§ 2.46 p.m.
§ Lord McNairMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they can confirm allegations in Forbes Magazine (27th January 1986) that the London office of the Iranian National Oil Company assists in the smuggling of stolen US war material into Iran; and, if this is so, whether it is legal.
§ The Secretary of State for Employment (Lord Young of Graffham)My Lords, the Government have no evidence on this matter and cannot therefore comment on these allegations. The export of war material from the United Kingdom to all destinations is prohibited unless the exportation is covered by an appropriate licence. Provided that the goods mentioned in the article in Forbes Magazine were neither stolen in nor exported from the United Kingdom, no offences under United Kingdom law would have been committed.
§ Lord McNairMy Lords, can the noble Lord tell me whether Her Majesty's Government have received representations from the Government of the USA for assistance in preventing the onward transmission to Iran of material illegally acquired in the USA?
§ Lord Young of GraffhamYes, my Lords, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in close contact with the United States authorities on all aspects of the Iranian-Iraqi conflict, including the supply of defence equipment. These contacts have included discussion on Iranian military procurement activities based in London.
Viscount BuckmasterMy Lords, in view of the difficulty in detecting much of this smuggled equipment, have the Government plans for the further training of Customs officials in this field?
§ Lord Young of GraffhamMy Lords, this is a matter where we have no evidence at the moment, and therefore we shall be looking to see where we can acquire some.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, is there not also a separate problem in that the Iranian National Oil Company is established in this country as a trader in hydrocarbon products? If the offices of this company are being used for other purposes, then the declarations that are made to the Inland Revenue in that respect may well be false. Would the noble Lord therefore agree that the Inland Revenue itself has powers under the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 to investigate this company, particularly in respect of business expenses, if that activity is being carried on?
§ Lord Young of GraffhamYes, my Lords; but I would wish to assure the noble Lord, Lord Williams, and your Lordships' House, that we have no evidence of any involvement of the Iranian National Oil Company in this activity.
§ Lord MayhewMy Lords, when the noble Lord says that the Government have no evidence, does that mean that the Government have made no inquiries of this firm?
§ Lord Young of GraffhamMy Lords, I think in all the circumstances that it would be better to say that the Government have no evidence in the matter and therefore cannot comment further. Whether or not inquiries have been made, and the outlook on those inquiries, are not matters that I think we should raise in this way.