To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Prime Minister's statement of 18 December 2008 on Iraq, what legal protection UK forces will have under either international or Iraqi domestic law if the draft law on the status of UK forces currently before the Iraq Parliament is not brought into effect by 1 January 2009. (246828)

UK forces in Iraq have the legal basis they need to complete their tasks. On 1 January 2009, Iraqi Council of Representatives Resolution 50/2008 came into effect, authorising the temporary presence of UK forces in Iraq and providing specific legally-binding jurisdictional immunities for UK personnel as set out in the Iraqi Council of Ministers Resolution 439/2008. On the same date, a Government-to-Government Memorandum of Understanding came into effect, setting out the tasks that the Government of Iraq have requested that we continue and complete by 31 May 2009.

I am placing copies of the texts of both resolutions and the Memorandum of Understanding in the Library of the House.