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The Prime Minister: What my hon. Friend says is right. As for his point on the Red Cross, that is already being done. I believe that his point about the civil administration in Kosovo is also right. Although we simply do not know whether the reports are true, they demand urgent investigation. My hon. Friend should know that the practice of some people, like him, of continually taking up this type of issue has had its own impact in this situation. He should be congratulatedon that.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex): I congratulate the Prime Minister on the resolution that he and the Government have shown in the past few difficult weeks. Will he answer a more detailed question on looting--which my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition asked him about? Yesterday, a patrol of Irish Guards had to stand by while there was extensive and wholly unacceptable looting of Serb houses by Kosovars. Will the right hon. Gentleman check with his colleagues and with General Mike Jackson that the rules of engagement for dealing with looting and other outrages against civil law are sufficiently robust for the very difficult situation that the soldiers are having to deal with?
The Prime Minister: That is absolutely right. Today, Mike Jackson has made it clear that he regrets that the incident occurred, and that the lessons to be learned from it are being considered; there were certain difficulties in dealing with it. Our forces, like other forces, have been dealing with much of the civil disorder in Kosovo; but I suspect that it will take some time to work itself through.
Currently, just under 20,000 members of NATO forces are in Kosovo, but the full force will be 45,000. It will probably take some very clear incidents involving NATO command to bring it home to people--whether they are Serbs or Albanians--that civil disorder will not be tolerated. Meanwhile, it remains a dangerous area for everyone, including our own forces.
Mr. Bowen Wells (Hertford and Stortford):
I congratulate the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for International Development on achieving progress on third world debt. That action is very welcome, and was recommended by the Select Committee on International Development. The Prime Minister said that he feels that we need to go further. Does he agree with the International Development Committee that where we have to go is to a point at which
The Prime Minister:
That is entirely right, and precisely why we wanted the debt relief programme to go forward. I should make two other points. First, we are trying to ensure that the aid we give is targeted on areas, such as education and health, that are very important for building those countries' long-term future.
The second issue--which was raised in the communique and which we discussed at the summit--is the need for better post-conflict resolution. One of the reasons why those areas, particularly in Africa, are suffering so badly is that, although servicing debt relief is one problem, servicing conflict is another.
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):
I too am a member of the International Development Committee. May I say how pleased I am that it is a Labour Government who have pushed the debt relief issue so hard among the G7? I am particularly proud of that because, although the issue has been talked about for a very long time, only now are we beginning to achieve real progress on it.
Will the Prime Minister use his influence among the world's financial institutions to address the issue of the rigidity of their structural adjustment programmes? Very often, the rigidity of those institutions' demands cause poor countries that are trying to service their debts to cut the very health, education and other programmes that we believe in so strongly.
I totally agree with my right hon. Friend about the Tories being negative in Europe. They have always stood out like a sore thumb in Europe. When I was elected in 1979, it was not a question of the Tories choosing a political group--none of the political groups in the European Parliament wanted the Tories, because they were thought to be too extreme and too right wing. I suspect that the same may be true now--nobody really wants them.
The Prime Minister:
Unfortunately, they are a lot worse now.
On debt relief, we have taken a big step forward. I know from conversations with debt relief campaigners that there are people who say that we have not gone far enough. I suppose that that can be true of virtually any political advance that is ever made. However, there has been a huge increase in debt write-off--people should understand that--although it will take some time.
The other proposal--which was very important--was that by the end of next year, 75 per cent. of countries should have met the criteria. One of the biggest hold-ups has been that we have given debt relief in principle, but we have not followed it through in terms of assessing those countries in practice.
Following the Government's comprehensive spending review--and for the first time in 20 years or more--the proportion of our national income that we are spending on help to the developing world is increasing.
Sir Peter Emery (East Devon):
Will the Prime Minister refer to one of the smaller, but massively
We have given no support to this in the past. It is not a role that the International Red Cross or UNHCR can carry out, and they both want International Social Service to undertake the work. Will the British Government support such activity?
The Prime Minister:
We will support such activity, and we thank the many people who are working on this problem, including the right hon. Gentleman's wife. In trying to help the children of refugees to be reunited with their families, a database has been set up and a lot ofwork is going on. The Department for International Development has been active in this, and I pay tribute to the Department and to its permanent secretary for their work during the Kosovo crisis. Everyone out there recognises that the contribution made by the Department has been magnificent. We have much still to do, and it will take a long time before we will be able to reunite those families. However, it is gradually beginning.
Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney):
My right hon. Friend referred to the particular difficulties facing Montenegro. Will reconstruction money apply to
The Prime Minister:
We will look for a way of ensuring that Montenegro receives assistance because of what it has done throughout the conflict. However, we must make sure that money does not find its way back to Milosevic. We should be able to do that, and I pay tribute to Montenegro.
In respect of landmines, there are real dangers to soldiers and to civilians. We are putting in all the expertise that we can. We are making a special grant available to assist in the process, but my hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the fact that the dangers persist.
Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle):
Would the Prime Minister explain in rather more technical detail why it has so suddenly become "daft" for Britain to seek early entry to the single European currency? I do not recall his using such dismissive phrases or conveying that impression in the past. What has changed?
Mr. Winnick:
Not a word on Kosovo.
The Prime Minister:
The hon. Gentleman has indeed moved off Kosovo, and that at least is a step forward.
I have always said that we do not want to join the euro straight away. We said that in our statement in October 1997 and again in February 1999, when I announced the changeover plan. There are two daft positions: to go in regardless and to rule it out regardless. We are not in either daft position, but I am afraid the hon. Gentleman is.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Jack Straw):
With permission, Madam Speaker, I will make a statement on the deplorable outbreak of public disorder and violence in the City of London last Friday, which I believe the whole House will want to condemn. I have today spoken with the Lord Mayor, Lord Levene, and the commissioner of the City of London police, Mr. Perry Nove, about the course of events.
The occasion for the disorder was a so-called day of action that had been planned by several disparate groups to coincide with the G8 summit in Cologne. The City of London police had been aware for some months that such a protest was planned. Information relating to the event had been widely available on the internet.
Organisers of demonstrations normally co-operate early and fully with the police to ensure that arrangements for a peaceful event are satisfactory to all concerned. In this instance, no co-operation was forthcoming: attempts by the police to discuss the arrangements were simply rebuffed. The City police none the less provided as much information as they could to those who live and work in the City about what was planned and what precautions residents and businesses could take.
During the morning of last Friday, the demonstrators were relatively small in number and generally peaceful, but around midday a much larger group, soon numbering several thousand, began to assemble in Liverpool street. After a couple of hours, the group split into four separate groups, one of which very suddenly attacked the police at London Wall. At that point, two members of the crowd were injured; the most serious injury was to a woman who sustained a broken leg.
The groups then converged on the building of the London International Financial Futures Exchange, in Cannon street. A concerted effort was made to storm the building, with demonstrators using scaffold poles and paving stones without any regard for human safety. As a result of police action, the demonstrators then moved away from the immediate vicinity of the building, but disorder continued over a wide area of the City and then in the Trafalgar square area of the Metropolitan police district.
A high-level police presence was maintained on the streets of the City and the west end during and immediately following the disorder. As a result of the day's disorder, 16 people were arrested, for offences including criminal damage with intent; aggravated burglary; and assaults on the police and on members of the public. Investigations are continuing. As is normal in such situations, the commissioner will make a report on the events to his police authority.
I want to place on record my appreciation--and, I am sure, that of the whole House--for the way in which the City of London police, supported by the Metropolitan police and the British Transport police, dealt with this wholly deplorable outbreak of violence, which was plainly premeditated. Sadly, eight injured police officers had to be taken to hospital. On behalf of the House, I wish to extend our sympathy and good wishes to the officers concerned.
4.26 pm
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