HC Deb 23 February 1999 vol 326 cc258-60W
Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the changes to(a) communication procedures and (b) intelligence procedures made in response to the Legg report. [71838]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

We have acted on Sir Thomas Legg's recommendations. Guidance has been issued on communications with Ministers when overseas: these include ensuring that papers needing immediate attention are sent to Ministers when they are travelling and that time is built into Ministers' schedules abroad to deal with urgent papers from the UK. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that if more than one Minister needs to be aware of a paper it is specifically drawn to each Minister's attention. News Departments have clear guidelines to avoid using press lines that are misleading or incomplete. Procedures are also in place to ensure that reports received out of hours from the Ministry of Defence are correctly received, logged and distributed.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Liberia about the breaching of the UN arms embargo on Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement. [71817]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

We have on several occasions expressed our deep concern to the Liberian Government that shipments of arms have been made to Sierra Leone in breach of the UN Arms Embargo. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised this matter with the Liberian Foreign Minister on 4 February, and has sent strong personal messages to President Taylor demanding that he withdrew support for the rebel forces.

It is of vital importance for peace and security in the region that the arms embargoes on both Sierra Leone and Liberia are fully implemented. We will continue to support regional organisations in their efforts to address threats to stability in the region.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what disciplinary action he is taking against his Department's employees who have been criticised in the recent Foreign Affairs Committee report on Sierra Leone (HC 116 of Session 1998–99). [71830]

Mr. Fatchett

I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in the House on 27 July 1999,Official Report, columns 19—34.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will respond to the Foreign Affairs Committee report on Sierra Leone (HC 116 of Session 1998–99). [71818]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Shortly.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statements, relating to matters contained in the Foreign Affairs Committee report on Sierra Leone and his response to that report, were released by representatives of his Department to the media prior to the publication of the report; and if he will place in the Library copies of these statements. [71836]

Mr. Robin Cook

My office received in the second week of January a copy of a draft of the report. Shortly before the publication of the report, and at around the same time as leaks critical of FCO officials appeared inThe Independent, Financial Times and The Times (on 5 and 6 February), we were also made aware of certain key conclusions of the report.

Neither I nor any FCO Minister, official or special adviser took any action to publish or disclose any part of any version of the report; or to interfere with the Committee's deliberations or the report's preparation. In advance of the publication of the report on 9 February, we made no comment to the media about the report, except in response to leaks by others to the press.

Copies of the report—embargoed until publication at 10.00—were released to officials from the Parliamentary Relations Department of the FCO at 0800 on 9 February. I was immediately sent a copy. An FCO spokesman subsequently briefed the press orally, under the same embargo, on my initial response to the report. After publication of the report, the FCO News Department released copies to the press of a minute from me to the Permanent Under-Secretary. A copy of that minute has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will publish the texts of the press briefings he or his Department gave on 8 February and before 8 am on 9 February relating to the Foreign Affairs Committee report on Sierra Leone; [72601]

(2) if (a) he, (b) other departmental Ministers or (c) his officials have ever had access to (i) a draft report, (ii) a list of tabled amendments or (iii) other unpublished committee documents relating to the Foreign Affairs Committee report on Sierra Leone; [72604]

(3) on what date and at what time (a) he, (b) other departmental Ministers and (c) his officials first had access to the Foreign Affairs Committee report on Sierra Leone. [72602]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave today to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan).

Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) on what date and at what time he, a ministerial colleague, a special adviser or departmental official were first shown a copy of the Foreign Affairs Committee's report on Sierra Leone; [72277]

(2) if he, a ministerial colleague, special adviser or departmental official were shown (i) a draft of or (ii) amendments to the Foreign Affairs Committee's report on Sierra Leone; [72275]

(3) what information from the Foreign Affairs Committee's (a) report and (b) draft report on Sierra Leone was given to (i) him, (ii) a ministerial colleague, (iii) a special adviser or (iv) a departmental official before 8 am on Tuesday 9 February. [72276]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

[holding answer 22 February 1999]I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave today to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan).

Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes within his Department(a) were made following the publication of the Legg Report and (b) he proposes to make following the publication of the second report 1998–99 of the Foreign Affairs Committee (HC 116). [71877]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

We have acted on the recommendations in the Legg Report. This action includes new procedures to improve communications inside the FCO; new guidelines for contracts with private military companies; new arrangements for the handling of intelligence; and a set of measures targeted at the rigorous enforcement of sanctions. A wider programme of modernisation involving sixty separate initiatives has also been launched.

We are considering our response to the recommendations of the Foreign Affairs Committee contained in their Second Report HC 116. The Government will be submitting their formal response to Parliament.

Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to establish why the error in the minute of a Meeting held on 3 December 1997 was never reported to Sir Thomas Legg. [71878]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The error referred to, the abbreviation in one sentence of the minutes of what was said at the 3 December 1997 meeting, was drawn to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in December 1998. Sir Thomas Legg was informed that month. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary drew the Foreign Affairs Committee's attention to this abbreviation in his evidence to the Committee on 16 December 1998.

Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of those officials in his Department named in the Second Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Session 1998–99 (HC 116) have been promoted since 1 January 1998. [71879]

Mr. Fatchett

Of the eleven officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office named in the Report, five have been promoted since 1 January 1998.