12. Mr. Alan W. WilliamsIf he will make a statement on progress towards removal of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. [31808]
§ 13. Mr. Robin CookBritain played a key role in drafting Security Council resolution 1154 which was adopted unanimously by the Security Council last week. It provides a clear endorsement by the whole of the international community of the agreement between the Secretary-General and the Iraqi authorities. The resolution makes it clear that if Saddam Hussein breaks the agreement, there will be the severest consequences. I am pleased to report that inspections resumed in Iraq last Friday. International inspection has made good progress in halting the Iraqi nuclear and missile programmes. The United Nations Special Commission has now dismantled more weapons than were destroyed during the Gulf war. However, the Iraqi capacity for chemical and biological weapons production remains immense. We are determined that such a capacity cannot be left in the hands of Saddam Hussein, who has repeatedly used chemical weapons in the past and cannot be trusted not to use them in the future.
§ Mr. LeighIs the Foreign Secretary satisfied that Iraq is fully complying with the UN accords? Would he like to comment on the accusation that it is fairly worthless allowing inspectors into presidential sites because, by the time of inspection, they will be cleared of any weapons of mass destruction, which will be taken elsewhere? Therefore, there must be continued access. Can the Foreign Secretary confirm that if, at any future date, the Americans decide to use force, we shall stand four square with them?
§ Mr. CookThe answer to the last point is that we remain in constant contact with the United States. We stood resolutely together during a confrontation, and we will do so if there should be a future confrontation. I am not sure whether I shall disappoint the hon. Gentleman if I say that inspections have been proceeding well over the three days since Friday. There is no question of one-off inspections—that was one of Saddam' s initial bargaining positions, and it was one of the issues on which he was forced to climb down. The agreement represents a success for our strategy and, if properly carried out, will enable us to halt him in developing weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. WilliamsIt is seven years since the Gulf war, and it has taken that long for UNSCOM to uncover these chemical and biological weapons. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the present inspection crisis has to be resolved in a matter of weeks or months rather than years, that those weapons must be rendered harmless and that, if Iraq co-operates, economic sanctions can be lifted in that time scale?
§ Mr. CookThe resolution we drafted and presented to the Security Council makes it clear that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Iraqi people. Sanctions 311 can be lifted if Saddam carries out the obligations to which he has again signed up. The reason we are here, seven years on from the original resolution, is precisely because Saddam has practised a continuous programme of deception and concealment. I cannot accept that we should put a deadline on when the inspectors withdraw; when they withdraw must be decided by when they have finished their business. However, I agree that it could be done in weeks if Saddam Hussein would, for once, honestly accept his responsibilities and fully co-operate with inspectors.
§ Mr. CashThe Foreign Secretary and the Government deserve congratulations on the solidarity they have shown with the United States over Iraq. To refer to a previous question, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman to indicate what sort of phone calls the Prime Minister had with the other member states in Europe? Furthermore, what did the Prime Minister mean in his statement to the House the other day when he said that we had support from the EU member states? What specific and practical military commitments were the other member states prepared to make to support the United States and the United Kingdom in what could have turned out to be the necessity for direct military action?
§ Mr. CookI am happy to answer the hon. Gentleman's question. Belgium and the Netherlands provided a frigate for the fleet; Denmark provided transport aircraft; Sweden was willing to provide medical and logistical troops for support; and Portugal, Spain and Germany offered and made available use of their bases for planes flying on to the Gulf. Those European nations that were asked to help all did so.
§ Ann ClwydGiven the growing support among our European Union partners and many other countries in the world for the indictment of Saddam Hussein and some of his closest associates before an international criminal court, has my right hon. Friend thought about some of the other ideas proposed by the Iraqi opposition, which include lifting the sanctions in northern Iraq, supporting the installation of a provisional Government in northern Iraq and installing a no-drive zone in that area to protect it in the same way as the no-fly zone is protected?
§ Mr. CookThis is an issue that we keep constantly under discussion, not just among ourselves, but with our partners. However, what my hon. Friend asks for involves a step that can be taken only with great seriousness and solemnity. We are very much aware that when people in Iraq were invited to rise up in 1991, they were then abandoned and there were many casualties among those who had taken us at our word. For that reason, there is a grave responsibility on us not to encourage people to take action which we then cannot follow through.