§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Prime Minister on what date he was first informed that Operation Horseshoe might be implemented in 1999; and by whom he was so informed. [108655]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 10 February 2000]: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs told the Foreign 852W Affairs Committee on 14 April 1999, we were aware that a spring offensive against the KLA had been planned before the start of the NATO airstrikes, and we knew from previous experience that it was likely to be accompanied by ethnic cleansing. Throughout the crisis, we received information from a variety of sources, some of them sensitive. Details of a plan called Operation Horseshoe were made public in a statement by the German Defence Minister on 9 April 1999.