General Pinochet

HC Deb 18 January 2000 vol 342 cc373-4W

Mr. Winnick

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he took the decision to ask for a medical report on General Pinochet. [105712]

Mr. Straw

I took the decision on 4 November 1999.

Mr. Winnick

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will supply the Spanish judicial authorities with a copy of the medical report carried out on General Pinochet. [105718]

Mr. Straw

Senator Pinochet consented to the medical examination on the express basis that none of its contents were disclosed to anyone other than his legal representatives, to me and my advisers, and to the Law Officers and Director of Public Prosecutions. Senator Pinochet has been asked to agree to Spain and the other countries with an outstanding extradition request being provided with a copy of the medical report. He has declined to do so.

Mr. Winnick

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received requesting him to make public the medical report on General Pinochet; and if he will make a statement. [105711]

Mr. Straw

I have received a number of representations asking me to make public the medical report on Senator Pinochet. I will make a full statement on the case when it is finally concluded.

Mr. Winnick

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the Chilean authorities requested a medical report on General Pinochet; to whom the request was made; and if he will make a statement. [105714]

Mr. Straw

On 14 October 1999, representations were submitted by the Chilean Embassy to me, through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, attaching recent medical reports on Senator Pinochet. They suggested that there had been a recent and significant deterioration in his medical condition.

I have a clear legal duty to operate the Extradition Act 1989 properly. In the light of the information from the Chilean Embassy, that duty included informing myself of the true facts about Senator Pinochet's health. I therefore asked him to undergo a thorough and extensive medical examination, to be undertaken by an independent team of clinicians.