§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Prime Minister what recent assessment he has made of whether Iraq has(a) nuclear, (b) chemical and (c) biological weapons. [107194]
§ The Prime MinisterAssessments of whether Iraq has nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are constantly updated in the light of information received. We continue to believe that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, and that it is seeking to re-establish a nuclear weapons programme. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1441, the onus was placed firmly on Iraq to prove that it did not possess such weapons. It has failed to do so.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 2 April,Official Report, column 918, what the evidential basis was for his statement that the damage done to the holy sites at Najaf were perpetrated by forces of the Iraqi regime and not by the allied air forces of the 1991 Gulf War. [107532]
§ The Prime MinisterThere are a number of independent sources which detail Saddam's damage to Shi'a holy sites in 1991. I refer my hon. Friend to the 1992 report of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iraq (UN reference E/CN.4/1992/31) which is in the House Library.