HC Deb 25 February 1991 vol 186 cc386-7W
Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on escapes of dangerous material from biological weapons depots in Iraq destroyed by allied bombing.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

We have no reliable information regarding any environmental effects of allied bombing of biological weapons facilities in Iraq. The methods used in attacking such sites are designed to minimise the risk of contamination outside the sites. Any remaining risk must be balanced against the risk of Iraq using these weapons against coalition forces or civilian populations.

Mr. Marlow

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the extent to which the suffering of the Kuwaiti population to which he referred in his answer of 18 February,Official Report, column 64, has been increased by the effect of allied bombardment.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 18 February, at column64.

Mr. Marlow

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his answer of 18 February,Official Report, column 64, whether any military objectives have been discussed with Israel beyond those laid down by the United Nations Security Council.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

Israel is not a member of the coalition in the Gulf and is not involved in the action to implement the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions British air sorties over Iraq and Kuwait have missed intended military targets and hit attendant civilian areas causing deaths and injuries to civilians; and what steps the British military commanders in Saudi Arabia have taken to avoid such civilian casualties.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

It is allied policy to attack only military targets and facilities supporting Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. Great care continues to be taken during these attacks, both in the tactics and the weapons used, to minimise the risk of causing civilian casualties. Only a minority of the precision-guided munitions used by the RAF are assessed to have missed their intended target. There are indications that most of these have fallen well away from inhabited areas. Any civilian casualties that may have resulted are greatly regretted.

Mr. Marlow

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he now has on the number of consecutive days prior to the bombing of the Al-Amariyah bunker that it had been used for the protection of civilians.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

None. The United States has made it clear that the bunker would not have been attacked if it had been known that civilians were inside.

Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) on 19 February 1991,Official Report, column 134, if he will set out the evidence that Iraq has nuclear weapons that are capable of polluting the Gulf region; and when Her Majesty's Government reached the conclusion that Iraq has a nuclear weapons capability.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

We continue to assess that Iraq is not currently capable of constructing a nuclear explosive device.

Mr. Nellist

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the numbers of forces each country has(a) committed to service and (b) promised are available to the coalition forces in the Gulf.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin) on 12 February, at columns 382–83. The precise natue of the national contributions to the coalition force in the Gulf is a matter for the Governments concerned.