§ Llew SmithTo ask the Prime Minister if he will seek permission from the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee to allow publication of the source for the statement at page 6 of the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, published in September 2002, that Iraq has sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa; and whether Her Majesty's Government provided the source material to the International Atomic Energy Agency. [123047]
§ The Prime MinisterIt is not our practice to publish the source of intelligence reports. We asked the originators of our intelligence information to discuss the issue with the IAEA.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had on the use of oil revenues to fund reconstruction in Iraq in the manner outlined to the United Nations on 10 May. [125235]
§ The Prime MinisterUN Security Council resolution 1483, which the UK co-sponsored, stipulates that Iraqi oil revenues must be used for purposes benefiting the people of Iraq, including economic reconstruction. I have always made it clear in relevant discussions that Iraqi oil is owned by the Iraqi people and its revenues should be used for the good of the people, consistent with UN Security Council resolutions.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had regarding(a) extra funding and (b) international assistance for the Iraqi police force. [125248]
§ The Prime MinisterGovernment officials have discussed with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) how best the UK can contribute to the CPA's work to rebuild the Iraqi police service. The UK considers the restoration of the rule of law in Iraq to be a priority and will stay closely engaged with the CPA on issues of funding and assistance. In particular, the UK has deployed a senior police officer to Baghdad to assist with advising and training the new Iraq police service. In addition to this a further senior officer will deploy to Basra on 15 July to advise CPA (South). The CPA intends to hold a police contributor's conference shortly to garner support for a substantial international policing contribution and the UK is actively considering making a further commitment as part of this process.
§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on Iraq's attempts to purchase uranium from Niger. [125650]
§ The Prime MinisterThe September dossier stated that
there is intelligence that Iraq has sought the supply of significant quantities of uranium from Africa".This assessment drew on intelligence from more than one source. The IAEA has confirmed that Iraq did acquire uranium from Niger in the early 1980s.
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§ Glenda JacksonTo ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on(a) the reasons for defining the defection of Iraqi Lieutenant General Hussein Kamal as important in the Government's dossier, Weapons of Mass Destruction, of 24 September 2002 and (b) the value of the General's testimony to UN weapons inspectors that all proscribed weapons had been destroyed on his orders. [125936]
§ The Prime MinisterLieutenant General Hussein Kamal defected in 1995. As the dossier makes clear, following his defection Iraq released over 2 million documents relating to its weapons of mass destruction programmes and acknowledged that it had pursued a biological programme that led to the deployment of actual weapons.
In his testimony to UN weapons inspectors, Kamal claimed that he had ordered the destruction of all biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and missiles. We know that Iraq did not do this and continued to be in breach of UN Security Council resolutions. Intelligence obtained by the British Government, reflected in the September dossier, has reported on the possession and production of chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles by Iraq. Equipment related to Iraq's nuclear programme dating back to 1991 has recently been recovered from the garden of a scientist in Iraq.
§ Glenda JacksonTo ask the Prime Minister what the deterioration rates are of the(a) VX nerve agent, (b) Sarin and (c) botulinum toxin which he declared had been unaccounted for when UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998, during his statement to the House of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 76W. [125937]
§ The Prime MinisterThe stability of the materials quoted depends very much on the initial purity and the precise storage conditions. Their usable lifetime as chemical or biological warfare agents, can range from a few months to tens of years. Even partially degraded material may still pose a significant hazard.
§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his evidence to the Liaison Committee, 8 July, Question 186, (1) on what basis he calculated that(a) it was not true that 90 per cent. of the second dossier came from plagiarised material and (b) two of the three parts of the dossier were based on intelligence; [125968]
(2) what proportions of the second Iraqi dossier were based upon the work of (a) Ibrahim al-Marishi in the Middle East Review of International Affairs of September 2002, (b) Sean Boyne in Jane's Intelligence Review of 1997, (c) Ken Gause in Jane's Intelligence Review of 2002, (d) Anthony Corderman in Key Targets on Iraq of February 1998 and (e) UK intelligence services. [125955]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the House on 10 February 2003,Official Report, column 583W.
The published memorandum from the Foreign Secretary and my Director of Communications and Strategy made clear that sections one and three were based on intelligence material and highlighted the relevant parts in section two that were based on intelligence material. The intelligence material was 174W authorised by the relevant intelligence agency for use in the public in domain, in accordance with the procedures in place at the time.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Prime Minister when he was first informed that the reports relating to attempts by the Iraqi regime to obtain nuclear related materials from Niger were(a) of dubious basis and (b) possibly based on forgeries; and what recent discussions he has had with the US administration on the reports. [126037]
§ The Prime MinisterIn February 2003, the IAEA received a number of documents related to Iraqi attempts to obtain uranium. On 7 March 2003, Dr. el-Baradei announced that the IAEA had concluded that these documents were not authentic.
I speak to President Bush regularly on many matters. It would not be appropriate to disclose the contents of those discussions.