HL Deb 21 February 2005 vol 669 c163WA
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they consider the abuse of the oil for food programme in Iraq to have contributed to Saddam Hussein's defiance of United Nations resolutions and to the need for the United States and the United Kingdom to take military action in Iraq. [HL1348]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Saddam Hussein's attempts to subvert the United Nations oil for food programme inevitably helped to bolster his regime. It is difficult to quantify how far this contributed to his defiance of United Nations resolutions.