HC Deb 05 November 1999 vol 337 cc342-3W
Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on whether uranium-tipped weapons were used in Kosovo. [95865]

Mr. Hoon

I can confirm that depleted uranium-based munitions were used by NATO forces during the Kosovo campaign.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to assist in the removal of undetonated land mines from Kosovo. [95973]

Mr. Hoon

[holding answer 2 November 1999]: Since KFOR deployed, the UK has undertaken a great deal of work to ensure that Kosovo is made safe from unexploded ordnance (UXO) including undetonated Serbian land mines. The British Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams in Kosovo have been closely involved in marking minefields and clearing unexploded ordnance where it presents an immediate threat to life. All such sites in the UK-led sector of Kosovo have now been marked. KFOR as a whole has now cleared over 4,400 Serbian anti-personnel mines and 2,300 anti-tank mines.