§ Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any guarantees and conditions on the use and production of chemical weapons have been attached to the Britain-Iraq £340 million trade credit.
§ Mr. Alan Clark[holding answer 31 January 1989]The UK-Iraq £340 million financial protocol makes no specific reference to imports which might conceivably relate to the production of chemical weapons. However, it can be used only to finance goods which meet United Kingdom export licence requirements, and these specifically prevent the 417W supply of a number of key precursors. The protocol makes an important contribution to Government policy of developing economic and commercial relations with Iraq and is based on a commercial assessment of the risks involved. We have made clear to the Iraqi Government our condemnation of the use of chemical weapons and we expect the Government of Iraq to honour their pledge not to use these weapons in the future.