Uranium: Imports from Namibia (Hansard, 23 February 1988)

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Lord Trefgarne)
No, my Lords.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that on 20th January the noble Viscount, Lord Davidson, in answering my Question as to whether there had been any importation of uranium from Namibia since 1984, said that there had been no imports by the Central Electricity Generating Board? Is this not somewhat economical with the truth? Is it not the case that the original contract for the purchase of uranium from Namibia came not from the Central Electricity Generating Board but from the Ministry of Defence? Is it also not the case that the 1,100 tonnes of uranium for that contract, or part of it, has been imported by the Ministry of Defence since 1984?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, the Question on the Order Paper asks whether we have imported any uranium which originated in Namibia since 1984. The Answer that I gave the noble Lord was the correct one. As a matter of fact we have never imported any uranium originating from Namibia because it is uranium ore that we import and not the metal itself.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, surely that is even more economical with the truth. The Question that I asked the Government and which the noble Viscount, Lord Davidson, answered on 20th January was concerned with uranium ore. The Answer given by the noble Viscount was that there had been importation of uranium ore by the Central Electricity Generating Board. That is importation by this country. I am now asking whether it is the case that the original contract came from the Ministry of Defence and that that uranium ore from the Rossing mine in Namibia has been imported since 1984 by the Ministry of Defence?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, if the noble Lord will forgive me for saying so, it really is not very satisfactory for him to place a Question on the Order Paper, receive an Answer and then complain that he has not had the Answer to some different Question. The Question that I answered was the Question that 1044 appeared on the Order Paper today. The Question that my noble friend answered was the Question that appeared on the Order Paper on that day.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that Her Majesty's Government refuse to allow uranium from Southern Africa to be included on the EC list of sanctions? Will he also say whether or not Her Majesty's Government or this country import uranium from other countries which have in turn imported it from Namibia?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, certainly not recently.

Lord Paget of Northampton
My Lords, if we need uranium why the blazes should we not import it from Namibia? Namibia is a very small country which, almost alone in Africa, has the advantage of being well-governed and not starving. Why should we not assist her by importing one of her very few exports?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, that is because recently we have not needed any.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, is there not another answer? Does the noble Lord agree that the United Nations has decreed that no uranium, uranium ore or uranium oxide—whichever form the noble Lord likes to take—should be imported by any member of the United Nations from Namibia so long as Namibia remains illegally under South African administration? Is it not the case that the uranium oxide which the noble Viscount. Lord Davidson, admitted had been imported by the Central Electricity Generating Board was imported in breach of the United Nations decree?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, I am afraid that decree number one of the United Nations Council for Namibia was made outside the competence of the General Assembly which set up that particular Council. Therefore we regard it as null and void.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, would it not have been better for the noble Lord to have given that Answer straight away instead of trying to make a play on words as to whether or not it was uranium that was imported?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, I always try to answer the Questions which are either on the Order Paper or are put to me subsequently, not the ones which might unexpectedly have been in the minds of noble Lords.