Iraq: Casualties (Hansard, 25 February 2004)

§ Baroness Crawley
My Lords, since the start of operations in Iraq, the coalition has made every effort to minimise civilian deaths or injuries. The Government deeply regret any such casualties.
We have no reliable means of ascertaining the numbers of Iraqi civilian, or indeed military, personnel killed during the combat phase. Since the end of major combat operations on 1 May, 27 Iraqis have been killed in security incidents with UK forces, four have tragically died in road traffic accidents involving UK vehicles and six have died while in UK custody.

§ Lord Lamont of Lerwick
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. Does she agree that independent assessments of the numbers of civilians and Iraqi soldiers killed in the war vary from 15,000 to 50,000? If it is as difficult as the noble Baroness says to compile assessments of the numbers killed, why did the Government in their dossier on WMDs before the war publish an estimate of those killed by Iraq's chemical weapons? Surely if the Government are going to go on telling us that this war was to the advantage of Iraq and the world, the very least they ought to do is to make some calculation of those who are no longer able to express an opinion on that matter.

§ Baroness Crawley
My Lords, on the issue of the difficulty of ascertaining the accuracy of numbers that the noble Lord, Lord Lamont, has acknowledged in his supplementary question, we know that NGOs have gone to enormous lengths to try to estimate numbers of casualties. Those results vary by over 100 per cent. This shows that it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy how many civilians have died. For us, the bottom line is that we regret any civilian casualties and go to great lengths to avoid them. To count the number of civilians killed or injured would require us to be on the ground at the place and time. It is clearly impossible to achieve that, not least in respect of those killed during air operations. The accuracy issue will therefore remain a point of contention.

§ Lord Judd
My Lords, does the Minister agree that, however difficult it may be to reach a satisfactory and convincing conclusion on numbers, a real effort should be made by this Government and by that of the United States because, however unfair it may be, there is a view abroad that there is a deliberate policy of not 229 revealing the numbers, lest they prove embarrassing? Does my noble friend accept that however many people it was, they were people who were not consulted about the purpose of the war but who gave their lives in the cause that we espoused?

§ Baroness Crawley
My Lords, I agree with the last point that my noble friend made, but when it comes to trying to ascertain the number of civilians killed or injured in any operations involving UK forces, we go to great lengths to get some accuracy. However, it is very difficult to achieve that. We record all incidents in which UK forces are involved, but we cannot ascertain the number of fatalities that result. For instance, in some incidents such as ambushes or firefights, Iraqi injured or dead have often been taken away by their own compatriots. Also, when UK forces have been ambushed, they are often forced to withdraw before a count can be made.

§ Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, I understand that the Minister has given us some figures on what is happening in the British sector. However, as the Coalition Provisional Authority has authority at present over the whole of Iraq and I understand that the British Government have some influence over the Coalition Provisional Authority, is any serious effort being made to maintain figures, or at least to get estimates from now on, about levels of civilian casualties across Iraq as a whole?

§ Baroness Crawley
My Lords, we can speak only for our own area of operation. I have given the House the figures involving UK forces, and I have also given it something of the process involved in trying to record as accurately as possible the civilians who have been killed or injured. We are not in a position to comment on fatalities caused by other coalition partners.

§ Lord Wright of Richmond
My Lords, can the noble Baroness give the House the estimate that the Government presumably received on the eve of the coalition's invasion of Iraq of likely casualties on both sides resulting from the presence of weapons of mass destruction available for deployment within 45 minutes?

§ Baroness Crawley
No, my Lords, I cannot give the noble Lord that figure.

§ Lord Elton
My Lords—

§ Baroness Turner of Camden
My Lords—

Noble Lords
This side!

§ Baroness Turner of Camden
My Lords, I have from time to time raised the whole issue of compensation for Iraqi civilians injured or made victims of the war, and I have been told that there is no legal entitlement. However, if no WMD are discovered—and, indeed, if no WMD existed—does that not undermine the legal 230 justification for the war? Does that not therefore strengthen the case of Iraqi civilians for claims for compensation?

§ Baroness Crawley
My Lords, my noble friend has raised the issue on many occasions and has taken a close interest in it. I cannot give her a positive answer on compensation during the combat phase but, so far as concerns the phase beyond 1 May, claims made by Iraqis for losses that do not arise in connection with combat operations are handled in accordance with the direction of the Coalition Provisional Authority. That provides for such claims to be dealt with by the country whose personnel are alleged to have caused the loss, consistent with that country's national law. Hence our policy is generally to pay compensation in circumstances where the loss would give rise to a legal liability under English law. All cases are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, can the Minister tell us how many casualties during and after the war have resulted from the use of cluster bombs?

§ Baroness Crawley
My Lords, I cannot give the noble Lord that figure. UK forces used only 68 air-delivered cluster bombs; they also used artillery-delivered cluster munitions. However, the sub-munitions dispensed have a secondary time-sensitive self-destruct mechanism to ensure that fewer unexploded sub-munitions are a consequence. The failure rate of those is estimated at around 1 per cent in test conditions.