My official engagements as Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for Scotland, throughout the period 1 November to 21 November, included various meetings in London and Scotland, including with ministerial colleagues and officials from the MOD and Scotland Office.
On Thursday 1 and Friday 2 November I was overseas visiting Service personnel serving in Iraq. On Monday 5 November I met with the HBOS in Scotland. On Tuesday 6 November I attended the State Opening of Parliament. On Wednesday 7 November I hosted the French Defence Minister for bilateral discussions in London. On Thursday 8 November I attended the British Torch of Remembrance ceremony at Westminster Abbey and met with National Grid. On Friday 9 November I visited Diageo with my hon. Friend the Member for Ochil and South Perthshire (Gordon Banks). On Saturday 10 November I attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance 2007 event and, on Sunday 11 November, I attended the Remembrance Ceremony at the Cenotaph. On Monday 12 November I met EU ambassadors in London, hosted by the Portuguese ambassador, before attending the Defence debate in the House of Commons. On Tuesday 13 November I met separately with the National Farmers Union Scotland and Scottish Financial Enterprise. On Wednesday 14 November I attended a Sailor, Soldier, Airmen and Families Association reception. On Thursday 15 November I hosted the Romanian Defence Minister for bilateral discussions in London. On Friday 16 November I hosted a reception in Edinburgh for Polish National Day. On Sunday 18 and Monday 19 November I was in Brussels attending a meeting of EU Defence Ministers. On Tuesday 20 November I met with The Crown Prince of Bahrain.
(2) what his official engagements were from 22 November to 10 December.
Throughout the period 22 November to 10 December, I had various meetings in London and Scotland, including with ministerial colleagues and officials from the MOD and Scotland Office. On 22 November, I had a meeting with the Columbian Defence Minister and a meeting with the Turkish Chief of Defence Staff. On 23 November, I addressed the State of the City Economy Conference in Glasgow. On 28 November, I answered oral questions for the Scotland Office in the House of Commons. On 29 November, I attended a reception to mark the home coming of 12 Brigade from Iraq. On 1 December, I visited the Longannet Power Station in Alloa and participated in the Scottish Interfaith Week Come and Play the Diversity Game event in Edinburgh. On 3 December, I answered oral Defence questions in the House of Commons. On 4 December, I met with service families about the Board of Inquiry findings into the crash of the RAF Nimrod XV230 before attending the House to make a statement about the same. On 6 December, I gave oral evidence to the AFPRB and in the evening I attended a Sailor, Soldier, Airmen and Families Association carol service at the Guards’ Chapel, Wellington Barracks. On 8 December, I met with representatives from the services charity “Forward Edge Battle Area”. Between 7 and 10 December, I was overseas visiting service personnel in Afghanistan.