HC Deb 29 January 1991 vol 184 cc500-2W
Mr. Bellotti

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on which weapons being used by Iraq against allied forces were supplied by(a) the USSR, (b) Great Britain, (c) the United States of America, (d) France and (e) Germany; and whether he will consider an embargo on all arms sales from the United Kingdom and recommend the United Nations to call for an international cessation of arms sales.

Mr. Alan Clark

It has been the policy of this and previous Administrations not to comment on such matters relating to other sovereign states or on specific United Kingdom exports to other countries. As to the rest of the hon. Member's question regarding possible United Kingdom and international cessation of arms sales under UN auspices, I can confirm that there are no such plans.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will enumerate by nationality the merchant seamen now serving on ships chartered by Her Majesty's Government for use in the Gulf.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

This information is not held centrally in the form requested, but I understand that British, German, Belgian, Danish, Filipino, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and Greek seamen are employed on merchant ships chartered by Her Majesty's Government for use in the Gulf.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list, by numbers of vessels, the countries in which merchant ships chartered by Her Majesty's Government for use in the Gulf are registered.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The information requested is as follows:

Country of registration Number of vessels
United Kingdom 7
Norway 11
Antigua 7
Spain 2
Italy 1
Belgium 1
Denmark 26
Cyprus 16
Bahamas 6
Greece 2
St. Vincent 1
Honduras 1
Holland 22
Germany 7
Panama 5
Finland 2
Iceland 1
Sweden 6

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many merchant vessels have been chartered by Her Majesty's Government for use in the Gulf; and how many are registered in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The total number of merchant vessels chartered by Her Majesty's Government for use in the Gulf, as at 25 January 1991, is 123, of which seven were registered in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Darling

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether any escape of nuclear material has occurred following the reported destruction of Iraq's nuclear facilities.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

It has been reported that damage has been caused to the buildings housing Iraq's two operational nuclear reactors as a result of allied air activity. The design and construction of both reactors is well known; they are small reactors and their cores are surrounded by water below ground level. We assess that any significant radioactive contamination resulting from damage would be confined to the Tuwaitha nuclear research centre.

Mr. Hardy

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take immediate action to ensure that the public are made fully aware of the arrangements made to allow parcels to be sent to the service men in the Gulf; and if he will ensure that accurate information is given to the relevant charitable organisations and the media.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

Detailed information on forces concessionary rates for sending parcels to service personnel in the Gulf has been published through official, welfare and media channels.

Within BAOR, from where the majority of personnel deployed, the information has been publicised through forces radio, television and newspapers as well as information sheets at forces post offices and through discussions with wives' clubs.

Within the United Kingdom, similar information has been provided through unit families officers and welfare services, Post Office posters, TV statements and press releases by both the royal mail and the Ministry of Defence. A further MOD press release is in hand. In addition a royal mail parcelforce hotline has been established specifically to deal with inquiries from members of the public.