§ Q6. Mr. EasthamTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. EasthamWith the welcome end of the Gulf war, will the Prime Minister ensure that the same endeavours are used to reduce hospital waiting lists, which now stand at 980,000, as were used to open wards and provide beds for possible casualties? If he bothers to visit Ribble Valley during the by-election will he try to explain why the waiting list for beds there has doubled during the past four years and now stands at 4,380?
§ The Prime MinisterAs the hon. Gentleman should know, the health service is now treating more people more efficiently than ever before, not least due to the reforms introduced by the Government and the funding provided by them.
§ Q7. Mr. DykesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. DykesI thank my right hon. Friend for his incisive and decisive War Cabinet leadership which has led to success in the Gulf and I add my words of admiration for the unsurpassed and brilliant performance of our armed forces. As I have RAF Bentley Priory in my constituency, from which the Battle of Britain was directed 50 years ago, I particularly think of the performance of the Royal Air Force. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the particularly brave performance of the Tornado pilots in low flying on the Iraqi airfields did, contrary to rumours, substantially neutralise many of the Iraqi airfields and prevent the Iraqi air force from fighting?
§ The Prime MinisterI can certainly confirm that. The bravery of the Tornado pilots in the early part of the campaign played a material part in ensuring that casualties in the land war were so few. I am happy to pay tribute to all those pilots.
§ Mr. William RossWill the Prime Minister give an assurance to the House that considerable expense will now be put to trying to find a better means of identifying friendly ground troops?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is a matter to which we shall certainly give attention. The House will understand the tragic occurrence that leads the hon. Gentleman to ask that question. It is certainly a matter which will have the most careful examination.
§ Q8. Mr. ArbuthnotTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ArbuthnotIn view of the recent murder of an innocent civilian by the IRA and the attempted murder of the War Cabinet, does my right hon. Friend agree that now is not the proper time to water down the prevention of terrorism Act?
§ The Prime MinisterI very much agree with my hon. Friend. The prevention of terrorism Act has served us well in recent years and for the moment we still require it.
§ Mr. MallonOn this historic day when people throughout the world can again savour peace, may I as an Irishman express the anger and revulsion felt by the vast majority of Irish people at the murderous attempts on commuters in Victoria and other stations? Does the Prime Minister agree that the contrived security alerts that we saw again yesterday are causing enormous suffering and disruption to thousands of people going to and coming from work? Does he share my view that to kill and to heap suffering on people in furtherance of political ends is a sad and cynical perversion of the very concept of patriotism?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is wickedness beyond belief, and it deserves the contempt of everyone.
§ Q9. Dr. TwinnTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Dr. TwinnMay I join in the warm congratulations of the House to my right hon. Friend for his conduct of the war? In looking to the future, will he bear in mind the problems caused by the division of Cyprus and the fact that United Nations Security Council resolutions have still not been implemented there?
§ The Prime MinisterI shall certainly put my mind to that problem. I share my hon. Friend's hope that the Cyprus question will be resolved. Indeed, I am sure that everyone in the House wants to see that. I do not believe that question of Cyprus can be directly related to the Gulf conflict.
§ Q10. Mrs. Alice MahonTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 28 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mrs. MahonHas the Prime Minister had time to read the recent Amnesty International report on the people of East Timor? Will he now make a commitment to the achievement of a peaceful and just world by banning the sale of weapons to Indonesia, given that that country has illegally occupied East Timor for 15 years and has committed the most atrocious acts of violence against its population? Is not this a good time to do something about the evil of the arms trade?
§ The Prime MinisterI have not read the Amnesty International report to which the hon. Lady has referred, but I shall certainly seek to do so and reflect upon what she has said.