§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what benefits to United Kingdom national defence will accrue from the granting of permission to the United States of landing rights for United States Air Force B-52 bombers. [101993]
§ Mr. HoonAs I told the House on the 3 March 2003,Official Report, column 566, I agreed to the United States Air Force deployment at RAF Fairford as part of our continuing contingency preparations for possible military action in Iraq. The Government have made clear on many occasions the threat posed to the United Kingdom by Iraq's continued possession, in contravention of successive UN Security Council Resolutions, of weapons of mass destruction.