Iraq (Hansard, 9 July 2003)

§ Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction produced in March 2002 was not published at that time. [122503]

§ Mr. Rammell
There was work going on in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on a document which covered four countries and WMD in consultation with other Government Departments and the JIC. A large part of that was on Iraq and could have been published separately. However, once it was decided that the intelligence material on Iraq should be referred to more explicitly the process was taken over by the JIC Chairman and the JIC and a new draft was produced.

§ Mr. Allen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the(a) membership, (b) previous positions held by members, (c) terms of employment, (d) responsibilities, (e) line management and (f) funding of (i) the Coalition Information Centre and (ii) the Iraq Communications Committee; and what access each is given to intelligence and security information. [122685]

§ Mr. Rammell
The Coalition Information Centre (CIC) was based in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and it was under the direction of the Prime Minister's Director of Communications. It was staffed by officials from a wide range of Whitehall Departments and, when appropriate, secondees from other Governments. Most of those involved had previously worked in the field of Government Communications and Information. They remained on the normal employment terms of their home Departments. Their responsibility within the CIC was to contribute to the co-ordination and dissemination of cross-Government information and communications.
When delivering their day-to-day objectives within the CIC, staff were managed by a senior FCO official, but their personnel management remained with their home Departments. The funding of the CIC for 817W infrastructure (IT etc.) was covered by the FCO. Home Departments covered staffing costs. Those members of the CIC who were authorised to have access to intelligence and security information did so through the appropriate channels.
The Iraq Communications Group is comprised of senior officials from Downing Street and other Whitehall Departments.

§ Ann Clwyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement of 28 April 2003,Official Report, column 31, on Iraq, when he will make a written statement on the disruption of the INDICT conference in Paris in 2000. [123984]

§ Mr. Rammell
[holding answer 7 July 2003]: We are still looking into this issue, which relates to newspaper reports concerning documents obtained in Iraq. We are seeking to establish whether the claims made about the content and importance of a number of such documents have any foundation. It will take some time for the documents to be examined and there is no guarantee that it will be possible to publish the findings. If it transpires that the Government can make public any new insights, we will do so.

§ Mrs. Browning
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which states have offered to become engaged in the stabilisation of Iraq following Resolution 1483, passed by the UN Security Council on 22 May; and what role each state will play, together with the commencement date. [124351]

§ Mr. Rammell
[holding answer 8 July 2003]: At least 17 states are expected to contribute military forces and personnel to work alongside UK and US troops in the multi-national stabilisation force in Iraq. These states are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Thailand, and Ukraine. New Zealand will provide engineers for humanitarian and reconstruction tasks. Other nations are also expected to contribute. The multi-national force will be responsible for internal and external security in Iraq, until new Iraqi forces are capable of taking on these roles. Some forces have already deployed and we expect all to deploy over the next few months.