Iraq Survey Group (Hansard, 17 May 2004)

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, Her Majesty's Government fully expect the work of the Iraq Survey Group in uncovering Iraq's intentions towards and programmes for weapons of mass destruction to continue beyond June, until all reasonable avenues of investigation have been explored.

§ Lord Redesdale
My Lords, could the Minister expand on what he means by "all reasonable avenues" have been explored? It appears that the Iraq Survey Group is not fulfilling any meaningful function. Will he also explain whether the Government now believe that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and say whether they will publish all the findings that have so far come out since the resignation of the head of the Iraq Survey Group?

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, a huge amount of information is being analysed at present. It is clear that the group's work is very far from complete. Noble Lords will recognise that the difficult security situation in Iraq has not been conducive to the group fulfilling its role as fully as it would have expected and hoped to do. Nevertheless, it is on course to continue its work and will, as I indicated in my original Answer, continue beyond June.

§ Lord Astor of Hever
My Lords, following the Minister's response, will he confirm that the reason the survey group has found, and will find, no convincing evidence of weapons of mass destruction is because there was none to find?

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, some very interesting material indeed is emerging about the intentions of the regime and the potential threats that it posed. We are not in a position to reach conclusions 508 on that at present. However, the group has uncovered substantial degrees of evidence of programmes for which Saddam Hussein's government were responsible. It is important that the group be given the opportunity to fulfil its remit, which is what it intends to do.

§ Lord Campbell-Savours
My Lords, is it not curious that some Members of the House seem to believe that weapons of mass destruction programmes do not pose a threat?

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, my noble friend is right. The whole House will recognise not only that Saddam Hussein was capable of being brutal towards his own people but also that he clearly had ambitions as regards his regional role. There was direct evidence of that in the first Gulf War when he was restrained in relation to Kuwait. As my noble friend has indicated, Saddam Hussein clearly had ambitions and was prepared to pursue certain strategies, which would very much be against the interests of all in the Middle East and in the West, to help to fulfil those ambitions.

§ Lord Marsh
My Lords, would the Minister consider it reasonable for noble Lords to ask him "to come off it"? Is he not fully aware that there are literally dozens of countries around the world today with programmes of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction? If we are to deal with them all, surely we shall have a bit of a problem.

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a problem, but we should take joy in the fact when we are able to restrain some who otherwise would have presented such a danger. I believe that we can take some satisfaction from the fact that Libya has withdrawn from a position that it had pursued for a number of years, as can the people of Iraq, and the wider world, from the destruction of the Saddam Hussein regime.

§ Lord Lamont of Lerwick
My Lords, do the Government still agree with a view expressed by the Prime Minister that the regime change by itself could never be an adequate justification for the invasion of Iraq?

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, as far as the Government are concerned, it was absolutely clear that the regime of Saddam Hussein, and his ambitions, presented a threat both to his own people and to the wider world. Therefore, it is also clear that whatever the difficulties—who would seek to underestimate the enormous difficulties that face the forces in Iraq at present?—the fact that Saddam Hussein's regime is no more is of conspicuous benefit to the Iraqi people.

§ Baroness Walmsley
My Lords, does the Minister accept that we did not go to war on the basis of the intentions that he mentioned in an earlier answer. nor did the Prime Minister mention ambitions? He 509 mentioned 45 minutes. Can the Minister say at what point the Government will accept that there are no weapons of mass destruction, nor were there any?

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, it is too early to say that with the conviction indicated by the noble Baroness. That is not the position of the Iraq Survey Group. It has unearthed a welter of evidence about the malign intentions and capabilities of the regime. Therefore, within the prevailing security difficulties that the group faces at present, which we all hope will improve as a consequence of the transfer to the new arrangements at the end of June, it is absolutely right that it should be able to pursue its work with vigour and reach its conclusions.

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
My Lords, does my memory serve me wrong or is it a fact that the Government went to war in Iraq on the basis that it had weapons of mass destruction that were a threat to British interests, particularly in Cyprus, and could be used in 45 minutes? Does not the noble Lord agree that that was wrong and that, in the light of what is happening in Iraq at present, it would be best if British troops were withdrawn?

§ Lord Davies of Oldham
My Lords, it is rash and bold for the noble Lord to suggest that the withdrawal of British troops would benefit the Iraqi people. It must he recognised that dissident forces in Iraq are constantly perpetrating outrages, not least the one this morning, which took the life of the president of the Iraqi Governing Council. We all regret the outcome of that horror and sympathise with Ezzedine Salim's family. However, there is a job of restoring security in Iraq. It is clear that British forces play their role in that at present and will need to do so until we can achieve new arrangements in which the Iraqi people will determine their own future. Even under those new arrangements, external assistance may well be needed until full Iraqi security capacity has been developed.