Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the recently planned official visit to Afghanistan of James Blunt and Katherine Jenkins did not take place; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey MP; Minister for the Armed Forces: Katherine Jenkins and James Blunt were due to fly to Afghanistan on a civilian chartered aircraft on 20 December 2010. Due to a technical issue a spare part was required. Unfortunately, by the time it took to arrive and once a time to enter European airspace was reallocated (which was beyond our control), the crew had exceeded their duty time, necessitating the cancellation of the flight. With the general disruption to the airbridge and to civilian flights into and out of the UK as a result of snow, they were understandably unable to rearrange their schedules. Therefore regrettably, the visit did not take place.