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26 May 2004 : Column 1693W—continued

Interrogation Techniques

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps were taken following the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Ireland v. United Kingdom (1978) to outlaw the use of the five techniques of interrogation found to be in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention. [174550]

Mr. Ingram: In 1978 the Government's presentation to the European Court of Human Rights set out that the then Prime Minister had declared on 2 March 1972, Official Report, columns 743–44, that "the techniques . . . will not be used in future as an aid to interrogation" and that directives expressly prohibiting the use of the techniques for interrogation, whether singly or in combination, had been issued in April 1972. The Government also gave the Court an unqualified undertaking that the techniques of hooding, wall standing, sleep deprivation, food deprivation, and white noise would not in an any circumstances be reintroduced as an aid to interrogation.

Given that the necessary directives had been issued in April 1972, no further steps were deemed necessary following the Court's judgment.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role was played by the (a) SAS and (b) SBS in restoring stability to Fallujah. [175048]

Mr. Ingram: I am withholding details under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 663W, on Iraq, if he will give the cause of death entered on the death certificates of the 16 individuals whose deaths involved alleged ill treatment by members of UK armed forces. [175750]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 25 May 2004]: Of the 16 cases involving alleged ill treatment of Iraqi civilians by United Kingdom armed forces, 10 resulted in the death of a civilian. As the cases are still under investigation, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the discovery of a shell filled with sarin nerve agent in Iraq by United States forces. [175200]

Mr. Ingram: On 15 May 2004, an improvised explosive device, discovered by United States forces, was found to be an artillery shell probably containing the nerve agent sarin. Two members of US forces suffered symptoms consistent with nerve agent poisoning and initial tests revealed the presence of sarin. Additional testing will now be performed outside Iraq.
 
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It is not clear whether the maker of the device knew that it contained nerve agent or whether the shell was being used for its explosive properties.

Marchwood Military Port

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact on Marchwood Military Port of the decision to reject the proposed new container terminal at Dibden Bay. [175060]

Mr. Ingram: The Sea Mounting Centre, Marchwood Military Port (MMP) is unaffected by the decision to reject the proposed new container terminal at Dibden Bay. It will continue to undertake its essential role in the operational deployment of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF) as well as the regular and more routine movements of ammunition.

The Ministry of Defence will continue to consult with Associated British Ports (ABP) and evaluate any future proposals for the development of the Dibden Bay site.

Merlin Helicopters

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy Merlin helicopters have been involved in accidents which were (a) insufficient and (b) sufficient to put them out of service. [174865]

Mr. Ingram: Merlin helicopters have been involved in two accidents, both of which were sufficient to put the aircraft out of service. Merlin flights have been halted pending further investigations.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the lessons learned from the accident investigations and other inquiries into (a) operational failures, (b) accidents and (c) equipment malfunctions of the Royal Navy Merlin helicopter. [174866]

Mr. Ingram: Following the Merlin accident at RNAS Culdrose on 30 March 2004, a Service Board of Inquiry and a technical investigation by the Royal Navy Flight Safety and Air Accident Investigation Centre have been commissioned. Neither has yet reported. The Military Air Accident Summary for the Merlin crash near the Kyle of Lochalsh on 29 October 2000 was placed in the Library of the House in June 2002.

Non-human Primates

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 13 May 2004, Official Report, column 539W, on experiments on non-human primates, if he will list the primate type and number of primates used in each experiment; when each experiment was conducted; and what was done with the primates on the completion of each experiment. [175145]

Mr. Ingram: In 2001, Dstl Porton Down used eight Rhesus Macques to help assess the effects and significance of human exposure to nerve agents.
 
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Additionally, other studies that did not involve testing the effects of weapons have been conducted with non-human primates. The following table lists all of the studies undertaken at Dstl Porton Down which have involved the use of non-human primates. These studies
 
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form an integral part of the overall research programme to provide the UK and its armed forces with safe and effective protection in the event of chemical or biological weapons being used and are conducted under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Study	2001	2002	2003
Effects and significance of exposure to nerve agents	8 Rhesus	—	—
Gulf War vaccine interactions programme	54 Marmosets	4 Marmosets	—
Development of medical countermeasures	—	12 Rhesus 6 Marmosets	7 Marmosets
Provision of blood/tissue samples for in-vitro studies.	2 Rhesus 4 Marmosets	10 Rhesus 10 Marmosets	11 Rhesus 5 Marmosets

The majority of the animals were killed humanely at the completion of the studies using Schedule 1 procedures in accordance with the Home Office guidelines. The remainder of animals from which only small blood samples had been taken were returned to their respective breeding colonies. The numbers of procedures involving non-human primates are included in the Dstl annual return to the Home Office.

Osama Bin Laden

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. [174519]

Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.

We have received a number of reports concerning Osama bin Laden. It is the practice of successive governments not to comment on intelligence matters. The Security and Intelligence Agencies are outside the scope of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Paragraph 6, Part I). However we and our partners in the campaign against international terrorism will continue to use all means at our disposal to bring Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders to justice.

Qinetiq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the balance of benefits and detriments arising from the sale of QinetiQ. [173858]

Mr. Ingram: In February 2003, the Ministry of Defence sold a minority equity interest in QinetiQ to the Carlyle Group as a first step towards preparing the company for a future flotation on the stock market. QinetiQ's Annual Report and Accounts, due to be published in the next few months, will set out the performance of the company in its first full year under these arrangements. The Ministry of Defence as both owner and principal customer of QinetiQ has benefited from the investment of private sector resource in the company which this public private partnership has enabled.

Sarin Nerve Agent

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the United Kingdom retains quantities of sarin    nerve agent for use in prophylactic research purposes. [175176]

Mr. Ingram: The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of any toxic chemical except for permitted purposes. The United Kingdom, as a state party to this Convention, is permitted to hold an aggregate of up to one tonne of Schedule 1 chemicals (those that pose the highest risk to the Convention) at any one time, for research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective purposes.

As part of this holding, the UK does possess an amount of the chemical sarin, which is used for protective purposes, namely those purposes directly related to protection against toxic chemicals and to protection against chemical weapons, and for research purposes.

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