§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what information he has in regard to the role of the Wickman-Bennett machine tool company of Coventry in providing machine tools to Iraq between 1985 and 1989, for use in its nuclear weapons development programme;
(2) what information he has on the use to which United Kingdom origin precision technology exported to Iraq has been put at the (a) Hutteen and (b) Taji factories in Iraq.
§ Mr. NeedhamI am aware that the inspections in Iraq by the United Nations Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have revealed the names of many companies around the world which have traded with Iraq, including some from Britain. It is possible that more names will be revealed as time goes on.
Any indications of wrongdoing will be urgently investigated and, if appropriate, will be a matter for the courts. However, it would be quite wrong to conclude, without further analysis, that the companies named have behaved wrongfully. Until the invasion of Kuwait, trade with Iraq was not illegal provided strategic export controls were not breached.