§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with Nizar Hamdoun of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, during his visit to the United Kingdom attending the conference at Chatham house on Iraq in the 1990s, in respect of the detention and trial for spying ofThe Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft and British nurse Daphne Parish; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI raised the case of Mrs. Parish and Mr. Bazoft when I met Nizar Hamdoun on 8 March. I expressed our serious concern for the two and emphasised the importance of a fair trial. Mr. Hamdoun took note of these points and emphasised the sensitivity of these cases for the Iraqi authorities. Similar representations were made to Mr. Hamdoun at a senior official level.