Iraq (Hansard, 20 December 1990)

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has recently received fromThe Sunday Times concerning the status of the Iraqi nuclear programme; when the information was passed to his Department; and what steps he has taken to evaluate the information received.

§ Mr. Alan Clark
We were aware of information contained inThe Sunday Times article before it was published.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he possesses concerning the capacity of the A1-Qaim uranium processing factory in Iraq.

§ Mr. Alan Clark
A1-Qaim is a plant to manufacture fertilisers from phosphates mined in the vicinity. It is possible to extract minute quantities of uranium ore which is present in the phosphates as impurities, but we have no knowledge of quantities obtained.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he possesses concerning the activities of scientists from the Qaqaa explosives factory in Iraq in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other member states of the NATO alliance.

§ Mr. Alan Clark
We have no specific information on the activities of Iraqi scientists from the Qaqaa explosives factory in the United Kingdom or other NATO countries. Scientists from all over the world are free to attend courses and conferences in this and other countries, and many do so.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he possesses concerning the role of factory 10 near Samarra in Iraq in nuclear materials processing.

§ Mr. Alan Clark
We have no significant information on the role of Factory 10 near Samarra.