§ Q5. Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 22 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. BarnesDoes the Prime Minister accept that a concern for the well-being of British troops and a concern for the well-being of Iraqi citizens are not incompatible and in fact reinforce each other? Will he tell us the number of casualties in Basra, in southern Iraq, which is a prime target because of its docks, railway marshalling yards and other facilities, including massed Iraqi troops?
§ The Prime MinisterThere are no means by which I could know those figures, as the hon. Gentleman knows. He also knows, for it has been repeatedly stated from this Dispatch Box in the past few days, that allied pilots—all of them—have a firm instruction to attempt to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible.
§ Sir George GardinerIn view of Saddam Hussein's despicable treatment of prisoners of war, on top of other crimes against humanity, does my right hon. Friend agree that the destruction of Saddam Hussein is now a legitimate war aim?
§ The Prime MinisterI strongly suspect that Saddam Hussein may yet become a target for his own people. It is perfectly clear that this man is amoral: he takes hostages, attacks population centres and threatens prisoners. He is a man without pity and, whatever his fate may be, I for one will not weep for him.
§ Q6. Mr. IllsleyTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official enagements for Tuesday 22 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. IllsleyIn view of yesterday's newspaper reports that Department of Health press officers are likely to mislead the country seriously about the ability of the national health service to cope with the Gulf war casualties, will the Prime Minister assure the House that accurate information will be given to ensure that truth does not become one of the first casualties of the war?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman may certainly have that assurance. There is no question of the national health service or any of its spokesmen, in the Department of Health or elsewhere, misleading either the House or the public.
§ Q7. Mr. ViggersTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 22 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ViggersAfter much talk of political union in Europe, is not it disappointing that our European allies, given a clear chance of political unity over United Nations resolutions and their imposition, have failed to match their actions to their rhetoric?
§ The Prime MinisterI entirely understand my hon. Friend's point. There is undoubtedly a considerable disparity in the extent to which individual European countries have committed themselves to the problems of the Gulf. Political union and a common foreign and security policy in Europe would have to go beyond statements and extend to actions. Clearly Europe is not ready for that and we should not be too ambitious when it comes to the intergovernmental conference on political union.
§ Sir David SteelDoes the Prime Minister agree that, if this morning's reports that Saddam Hussein has started to destroy oil installations in Kuwait are correct, that may suggest two possibilities—first, that Saddam Hussein has given up any chance of holding on to Kuwait and, secondly, that his claim to be defending the interests of Palestinians is manifest nonsense, as 150,000 of them are still trapped in Kuwait, their livelihoods wrecked by his pillage of that country?
§ The Prime MinisterSaddam Hussein's claim on the latter point is nonsense in any event, whatever may be happening to the oilfields. I am, of course, aware of the media reports of damage to the oilfields and I have made a number of inquiries up to and including the last few minutes to find out the present position. As yet, I have no independent evidence to confirm those reports; I assure the House that, if and when such evidence becomes available later in the day, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence will make it public.
§ Mr. RathboneMuch has been made of the way in which the Iraqi authorities have broken the Geneva conventions. Will my right hon. Friend now assure the House categorically that British forces, British authority and our allies will stand by both the spirit and the letter of the conventions?
§ The Prime MinisterI can give my hon. Friend that absolute and complete assurance. It is, I think, an assurance that no one anywhere in the world, even in Iraq, would doubt.
§ Mr. RowlandsGiven the almost unanimous feeling about the prying press, will the Prime Minister go a little further and make a personal approach to all the major national editors to ensure that they respect people's feelings and wishes?
§ The Prime MinisterI certainly hope that everyone, including the national editors, will respect the privacy of 163 people in grief. I hope that that will satisfy the hon. Gentleman, and I am sure that those remarks will have been heard.
§ Q8. Mr. SumbergTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 22 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. SumbergDoes my right hon. Friend recall that, when he visited the Gulf recently, he met troops from the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, formerly the Lancashire Fusiliers? That regiment has a strong link with my constituency and recruits extensively in Greater Manchester. Will my right hon. Friend take this opportunity to send a message of thanks and appreciation not just to the troops themselves, but to their families, who anxiously wait at home for news?
§ The Prime MinisterI am happy to do that. I enjoyed my meeting with them in the desert very much and was able to bring them up to date with Manchester United's results which, in many cases, were in the forefront of their minds.
§ Q9. Mr. Terry FieldsTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 22 January.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. FieldsAlthough it is difficult to contemplate the future while we are seeing the horrendous scenes from the Gulf today, while the Prime Minister is contemplating winning the peace will he consider the final arbiters of stability in the Gulf are the Iraqi and Kuwaiti masses? If he accepts that long perspective, how does he think these people will have reacted to the news that tens of thousands of people have been killed, something which seems to contradict the briefing that we have been given that only economic and military targets have been affected?
§ The Prime MinisterI repeat that I have no confirmation of the figures of casualties that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned. He will know from the debates 164 here in the past few days the important issues of principle at stake. I think that those issues of principle a re understood both in the House and across the whole world.
§ Mr. ButterfillWill my right hon. Friend join me in condemning recent events in Latvia? Does he share my belief that it would be very sad if the Soviet Union were to lurch back into repression? Will he assure the Soviet Union that economic aid from the European Community will depend on the maintenance of civil rights throughout the Soviet Union and its satellite states?
§ The Prime MinisterI will certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. I can also tell him that at present we are in regular contact with the elected Baltic leaders. I hope to see the Latvian Foreign Minister, Mr. Jurkans, tomorrow. I understood earlier today that President Gorbunovs of Latvia has had a meeting with President Gorbachev and that he stated at the conclusion of the meeting that he does not expect direct rule to be imposed. I very much hope that that proves to be correct.