§ Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Prime Minister if information communicated by the United Nations special commission to the International Atomic Energy Agency by Her Majesty's Government on British companies which supplied materials relevant to Iraqi programmes to acquire weapons of mass destruction, was communicated to the Scott inquiry in its entirety. [17321]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answers 26 February 1996]: Yes, insofar as it related to the period covered by the inquiry's terms of reference.
§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Prime Minister what representations he received from Ministers at the time he established the Scott inquiry in respect of(a) the remit and (b) the format of the inquiry. [17701]
§ The Prime MinisterMy discussions with Ministers are private.
§ Mr. SmithTo ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the Iraq note referred to on page 439 of the Scott report; [17702]
(2) if he will now place in the Library a copy of the information note prepared by his private secretary on 3 December 1990. [17786]
§ The Prime MinisterThis document was submitted as evidence to Sir Richard Scott's inquiry. I understand that Sir Richard Scott proposes to publish as soon as possible any documents which he considers relevant to his report, consistent with his procedures.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Prime Minister what response he plans to make to the representations made by the secretary of the Scott inquiry concerning the nature of statements by various Ministers following the press conference held by Sir Richard Scott on 15 February. [17777]
§ The Prime MinisterA reply has been sent to the secretary of the inquiry's letter on this matter. As the inquiry's letter has been widely quoted and reproduced in the media, this reply was made public.
The inquiry wrote again subsequently making it clear that Sir Richard's view applied to any summary of his report, whether by Government, Opposition or the media.
§ Mr. Kirk woodTo ask the Prime Minister if he will place copies of ministerial and departmental responses to the first draft of Sir Richard Scott's report of the inquiry into the sale of arms to Iraq in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [17819]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 27 February 1996]: Departments' closing statements to the Scott inquiry have already been published in part B of volume V of the Scott inquiry report. I understand that Sir Richard Scott proposes to publish as soon as possible documents that he considers relevant to his report, consistent with 547W his procedures. However, paragraph B3.ll of the report records that, in the interests of fairness, Sir Richard does not propose to publish comments submitted by witnesses on the draft report.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list all the people who received copies of the Scott report in advance of the official publication date; and if he will make a statement. [17818]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 17 February 1996]: The following Ministers received advance copies of Sir Richard Scott's report: the Prime Minister; the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary; the President of the Board of Trade; the Chief Secretary to the Treasury; the Secretary of State for Defence and the Attorney-General.
In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry, the Paymaster General and the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service, had access to the report prior to publication, in accordance with the terms laid down by the Scott inquiry.
A small number of civil servants in the main Departments concerned also received advance copies.