Iraq (Hansard, 20 January 1999)

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications Her Majesty's Government have had with(a) the United States administration and (b) the Secretary General of the United Nations over the past year in respect of the use to which information obtained by (i) UNSCOM and (b) IAEA inspectors in Iraq has been put. [66429]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
We have been in regular touch with both the US Administration and the UN Secretary General on many aspects of the work of UNSCOM and the IAEA over the past year.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the allegations by former UNSCOM inspector, Scott Ritter, published inThe Sunday Telegraph on 10 January 1999. [66476]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
The 10 JanuaryThe Sunday Telegraph article referred to allegations that the UK withdrew cooperation from UNSCOM last year in protest at US spying activities. This allegation is false. The UK has never withdrawn cooperation from UNSCOM.
UNSCOM is entitled to seek information and advice from all possible sources in pursuit of its mandate to destroy Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction capability.
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UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard Butler has made clear that he has always insisted on all UNSCOM activity being carried out strictly in pursuit of its disarmament mandate, not to benefit any individual member state. The US has also denied any impropriety in its contacts with UNSCOM.

§ Mr. Dalyell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the observations by the Foreign Minister of France concerning the lifting of sanctions on Iraq. [65397]

§ Mr. Fatchett
We have welcomed the proposals put forward recently by France as a useful basis for discussion on the way forward on Iraq. However, our position remains that the oil embargo cannot be lifted until Iraq has fulfilled its obligations in relation to its weapons of mass destruction programmes as set out in UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 687, and that other sanctions cannot be lifted until Iraq has complied with all its obligations under the relevant UNSCRs.