HC Deb 27 June 2000 vol 352 c443W
Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made in connection with the UK's policy on sanctions against Iraq of the threat to(a) the UK and (b) the United States from Iraqi use of chemical weapons; and what assessment he has made of the evidence submitted by Richard Butler to the UK Government on this subject. [125375]

Mr. Hain

[holding answer 20 June 2000]: UK policy on sanctions against Iraq is governed by the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), not by our assessment of the threat. Richard Butler, the former Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) has submitted no evidence to the UK Government on the subject of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. During his time with UNSCOM, he reported to the United Nations Security Council that numerous serious gaps remained in Iraq's declarations on its chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile programmes. We share his concern over this, hence the importance we attach to re-establishing weapons inspection regime in Iraq under UNSCR 1284.

The UK's assessment of the threat posed by Iraq's chemical weapons capabilities can be found in the MOD document "Defending Against the Threat from Biological and Chemical Weapons", published in July 1999.