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Lebanon

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the British Government have made to the Government of Lebanon to ascertain the fate of three Israeli soldiers taken prisoner by Hezbollah on 7 October 2000, and to encourage the Lebanese Government to work for their release. [41400]

Mr. Straw: Her Majesty's Government has made a number of representations to Governments in the Middle East, including the Lebanese, about the fate of the soldiers and will continue to do so. We support all efforts to make progress, whether it be obtaining news of their situation, gaining access to them by ICRC and—most welcome—their release. Most recently, I met families of the soldiers during his visit to Israel in February.

Stolen Equipment

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 776W, on stolen equipment, what criminal proceedings have been undertaken for cases of theft against his Department, stating in each case (a) whether the proceedings (i) led to a criminal conviction and (ii) were unsuccessful, (b) the cost incurred by his Department in pursuing a conviction and (c) the value of items recovered; and if he will make a statement. [41504]

Mr. Straw: In every case where equipment was reported stolen, an internal investigation was carried out. Unfortunately in every case, the investigation proved inconclusive with no culprit identified. As a result there were no criminal proceedings, no convictions, no actual costs incurred and no items recovered.

Iraq

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the European Union in respect of US policy towards Iraq. [40914]

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Mr. Bradshaw: Both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I regularly discuss Iraq with our counterparts in the European Union. We share the concerns of the US Government, and all responsible Governments, about Iraq's support for terrorism and its development of weapons of mass destruction.

Nepal

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government are giving to the Government of the Kingdom of Nepal in the struggle against Maoist rebels. [41382]

Mr. Bradshaw: The UK has provided training and logistics support to the Royal Nepalese Army through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, which is jointly administered by the FCO, MOD and DFID. We will look carefully at any requests for further assistance from the Nepalese Government.

Biological Weapons

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with regard to verification procedures relating to the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. [40923]

Mr. Bradshaw: Negotiations on a compliance Protocol to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) concluded unsuccessfully at the 24th Session of the Ad Hoc Group of States Parties in August 2001. And as no agreement could be reached at the subsequent Review Conference in December last year a decision was made to suspend the proceedings. The Conference will reconvene in Geneva on 11 November when we hope that it will be possible to make progress in reinforcing the norm against biological weapons. In preparation for the Conference the Government will shortly present a Government paper setting out its views on ways to counter the threat from biological weapons. This will be laid in the House in April.

Ian Stillman

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he raised the case of Ian Stillman with (a) President Narayanan and (b) Prime Minister Vajpayee in India during his visit on 27 February. [43908]

Mr. Bradshaw: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did not raise Ian Stillman's case with Prime Minister Vajpayee or President Narayanan. However, he raised it on 27 February 2002 with the Indian Home Minister, L. K. Advani, and asked that Mr. Stillman's forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court be heard as quickly as possible.

I also raised Mr. Stillman's case on 18 February 2002 with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah.

Our High Commissioner in New Delhi raised Mr. Stillman's case with the Indian Home Secretary, Kamal Pande, on 20 December 2001. He also discussed it with Mr. Advani on 2 January 2002.

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Our High Commission is dong all it can to ensure that the Indian authorities are meeting Mr. Stillman's welfare requirements adequately and that his forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court is heard as quickly as possible.

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Exeter raised the case of Ian Stillman with (a) President Narayanan and (b) Prime Minister Vajpayee on his visit on 18, 21 and 22 February. [43911]

Mr. Bradshaw: I did not meet Prime Minister Vajpayee or President Narayanan during my visit. However, I raised Mr. Stillman's case on 18 February 2002 with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, and asked that his forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court be heard as quickly as possible.

My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary also raised Mr. Stillman's case on 27 February 2002 with the Indian Home Minister, L. K. Advani. Our High Commissioner in New Delhi raised it with the Indian Home Secretary, Kamal Pande, on 20 December 2001. He also discussed it with the Indian Home Minister, L.K. Advani, on 2 January 2002.

Our High Commission is doing all it can to ensure that the Indian authorities are meeting Mr. Stillman's welfare requirements adequately and that his forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court is heard as quickly as possible.

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times the UK high commissioner in India has raised the case of Ian Stillman with (a) President Narayanan and (b) Prime Minister Vajpayee in India. [43909]

Mr. Bradshaw: Our high commissioner in New Delhi has not raised Ian Stillman's case with President Narayanan or Prime Minister Vajpayee. However, he raised it with the Indian Home Secretary, Kamal Pande, on 20 December 2001. He also discussed it with the Indian Home Minister, L. K. Advani, on 2 January 2002.

I raised Mr. Stillman's case with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, on 18 February 2002. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also raised it with Mr. Advani on 27 February 2002.

Our high commission in New Delhi is doing all it can to ensure that the Indian authorities are meeting Mr. Stillman's welfare requirements adequately and that his forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court is heard as quickly as possible.

India

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to advance proposals in the Delhi declaration, and in particular the recommendation that India take up a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. [39598]

Mr. Bradshaw [pursuant to his reply, 12 March 2002, c. 864–65W]: An incorrectly drafted answer was given to my hon. Friend on 12 March. The full correct answer is as follows:

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In the last two months my right hon. Friend the Foreign secretary has visited India once and met twice with India's External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh. They discussed a number of areas of partnership including terrorism, peacekeeping, defence relations, and Afghanistan and other regional issues. The two Prime Ministers' Personal Envoys, David Manning and Brajesh Mishra, also met on 4 February.

The Secretary of State discussed Security Council reform with Jaswant Singh on 27 February. We looked forward to progress on this issue at the United Nations.

Angola

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a list of arms exports to Angola for each of the last five years. [42522]

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.

The Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation does not record actual exports. It records details of all export licences issued and refused, which are published in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

The granting of a licence does not necessarily translate into actual exports.

SCOTLAND

Stolen Equipment

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 698W, on stolen equipment, what criminal proceedings have been undertaken for cases of theft against her Department, stating in each case (a) whether the proceedings (i) led to a criminal conviction and (ii) were unsuccessful, (b) the cost incurred by her Department in pursuing a conviction and (c) the value of items recovered; and if she will make a statement. [41585]

Mrs. Liddell: In the case of stolen equipment reported by my Department, I understand that no criminal proceedings have been undertaken.

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