HL Deb 18 September 2003 vol 652 cc195-6WA
Lord Redesdale

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether components of British manufacture from the two vehicles suspected of being involved in the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq could have had dual use capability. [HL4335]

Lord Bach

From our analysis to date there is no evidence that components assessed to be of United Kingdom manufacture are of a specification that would warrant assessment as a dual use item for export licensing. Our investigations into the vehicles continue.

Lord Redesdale

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 8 September (HL4186), which foreign government passed on information about the two vehicles suspected of being involved in the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that caused the Government to withhold details under exemption 1c of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. [HL4337]

Lord Bach

The information was received in confidence from the government of the United States.

Lord Redesdale

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any of the components of British manufacture from the two vehicles suspected of the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were bought using Export Credits Guarantee Department credits; and whether such credits were repaid by the Iraqi Government. [HL4336]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)

The coalition has not yet made a definitive identification of the vehicles and the components in question. As a result, it is not at present possible to determine whether any ECGD cover was involved. However, we currently assess that the vehicles were built in Iraq using Iraqi components and standard industrial components that had been obtained from several different countries, including the United Kingdom. The components of British origin would not have been restricted under the same sanctions regime.