HC Deb 09 February 1999 vol 325 cc211-2W
Mrs. Browning

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 26 January 1999,Official Report, column 212, for what reasons his Department received the Interfax report on the hostages in Chechnya over 24 hours after it was issued. [70239]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

This media report from Chechnya was accessed in the FCO at about 0900 GMT on 7 December, when the relevant FCO officials started work.

Mrs. Browning

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, (1) pursuant to his answer of 21 January 1999,Official Report, column 536, what action was taken by the Moscow Embassy on receipt of the Interfax report on the hostages in Chechnya; [70240]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 26 January 1999, Official Report, column 212, what action was taken by his Department on receipt of the Interfax report on the hostages in Chechnya.[170241]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

This Interfax report was inaccurate in several important respects, as current investigations into the murders of the hostages in Chechnya confirm. Our information at the time of the report supported this assessment. We had seen nothing then, or since, to indicate that the hostages had ever been held outside Chechnya. H.M. Embassy had been in recent close contact with the Russian authorities, who had undertaken to inform us if they obtained any detailed information on the location of the hostages. It was clear then, as now, that no Russian rescue operation was planned. The media report followed a long series of similarly unreliable reports from Chechnya seen by the FCO during the previous 18 months.

As is usual in such cases, FCO officials circulated the report in Whitehall. A copy was also faxed to Granger Telecom.

Mrs. Browning

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 January 1999,Official Report, column 536, for what reason the Moscow Embassy received the Interfax report on the hostages in Chechnya 24 hours after it was issued. [70238]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The Interfax media report was issued at 12:56 GMT on Sunday 6 December. The Embassy received the report as soon as it was open, at about 06:00 GMT on Monday 7 December.