§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the extent to which Iraq is rebuilding its arms industry. [13309]
§ Mr. SoamesIraq is prohibited from developing or producing weapons of mass destruction and missiles with a range greater than 150 km; the United Nations Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency are charged with ensuring Iraqi compliance. Beyond this, the arms industry is not subject to specific controls and we assess that Iraq is engaged in reconstruction efforts to the extent that its own resources and UN sanctions allow. It is not appropriate for reasons of national security and defence to give more precise assessments of the arms industries of foreign countries and any such information on Iraq would therefore be withheld under exemption 1 of the code of practice on access to government information.