HC Deb 12 January 2004 vol 416 cc562-3W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to assist the Iraqi Governing Council in organising free and fair elections; and if he will make statement. [146512]

The Prime Minister

On 15 November, the Iraqi Governing Council announced plans for establishing a transitional national assembly formed through caucus elections at provincial level.

The assembly will be elected no later than 31 May 2004, leading to the creation of a new transitional administration by the end of June 2004. This will be followed by elections for a constitutional convention, leading in turn to national elections for a new representative Iraqi Government by the end of 2005

We will assist the Iraqis during this process in any way we can.

Glenda Jackson

To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the library the Iraq Survey Group report and its annexes listing the massive network of laboratories and factories engaged in the production of weapons of mass destruction referred to in his Christmas broadcast to British forces in Iraq on 16 December 2003. [146580]

The Prime Minister

The leader of the Iraq Survey Group, Dr. David Kay, presented an unclassified summary report to the US authorities on 2 October 2003. copies of which were placed in the libraries of both Houses. This summary report contains numerous references to a clandestine network of laboratories in Iraq.

The full report, which was shared in confidence with other principal coalition partners, contains detailed and operationally sensitive information and is highly classified. It has been the practice of successive Governments not to give information on intelligence and security matters, under exemption 1 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Richard Ottaway

To ask the Prime Minister on what date after 9 September 2002 he was informed that the weapons of mass destruction referred to in the September 2002 dossier which could be deployed in 45 minutes were battlefield mortar shells or small calibre weaponry. [147190]

The Prime Minister

I have nothing to add to the reply gave to my hon. Friends, the Members for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) and for Nottingham, South (Mr. Simpson) on 27 October 2003,Official Report, column 50W.

Llew Smith

To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent, of 28 October 2003, if he will list(a) the titles of each of the UK-owned documents in respect of Iraqi procurement of uranium from Niger to which he refers and (b) the dates on which each document respectively was provided to (i) the International Atomic Energy Agency and (ii) the UN Special Commission on Iraq; and how the Government sought to ensure that the owners of other intelligence of which it had been informed about the Niger uranium procurement by Iraq made the IAEA aware of its contents. [147621]

The Prime Minister

As my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Rammell), said in his answer on 1 September 2003,Official Report, column 805W and I reiterated in my letter of 28 October, the UK did not provide any documentation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or UNMOVIC on Iraqi attempts to procure uranium from Africa.

On the issue of how the Government sought to ensure that the owners of other intelligence about Niger uranium procurement by Iraq made the IAEA aware of this, I refer my hon. Friend to the answers the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. MacShane) and the Under-secretary of State (Mr. Rammell) gave my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 579W and 1 September 2003, Official Report, column 805W.

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