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Mr. Hoon: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his support. He and the House can take it that the series of practical points he raised will be addressed when necessary, if they have not been addressed already.

The Black Watch had appropriate training and was the choice for that reason, given the requirements of the General Officer Commanding.

Indeed, as I indicated clearly to the House, that deployment is on obvious military advice. I have dealt with the immunity question already. On the question of location, I made it clear that it was a deployment to the Multinational Division (South East). The training package and the other matters that the hon. Gentleman raised have already been dealt with—[Interruption.]

Donald Anderson (Swansea, East) (Lab): This appears to be a limited, stabilising deployment at the request of the local commander. I understand that President Chirac has been positive about the new draft UN Security Council resolution. Our troops have a high regard for the professionalism of their French counterparts, with whom they work in the Balkans and elsewhere. Now that there will be—hopefully within a few weeks—a new UN Security Council resolution and a sovereign Iraqi Government on 30 June, what is the prospect of countries such as France and Spain contributing to stabilising the position and supporting the civil power?

Mr. Hoon: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his question. He invites me to speculate about a
 
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situation that has not yet been reached, but like me he is clearly optimistic that a new Security Council resolution and a sovereign Government in Iraq will encourage other countries to contribute forces. As he knows better than me, many of those countries have constitutional restrictions on the deployment of their forces in the absence of an appropriate UN resolution. That resolution should be available before 30 June. I hope that that will encourage other countries to deploy their troops.

Mr. Eric Joyce (Falkirk, West) (Lab): My right hon. Friend will agree that it is entirely appropriate for the media to cover and to scrutinise the operations of our troops and their conduct on operations, but does he also agree that, when there is a cynical and destructive approach, it has a malevolent, negative effect on the morale not so much of our troops, but of service families at home? Will he urge, even though he may be banging his head against a brick wall, a bit of common sense on the part of the media?

Mr. Hoon: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who served with great distinction and is more aware than most of the damage that such speculation can cause. We have seen a number of suggestions that various forces will depart imminently for Iraq. It is important that there should not be such speculation, not least because of its impact on families.

Mr. Paul Keetch (Hereford) (LD): I thank the Secretary of State for notice of the statement and for coming to the House before the recess.

We have always said that if the commanders on the ground require additional troops, they should get them, but we have also said that if the United Kingdom is to take on additional commitments outside our existing area, that decision should be subject to a vote in the House of Commons. Does the fact that the deployments are at the request of the commanders on the ground and involve more armour and more barricades mean that the security situation is in effect deteriorating? Will there be an additional call-up of more TA troops to cover the deployment? In January, the right hon. Gentleman told the House that the interval for tours of duty for our troops worldwide stood at nine months. What is it now?

Many of us both within and outside the House oppose the war in Iraq, but it was this House of Commons that authorised that deployment. Does the Secretary of State understand that, if he is to continue to receive that support, he must bring back to the House of Commons any extension of that remit?

Mr. Hoon: I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's proposition, which is not recognised in the constitutional law of the United Kingdom. It has not been the practice previously. If he thinks about what he has just said, if there were a need for British forces in southern Iraq to assist coalition forces in a different area, clearly that would be an operational decision taken on the ground. It could not await the return of some resolution to the House of Commons and a subsequent vote. What is important, and the statement provides it, is that we recognise the operational requirements on the ground in Iraq and take appropriate decisions.

Glenda Jackson (Hampstead and Highgate) (Lab): Is the interim Iraqi Government one of the coalition
 
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partners, to which the Secretary of State referred, that are considering the level and disposition of forces required in Iraq in the months ahead? When the Iraqi Government become supposedly sovereign, will they still be able to say to the British Government that they may need more troops or, indeed, fewer troops?

Mr. Hoon: I am sorry but I do not accept the way in which my hon. Friend has characterised the position. After 30 June, there will be an interim sovereign Government in Iraq. As has been made clear by Secretary Powell and by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, it will be a sovereign decision as to whether foreign forces are located in Iraq. The sovereign Government will consent to their presence, as indeed independent Governments have done in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. Therefore, the arrangement will be wholly consistent as a matter of law between a sovereign Government and coalition forces—there with the consent of a sovereign Iraqi Administration.

Mr. John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con): The Secretary of State should really treat the House with greater openness and transparency if he wants to maintain the support, particularly of my hon. Friends and me, for the Government through very difficult times—we have offered support consistently since the war started. He did not answer a single question that my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) posed. Last week at Defence questions and in the Iraq debate, the Secretary of State said that there were no plans to send any further troops to Iraq. The next day, the quality broadsheets all said—they had clearly been briefed because they all had the same story—that 3,000 troops were to be sent. Now he says that 370 troops will be sent. Does he think that such media manipulation is likely to maintain the cross-party support that the Government have? I warn him that he is putting it in danger—[Hon. Members: "Oh."] I can speak for myself, and I suspect that I speak for some of my hon. Friends.

Mr. Speaker: Order. The hon. Gentleman has asked a supplementary question. I am not having more than one supplementary.

Mr. Hoon: I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman takes that view. I could, had I been concerned with anything other than openness, have chosen to announce the deployment by way of a written ministerial statement. It would have been perfectly proper and in accordance with the principles governing such matters to do so. I chose to make the statement today precisely in the interests of the openness that the hon. Gentleman rightly described. He is a former Minister. If it were possible to manipulate the media with quite the skill he suggests, I am sure that he would have been aware of that. If the media choose to speculate, albeit wrongly, about these matters, it is not the responsibility of the Government.

Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab): As my right hon. Friend said, insecurity remains a major problem in Iraq. May I ask him to pay tribute to all those people, not just
 
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the military, who are helping to reconstruct that country, including the two British nationals who were killed this week? One was known to me and had a home in south Wales. He was helping in the reconstruction of Iraq's oil ministry and hoped to return quite soon. Unfortunately, both he and his colleague were killed this week. It is important to make the point that many people of all nationalities are helping in the reconstruction of the country, and they are often risking their lives to do so.

Mr. Hoon: My hon. Friend puts the position extremely well. I join her in paying tribute to those who died and extend my condolences on behalf of the Government to their families. She is right that the key to allowing those people who are risking their lives to continue their excellent work to rebuild that country on behalf of the Iraqi people is security. That is why I have announced today a further deployment of British forces. Security is the key to all else that we need to achieve in Iraq.

Mr. Douglas Hogg (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con): Does the right hon. Gentleman understand that even those of us who are opposed to the British presence in Iraq accept that it must be right to deploy limited additional troops to provide additional security for those already there, but that we will not accept any extension or deepening of our overall role?

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