§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current assessment of the likely course of Iraq's nuclear weapons programme had they not been interrupted, in the light of information received from the United Nations inspection teams.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe United Nations inspection teams have found incontrovertible evidence that Iraq was developing a crude nuclear warhead design. The earliest that Iraq could have completed its first nuclear weapon, had its programme not been interrupted, would have been by 1993.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries which in his judgment currently possess(a) nuclear and (b) ballistic missiles.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonCurrently, strategic nuclear weapons are deployed in the United Kingdom, United States, France, China, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Countries possessing ballistic missiles, excluding NATO members, include Afghanistan, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Libya, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Korea, Syria, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Yemen.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current assessment of the countries who(a) possess chemical weapons, (b) possess biological weapons and (c) are engaged in research in developing chemical and biological weapons.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonIt is assessed that approximately 20 countries either possess or may be developing an offensive chemical warfare capability. It is assessed that about 10 countries either possess or seek to acquire an offensive biological weapons capability.