Engagements (Hansard, 28 February 1991)

§ Ql. Mr. Robert Hicks
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major)
This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

§ Mr. Hicks
I am sure that the whole House will wish to pay tribute to those who have been involved in the successful liberation of Kuwait and especially to our own armed forces whose courage, professionalism and inspiration have been an example to us all. We offer our deepest sympathy and gratitude to the families who have lost their loved ones.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that very real problems still exist in that part of the world and that it is incumbent on all nations, through the United Nations, to ensure that a middle east peace conference is established at which all the issues, including Israel, the Palestinians and the rest, can be discussed? Does he agree that we should give every encouragement to the Arab nations to formulate their own security arrangements for the future?

§ The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I shall, of course, be making a full statement on those matters very shortly. The fact is that Kuwait has been liberated and that one of the most remarkable military campaigns of recent years has been concluded. I want to pay the warmest possible tribute to the commanding officers of all nations out there and especially to General de la Billiere, who has commanded our own troops with such skill. I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. We must now look to the future and secure peace, especially by the means mentioned by my hon. Friend.

§ Mr. Kinnock
May I say to the Prime Minister that today, in this Parliament and throughout the country, we share the feelings of satisfaction at the defeat of aggression, and the feelings of sorrow at the deaths and misery caused directly as a result of that aggression? Does the Prime Minister agree that the only fitting memorial to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice is to build. through the United Nations, lasting peace and lasting justice?

§ The Prime Minister
I share the emotions expressed by the right hon. Gentleman and the conclusion that he reached.

§ Mr. Temple-Morris
Does my right hon. Friend agree that if politicians do half as good a job in sustaining the peace as the armed services have done in winning the war, we shall not be doing at all badly? In sustaining that peace, will my right hon. Friend differentiate between the Iraqi people on the one hand, and Saddam Hussein and his Baathist clique on the other? Does he further agree that the 1113 longer that Saddam Hussein and that clique remain in power, the more difficult it will be for all nations to have a charitable attitude towards Iraq?

§ The Prime Minister
I agree with my hon. Friend. We have never opposed the Iraqi people; it is their leadership and Saddam Hussein who have been the enemy on this occasion.

§ Q2. Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
Will the Prime Minister pay tribute to the 300 service men and their five minesweepers from the Rosyth naval base on their skilful achievement in the long and hazardous task of clearing mines for the allied fleet? Is he aware that the Minister of State for the Armed Forces said on Tuesday that Rosyth naval base was the "easiest and most suitable" target for closure, in spite of the assurance given by the Prime Minister to the House on 5 February? Is that the kind of welcome home that our returning heroes can expect from Ministers in this Government?

§ The Prime Minister
I willingly join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the men from Rosyth and the Royal Navy who have done such a magnificent job in sweeping the northern Gulf of mines. I do that with the greatest warmth and willingness. As the hon. Gentleman knows, for I have told the House before, a whole range of possible options concerning the armed forces generally is being considered to reduce the cost of defence support. In the case of the Royal Navy, that is bound to mean the closure of some naval establishments. At this stage the Ministry of Defence is looking at various possibilities and studies are being carried out. It is essential that those studies are carried out before any decisions of any sort can be made. I repeat my assurance to the hon. Gentleman: no decisions whatsoever have been made about the future of Rosyth.

§ Q3. Mr. Devlin
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Devlin
My right hon. Friend will be aware of the profound joy and relief among families of service men in the north of England at the news of the ceasefire today and, in particular, at the extremely low level of casualties. Will he confirm that the troops will be brought back from the middle east as soon as possible and be replaced by a United Nations peacekeeping force?

§ The Prime Minister
We shall certainly be bringing our own troops home shortly. Precisely what will happen thereafter is a matter yet to be determined. No doubt I shall have more to say about that shortly.

§ Mr. Ashdown
May I associate myself with the words of other hon. Members on the role of our armed forces? The use of their professionalism and skill has been put to the service not just of the freedom of Kuwait but to the rule of international law and the authority of the United Nations. May I also pay tribute to the Prime Minister for the calmness and authority with which he has led the nation at 1114 a difficult time? Is his view about the future the same as mine? If the coalition invests the extraordinary victory in the United', Nations, we will have created a powerful instrument not just for peace in the middle east now, but for peace in the world in the future as well.

§ The Prime Minister
I agree with the right hon. Gentleman. I am grateful to him for his kind words. The attitude taken by the Leader of the Opposition and by the right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown) has led to a unity in the House which can have been only a comfort to all our troops.

§ Q4. Mr. Speller
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Speller
Will my right hon. Friend accept the congratulations through me of the people of north Devon on his leadership over the past few months? Now, as he turns his view towards domestic problems, will he see whether he can right some of the inequalities that have bothered people about the community charge? In particular, will he consider the case where a husband and wife both have to pay community charge even though only one is at work?

§ The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. As he knows, we are examining the community charge and we will make announcements on that when our examination is concluded.

§ Mr. James Lamond
Is there any chance of Governments at the United Nations applying the same energy and enthusiasm to trying to stop the sale of arms to dictators like Saddam Hussein throughout the world, in which case it might not be necessary to sacrifice young men such as those who were sacrificed in the recent war?

§ The Prime Minister
The hon. Gentleman knows that there has been an embargo by this country on sales of arms to Iraq for a considerable number of years. My right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) imposed a strict embargo on sales to Iraq many years ago.