HC Deb 14 March 1995 vol 256 cc520-2W
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has received any evidence concerning current Iraqi chemical weapons capabilities.

Mr. Soames

My Department continues to assimilate evidence on current Iraqi chemical weapons capabilities from a number of sources, including the published reports by the UN Special Commission.

Dr. David Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when sand suspected of carrying traces of chemical weapons or radioactivity was sent to Britain from(a) Israel, (b) Saudi Arabia, (c) Kuwait and (d) Iraq for testing at CBDE Porton Down.

Mr. Soames

This matter is for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Graham Pearson to Dr. David Clark, dated 14 March 1995:

QUESTION 10, ORDER PAPER 9 MARCH 1995

  1. 1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking when sand suspected of carrying traces of chemical weapons or radioactivity was sent to Britain from (a) Israel, (b) Saudi Arabia, (c) Kuwait and (d) Iraq for testing at CBDE Porton Down has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them.
  3. 3. Information on the analysis of samples collected from Iraq and sent to CBDE Porton Down was provided in the Official Report, 2 March 1995, columns 684–686; the samples analysed at CBDE Porton Down were described as soil samples although they are likely to contain varying quantities of sand. Some of the samples analysed in support of the United Special Commission (UNSCOM) on Iraq were in support of an investigation of the alleged use of chemical weapons against the Marsh Arabs in southern Iraq.
  4. 4. No sand suspected of carrying traces of chemical warfare agents have been sent from Israel, Saudi Arabia or Kuwait to CBDE Porton Down for analysis. No sand suspected of carrying traces of radioactivity from any of the countries named have been sent for testing at CBDE Porton Down.
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received confirming the detection of chemical weapons use during the 1990–91 Gulf war; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Soames

This is for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, CBDE to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Graham Pearson to Dr. David Clark, dated 14 March 1995:

Question 13, ORDER PAPER 9 MARCH 1995

  1. 1. Your parliamentary question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what reports he has received confirming the detection of chemical weapons use during the 1990–91 Gulf War; and if he will make a statement, has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them.
  3. 3. Although during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict there were unconfirmed reports of the detection of chemical warfare agents, no confirmed reports of the detection of chemical warfare agents have been received.
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the report by the Ministry of Defence of Czech Republic stating that chemical weapons were used by Iraq during the Gulf war; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Soames

This matter is for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, CBDE to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Graham Pearson to Dr. David Clark, dated 14 March 1995:

QUESTION 14, ORDER PAPER 9 MARCH 1995

  1. 1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what assessment he has made of the report by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic stating that chemical weapons were used by Iraq during the Gulf War, and if he will make a statement, has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them.
  3. 3. The report made by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic described the participation of the Czechoslovak anti-chemical unit in the Persian Gulf conflict The Czech report stated that:
On the basis of the stated facts it is possible to pronounce the conclusion that the event cannot be linked in any way with the use of chemical weapons, that is, their application in combat actions and that harm to individuals of the Czechoslovak anti-chemical unit influenced by toxic combat substances could not have occurred".In addition, we are aware that the United States Department of Defence has reviewed carefully the reports of the Czech detections. The US Department of Defence has recently concluded that they were unable to validate the Czech reports and state that the Czechs themselves never were able to identify the source of their detections. The UK conclusion continues to be that chemical weapons were not used by Iraq during the Gulf conflict.
Dr. David Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussion he has had with his Czech counterpart concerning the use of chemical weapons during the Gulf war; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Soames

This matter is for the Chemical, and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, CBDE to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Graham Pearson to Dr. David Clark, dated 14 March 1995:

QUESTION 15, ORDER PAPER 9 MARCH 1995

  1. 1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what recent discussion he has had with his Czech counterpart concerning the use of chemical weapons during the Gulf 522 War; and if he will make a statement, has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them.
  3. 3. There have been bilateral discussions between representatives of the Ministry of Defence and representatives of the Czech Republic in late 1994. In discussions with the Chief of the Czech Chemical Troops, it was said that it was improbable that a cloud could have blow from the Iraqi facilities to reach the Czech detectors and further that the trace amounts which had been detected by the Czech equipments could not have had any effect on the health of Service personnel. There was therefore no evidence that Iraq had used chemical weapons in the Gulf conflict.
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