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Saudi Arabia
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent terrorist attacks on British nationals in Saudi Arabia. [143776]
Mr. Hain: There have been three car bombs in Saudi Arabia. One in Al-Khobar on 15 December, one in Riyadh on 17 November, and another in Riyadh on 22 November. These have resulted in the death of a British Citizen and the injury of four others. No group has claimed responsibility for these incidents and the motive for them is unclear.
The Saudi authorities have arrested a US citizen in connection with the two Riyadh car bombs, but have not ruled out other possible lines of investigation.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Saudi Arabian authorities regarding the terrorist attacks on British nationals there. [143777]
Mr. Hain: A British police team is in Saudi Arabia to liaise with the Saudi authorities over the latest incident. A week ago, the same team liaised with the Saudi authorities, in charge of the investigations into the first two bombings. They continue to receive full co-operation.
We are in close touch with the Saudi Government over the incidents. Our Ambassador is in regular contact with the Acting Minister of the Interior.
Kidnappings (Africa)
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those (a) British citizens and (b) British citizens with dual nationality who have been kidnapped in Africa from 1 January 1999 to date, indicating the (i) date of the kidnap, (ii) identity or suspected identity, of the kidnappers and (iii) outcome of the kidnaps. [143778]
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Mr. Battle: Not all kidnappings of British national are reported. However, to our knowledge, the following kidnappings have taken place in Africa since 1 January 1999:
In January 1999, two British nationals were taken hostage by an Ijaw group. They were later released.
On 9 February 1999, Jim Simpson, a British national, was abducted by local youths in Warri, Nigeria, along with an Italian and a Nigerian. He was released unharmed on 17 February.
On 14 February 1999, Martin Westbury and his young son Benjamin, both British nationals, were abducted by armed youths in Warri, Nigeria. They were released unharmed on 15 February.
On 1 March 1999, Joanne Cotton, Steve Roberts, Mark Lindgren, Martin Friend, Gary Tappenden (all British nationals) and Mark Avis (joint New Zealand/British national) were abducted by Rwandan Interahamwe rebels in Bwindi National Park, western Uganda, along with a number of other Western tourists. Gary Tappenden and Mark Avis found their way to safety; the other four were murdered by their abductors, along with four US and New Zealand tourists.
On 3 March 1999, Ian Lane (British national) was abducted by armed men in Warri, Nigeria. He was later released.
On 8 June 1999, three British nationals were taken hostage by local youths in Nigeria. All were released.
On 20 June 1999, a British national was taken hostage near Port Harcourt in Nigeria, probably by an Ijaw group. He was released on 12 July.
On 3 August 1999, a British national was taken hostage by armed youths in Nigeria. He was released on 10 August.
On 4 August 1999, five British soldiers, who were part of a UN team were taken hostage by a group of former Sierra Leone Army rebels in Sierra Leone. They were released on 8-9 August.
On 7 August 1999, two British nationals were taken hostage by local youths. They were released on 11 August.
On 9 August 1999, two British nationals were taken hostage by local youths in Nigeria. They were released on 11 August.
On 11 August 1999, four British nationals were taken hostage in Liberia by an armed gang. They were released on 13 August.
On 30 September 1999, a British national was taken hostage in Nigeria. He was released on 3 November.
On 11 October 1999, British nationals were kidnapped from their compound in Port Harcourt by local tribesmen. They were all released the next day.
On 9 November 1999, a British national was taken hostage in Ondo State, Nigeria. He was released on 14 November.
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On 21 December 1999, a British national was abducted, in Nigeria, by an unknown group. He was subsequently released.
In April 2000, Major Andy Harrison was detained in an area of Sierra Leone controlled by the RUF. He was brought out by the UN on 14 July.
On 7 April 2000, oil company employees were taken hostage by local 'activists' in Nigeria. We believe there were some British nationals involved. The incident was resolved peacefully the same day.
In May 2000, Alan Smith, an aid worker, was taken hostage by RUF in Sierra Leone. He later escaped.
On 16 June 2000, a British national was taken hostage in Nigeria by local people. He was released the same day.
On 13 July 2000, a British national was briefly taken hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was released unharmed.
On 26 July 2000, Jonathan Ward, a British aid worker, was taken hostage by tribesmen in Somalia. He was released on 19 September.
Around 31 July 2000, five British nationals were taken hostage as part of a larger group on two oil rigs in Nigeria. The hostage takers were two local groups. All were released on 4 August.
In August 2000, five British nationals were taken hostage in the Delta Region of Nigeria. They were released on 5 August.
On 25 August 2000, a group of British Army personnel were taken hostage in Sierra Leone by the West Side Boys. They were all released in an operation carried out by UK military forces.
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On 26 October 2000, a British national was taken hostage by a local group in Nigeria. He was released the same day.
On 8 November 2000, a British national was taken hostage by local oil company employees in Nigeria. He was released.
On 5 December 2000, a British national was held hostage by Nigerian oil workers on a Nigerian oil platform. He was released unharmed on 6 December.
Article 100 TEC
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions on which Article 100(1) TEC has been used in the past (a) year, (b) five years and (c) 10 years. [143781]
Mr. Vaz: Article 100 TEC was introduced under the Maastricht Treaty as Article 103 (a). On 1 May 1999, when Amsterdam came into force, it became Article 100 TEC.
It was used three times in 1997:
- for Council Decision 1997/374/EC repealing a Decision on the exporting of crude oil and petroleum products from one member state to another in the event of supply difficulties.
- for Council Decision 1997/8/EC repealing a Directive concerning the restriction of the use of petroleum products in powers stations.
- for Council Decision 1997/7/EC repealing a Directive obliging the member states to maintain minimum stocks of fossil fuels at thermal power stations.
- for Council Directive 1998/93/EC amending a Directive imposing an obligation on member states of the EEC to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and petroleum products.
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