured by coalition forces in Afghanistan since 2001, and who was subsequently transferred to Guantanamo Bay where he remains detained without charge.