§ 14. Richard OttawayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Iraq survey group. [157426]
§ 15. Mr. MacShaneThe Iraq Survey Group is continuing to undertake investigations at sites throughout Iraq in its search for evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes. The Group is also engaged on translation of the huge volume of documents that it has collected, and is interviewing scientists and others who were previously employed on Iraq's weapons programmes.
They will produce a further progress report in due course.
§ 16. Mr. KilfoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to establish who was responsible for forging documents relating to attempts by Iraq to obtain uranium from Niger. [157428]
826W
§ Mr. MacShaneWe have repeatedly made clear that our assessment that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa was not based upon the documents submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency which subsequently were identified as forgeries. Since these documents did not have any bearing on our assessment, the Government has taken no steps to identify the forgers.
§ 21. Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office what recent discussions he has had with the UN about its future involvement in Iraq. [157433]
§ Mr. RammellWe are in regular discussion with representatives of the United Nations, at ministerial and official level, concerning its involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq. We warmly welcome the Secretary-General's recent report on the future political process in Iraq and its proposals on UN involvement.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the senior members of the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein detained by the Coalition Provisional Authority; how many are being held in Iraq; how many are being held outside Iraq; and at what locations. [145181]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 5 January 2004]I have been asked to reply.
The status of the 55 "most wanted" members of the former Iraqi regime may be found on the website of the US Central Military Command. The relevant website address is: www.centcom.mil/operations/Iraqi–freedom/55mostwanted.htm.
All those in Coalition custody are currently held in Iraq at undisclosed locations.
§ Mr. BestTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by whom, and under what authority, the leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime will be brought to trial. [157020]
§ Mr. RammellIt is for the Iraqis to decide how to try senior members of the former regime. In December 2003, the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) established a Special Tribunal to fulfil such a task. The IGC are in the process of agreeing the rules and procedures of the Tribunal.