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Iraq (Legal Advice)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests he has received from the parliamentary ombudsman to release details of when Ministers first sought advice on the legality of military action to invade Iraq; what response was made; and if he will make a statement. [224001]

Mr. Rammell: We have received a report from the ombudsman dated 11 February 2005, recommending that we release the date on which the Government first sought legal advice about the legality of military action against Iraq to the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC. However, we have declined to comply with this recommendation on the grounds that the release of this information would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Israel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2005, Official Report, column 459W, on Israel, whether Minister Paz-Pines gave an indication of what the level of a certain age is above which he expects Palestinians to be allowed to be reunited with their families when the citizenship and entrance to Israel law is reviewed on 31 May. [224711]

Mr. Rammell: Minister Paz-Pines did not give an indication of the age above which he expects Palestinians to be allowed to be reunited with their families when the citizenship and entrance to Israel law is reviewed on 31 May.

Kenya

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he is taking to restitute to the Kenyan Government funds invested in the UK by the Khmer Moi regime. [224052]

Mr. Mullin: We do not comment on individual requests for mutual legal assistance, but I understand that we are currently considering four cases regarding Kenya. We take seriously all allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds and will be very happy to assist with any further requests we receive from the Kenyan Government.

Legal Assistance

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision his Department makes for assistance to UK citizens encountering long delays in legal actions in other EU countries. [224853]

Mr. Mullin: Under international law we cannot interfere in on-going legal proceedings in another country. Our own proceedings are similarly protected.

However, where there are unreasonable delays in criminal proceedings overseas in a case involving a UK national, we may consider, on a case by case basis, whether it would be appropriate to raise the issue with the state concerned. We would take into account any relevant information from the individual's lawyer before doing so.
 
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Maajid Nawaz

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government have made to the Egyptian authorities concerning the detention of Maajid Nawaz and others in prison in Cairo. [224919]

Mr. Mullin: My right hon. and noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, last raised the cases of Majid Nawaz, lan Nisbet, and Reza Pankhurst with the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 9 March. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office remains in touch with all the men's families and will inform them immediately of any developments.

Mrs. Inna Isaacs

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects an independent adjudicator to hear the appeal of Mrs. Inna Isaacs from Brixham, Devon; and if he will make a statement on the time taken to set a date for the hearing. [224705]

Mr. Mullin: I regret that I cannot provide this information, as it is not our practice to disclose details of individual entry clearance cases in a public forum. I have, however, written to the hon. Member.

Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will attend the forthcoming Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. [221359]

Mr. MacShane [holding answer 21 March 2005]: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will not be present at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May, but he has asked John Freeman (the UK Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament) to head the UK delegation.

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether there is a need to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to ensure that signatory states are not able to exploit the treaty by obtaining nuclear technology under the guise of a peaceful civilian nuclear energy programme. [223321]

Mr. MacShane: The United Kingdom supports the efforts being made by a number of bodies to consider how to ensure that nuclear technology acquired under Article IV of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) cannot be diverted to weapons programmes, either while a state is still party to the treaty, or following withdrawal from it. We hope to continue this discussion at the upcoming NPT review conference in May, and are working towards an outcome which strengthens the non-proliferation regime to deal better with these challenges.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he (a) has made and (b) plans to make to the request by his Indian counterpart on 28 March that the nuclear weapons
 
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states party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty agree to irreversible and verifiable cuts in their nuclear arsenals as a condition of India signing the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. [224694]

Mr. MacShane: The Government, including Ministers, have frequent contact with their Indian counterparts and are familiar with India's views on nuclear proliferation matters, including Natwar Singh's speech at the Conference on Emerging Nuclear Proliferation Challenges" held in Delhi on 28 March. The Government were not represented at this conference and is not intending to make a response to Mr. Singh's speech. Mr. Singh's speech gives no indication that India is willing to become a State Party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which, by the terms of the treaty, they can only do as a non-nuclear weapon state.

Services Directive

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the proposed EU Directive on Services. [224992]

Mr. MacShane: The European Council of 22–23 March 2005 underlined that a fully operational internal market in services is vital to promoting growth and employment, and to strengthening competitiveness.

The services sector in Europe contains vast untapped potential—services account for over two-thirds of EU GDP, but for only 20 per cent. of intra-EU trade. Independent analysis from Copenhagen Economics predicts that the draft Services Directive could create 600,000 jobs.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in his Statement to the House on the European Council on 24 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1013–1015, the services directive will be at the heart of the next phase of the Lisbon programme. Negotiations are still at an early stage—we will work closely with the EU institutions and with our European partners to address genuine concerns and to build a broad consensus as anticipated in the council conclusions.

Sudan

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the post of UK Special Envoy to Sudan. [224326]

Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary announced on 12 February 2002 the creation of the position of UK special representative for Sudan, to support the peace process in Sudan, and in particular the negotiations on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The CPA was signed on 9 January this year, following intense work by the special representative with both sides to that conflict.

The present special representative will leave his post at the end of April. The UK remains committed to peace throughout Sudan, and we will ensure the strong continuation of our engagement in implementation of the CPA, and maintain and strengthen our engagement in the resolution of the conflict in Darfur. We are currently reviewing the position of UK special representative.
 
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