§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have been able to confirm or refute reports that chemical weapon stores in Iraq, bombed in the course of the hostilities, were not destroyed and are now leaking.
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (The Earl of Caithness)We can confirm the presence of leaking chemical munitions at the Muthanna establishment in Iraq, as revealed by the UN Special Commission's inspection of that site, in which three UK experts took part. The site had suffered bomb damage. We understand that contamination is localised and unlikely to extend outside the establishment. Clean-up operations will, however, be difficult.