§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the United Kingdom representatives on the NATO Council approved the use of depleted uranium weapons against targets in Yugoslavia; what tonnage of depleted uranium was approved by the NATO Council; whether a record has been kept of where it was used that will allow later examination and clear-up; and whether it is supposed that the areas in question will be unsuitable for growing food until they have been cleared up. [HL2947]
§ Lord BurlisonThe North Atlantic Council does not discuss the deployment of specific munitions by individual member states. Depleted uranium based ammunition has not been used by UK forces in Yugoslavia but Ministers have approved the deployment of depleted uranium tank ammunition to ensure that British troops have the most effective means of self protection, should it be required. The United States was the only member state to have confirmed that it used depleted uranium based munitions during the Kosovo air campaign. We are not in a position to comment either on the amount used or the records kept. The results of environmental monitoring around ranges where DU munitions have been tested do not show that decontamination would need to be carried out before crops can be grown.