§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response Her Majesty's Government gave to the letter of the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs of 27 October 1998 asking for clarification of his comments made on 23 October, to the effect that Her Majesty's Government had independent evidence that the Al Shifa factory in Khartoum was making chemical or biological weapons before the United States air strike. [68860]
§ Mr. George Robertson[holding answer 2 February 1999]: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have discussed with Sudanese counterparts the points raised in Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail's letter on a number of occasions. As we have said on several occasions, the United States told us at the time of its action last August that it had based its decision to act on compelling evidence.