HC Deb 28 April 1998 vol 311 cc68-9W
Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his letter of 24 March 1998 (C97/44817/l5777), if he will make a statement on discussions at the Stockholm UNESCO Conference about the purloining of Iraqi antiquities. [39307]

Mr. Fisher

I can report that at the recent UNESCO conference in Stockholm an official from my Department sought the views of officials from UNESCO concerning the illegal excavation and looting of antiquities in Iraq. UNESCO has received representations on this subject from a group of independent scholars, archaeologists and art historians and has distributed lists of known looted Iraqi antiquities to all major auction houses around the world. However, there is currently no more UNESCO can do.