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Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington): Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?
Mr. Howard: Not at the moment. As we know, even the Foreign Secretary was unable to continue with that fiction indefinitely. In the end, on 16 December, the Foreign Secretary gave up. He finally recognised and admitted the truth. The language used in telegram 277, which sought to explain to posts in west Africa, the ambit of the Security Council resolution was, he said, "plainly wrong". He had at last realised that he could no longer carry on the farce of pretending that the language used by his Department was correct but incomplete. It was not: it was plainly wrong. The language used in that telegram describing the ban as a ban on the supply of arms to the junta was the same as the language used in the Foreign Office daily bulletins, in the Commonwealth Heads of Government communique and in the Minister of State's answer in the House. If the telegram was plainly wrong, then so were they.
What does the Minister of State intend to do about his answer to the House on 12 March: the answer that the Foreign Secretary has told us was plainly wrong? We look forward to hearing what the Minister of State has to say about that when he winds up the debate. What of the Foreign Secretary? Did he not see the telegram that was plainly wrong, or the FCO daily bulletins? Was he unaware of the Minister's answer to the House on 12 March? Was he not consulted on the communique issued at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference? We know of his well-publicised aversion to finishing his paperwork. If he failed to see any of the documents itemised by the Select Committee, that, in itself, speaks volumes about the way in which he discharges his responsibilities. I call on him to answer each of the specific questions which I have put. The truth of the matter is that, in the words of the Legg report, Ministers deliberately "played down" the scope and effect of the embargo that they had imposed. They deliberately misrepresented the terms of the Order in Council, which created criminal offences that could have led to someone being sent to prison for seven years. They stated their policy in a way in which, in the words of the Select Committee's report, misled
"Parliament, the public and even the FCO's own staff."
2 Mar 1999 : Column 894
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It is difficult to imagine a more serious charge. This is the Government who the Prime Minister said must be purer than pure. This is the Foreign Secretary who purported to introduce an ethical foreign policy. This is also the Foreign Secretary who said:
"Tonight Parliament has the opportunity to insist that Ministers must accept responsibility for their conduct in office and to assert that the health of our democracy depends on the honesty of Government to Parliament."--[Official Report, 26 February 1996; Vol. 272, c. 617.]
4.27 pm
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook): I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:
- 'welcomes the decision of the Foreign Affairs Committee in its Second Report of Session 1998-99 (HC 116) on Sierra Leone to commend the resolute support which the British Government is giving to the restoration of democracy in Sierra Leone and endorses the conclusion of the Legg Inquiry that no Minister had given encouragement or approval to any breach of the arms embargo on Sierra Leone; notes that the inquiry on Sierra Leone of the Foreign Affairs Committee has found no evidence of Ministerial encouragement or approval; and congratulates Her Majesty's Government on accepting all the recommendations of the Report of the Legg Inquiry and on the steps it has since taken to modernise management in the FCO.'.
Last night, a special report at the top of the BBC news exposed the evil that the rebels in Sierra Leone represent. In their brief occupation of Freetown in January, the rebel forces vividly lived up to their reputation for brutality and butchery. They murdered politicians, humanitarian staff, religious workers, journalists and lawyers. They carried out repeated acts of arson, even when they knew that the consequence would be to burn alive elderly and disabled men and women.
From the first day of the rebel forces' entry into Freetown, local hospitals admitted a growing stream of civilians with arms amputated, including children as young as six. A large number of children who were abducted by the rebel forces are still missing. In at least one case, their father was forced to watch his female children raped before they were taken away.
What should concern the House most of all is how we can prevent such evil from gaining power by force of arms in Sierra Leone.
Mr. Nigel Jones (Cheltenham):
The Foreign Secretary will know that the violence has spread outside the capital, Freetown. My constituency has a link with the town of Kambia, which is north-east of the capital. I am a patron of the Kambia hospital appeal, which seeks to support doctors and nurses providing health care in the area.
At the weekend, I received unconfirmed reports that the hospital had been hit by the rebels, looted and perhaps set on fire. Has the Foreign Secretary heard any further news about what is going on in the region, and can he assure us that our Government will provide whatever assistance is necessary to get the hospital up and running again?
Mr. Cook:
I can confirm that the hospital has been looted, and has been badly damaged by arson. I can also confirm that the Department for International Development will be ready to try to make good some of the damage. First, however, we must regain the territory in which the hospital is situated. We must work with ECOMOG to push the rebels further back in the country.
The right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe said that our influence in the country was limited. That is true; nevertheless, the fact is that no nation on the globe outside the region has done more than we have to prevent the rebel forces from gaining power, or more to support the legitimate Government of Sierra Leone. As my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Gapes) pointed out, the Foreign Affairs Committee itself commends
First, we have provided a wealth of practical support for the ECOMOG forces who are doing the fighting. Since the start of this year alone, we have provided more than £1 million-worth of trucks and communication equipment. We have organised and paid for the airlift of the Ghanaian battalion to join the Nigerian forces in Sierra Leone. Even the maps used by the ECOMOG operation have been supplied by Britain. Partly as a result of that help, ECOMOG has been able successfully to clear the rebels from Freetown. The support that we gave helped to preserve the legitimate Government of Sierra Leone, and, more immediately, saved the lives of thousands who might otherwise have perished at the hands of the rebels.
Secondly, Britain is far the largest national donor of development aid to Sierra Leone. Since the restoration of President Kabbah a year ago, Britain has committed more than £20 million, which has been vital in supplying food, promoting security and providing medical aid to help the victims of the rebels' brutality. It has also helped in the longer-term task of recreating the basic institutions of government in Sierra Leone.
Thirdly, Britain has led international pressure on Liberia to end its support for the rebels. The real tragedy of Sierra Leone is that its people are among the poorest in the world, while their country is among the richest in diamonds. There are too many outside forces whose sole interest is in seizing and retaining control of the diamond fields.
The situation on the ground in Sierra Leone remains very worrying. The rebels retain control of much of the countryside, and have successfully launched counter- offensives on some provincial towns. The struggle for control of Sierra Leone is not over, and there is no guarantee that the forces of democracy and stability will prevail. We have therefore been reviewing what further support Britain can provide, and I am pleased to say that the Government have decided to commit up to an additional £10 million from the reserve to promote stability in Sierra Leone.
That substantial investment will have three objectives. The first objective is to help the ECOMOG forces to roll back the rebels. We shall use those resources to meet the most pressing needs of ECOMOG to transport its troops, communicate with them and feed them. The second objective is to encourage the rebels to lay down their arms, and to offer them a future in a civilian life. We shall use part of our funds to underwrite initiatives in demilitarisation, and to integrate the rebels into the civilian economy. The third objective is to create a professional and democratically accountable army for the Government. We shall fund a British military training team to supervise a programme for a professional army and for its civilian management.
We are asking our partners around the world to make similar contributions, and I am pleased to say that the Administrations of the United States, Canada and several of our European partners are already considering how they can follow our lead.
Britain's support is well known and well appreciated in the region. Last month, President Abubakar of Nigeria rang my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to thank him for Britain's invaluable support for ECOMOG. Last night, I spoke to President Kabbah by telephone to inform him of our new programme of support. He also recorded his gratitude to the UK for its continued support and assistance.
President Kabbah and the people of Sierra Leone would regard with disbelief the partisan speech of the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe. They know that the conduct of Ministers has provided them with more help than any other western country. In the past two months, throughout the crisis in Freetown and the many measures that we have taken in response to it, the right hon. and learned Gentleman and his team have shown no interest in the problems of the people of Sierra Leone; nor have they made a single proposal as to how to help their plight. They remain utterly obsessed with Sandline International.
"the resolute support which the British Government is giving to the restoration of democracy and the alleviation of suffering"
in Sierra Leone.
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