§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Her Majesty's Government have evidence that Iraq is in breach of United Nations resolutions on the(a) procurement, (b) possession and (c) manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. [19885]
§ Mr. BradshawI have been asked to reply.
In their final report following withdrawal from Iraq in December 1998, UNSCOM noted that Iraq still retained a significant WMD capability. There have been no independent inspections since then. We assess that Iraq still has that capability. There is considerable circumstantial evidence that Iraq is engaged in a programme of rebuilding manufacturing facilities disabled by UNSCOM and those destroyed during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998.
In line with exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, I cannot provide any fuller details of our knowledge of Iraq's current activities.