§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral statement on the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting of 6 March 2002,Official Report, column 291, if he will make a statement on the outcome of his discussions regarding the exclusion of Zimbabwe from the 2002 Commonwealth Games. [41919]
§ The Prime MinisterArrangements for the Games, including participation, are the responsibility of the Commonwealth Games Federation. We are not aware of any discussions having taken place regarding the exclusion of Zimbabwe from the 2002 Commonwealth Games but will keep the situation under review.
As I made clear in my statement last week, the Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria, and the Prime Minister of Australia, will be considering what action to take on Zimbabwe in the light of the findings of the Commonwealth observer team currently monitoring Zimbabwe's Presidential election. Should the Commonwealth, on the basis of these findings, decide Zimbabwe should be suspended from the organisation, Zimbabwe would become ineligible to compete in the Games.