HC Deb 20 March 2001 vol 365 cc106-7W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence further to his answer of 23 January 2001,Official Report, column 536W, on depleted uranium (a) when he expects to send his letter and (b) what are the reasons for the delay. [152820]

Mr. Spellar

I have replied today to my hon. Friend. The delay in replying was caused by the need to obtain information from sources outside the Ministry of Defence.

Sir Brian Mawhinney

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will give a substantive reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire on behalf of his constituent Mr. Coakes, following preliminary responses on 22 November 2000 and 6 January 2001. [154724]

Mr. Hoon

In my letters, I explained that research into the issues raised was continuing. This has involved research into records dating back 10 years and contacting key personnel in the unit to which Mr. Coakes was attached. Our inquiries are now complete and I hope to write to the right hon. Member within the next week.