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Joint Intelligence Committee

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which officials serve on the Joint Intelligence Committee; whether officials of foreign governments attend meetings of the Committee; and if he will make a statement. [9019]

Mr. Straw: Members of the Joint Intelligence Committee are senior officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence (including the Chief of Defence Intelligence), Home Office, Department of Trade and Industry, HM Treasury and Cabinet Office; the Heads of Security Service, Secret Intelligence Service and Government Communications Headquarters; and the Chief of the Assessments Staff. Officials from other departments are invited as necessary. Representatives of the Australian, Canadian and United States intelligence communities also attend as appropriate.

Kosovo

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests he has received (a) via the UN and (b) from the President of Kosovo for UK military support to keep order during the final status talks on the future of Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [8374]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: None. Under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1244 (1999) and Annex 2 to the UNSCR, the North Atlantic
 
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Treaty Organisation (NATO)-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) is responsible for establishing and maintaining security in Kosovo, not the UN.

The UK contributes some 180 troops to the NATO operation in Kosovo. In addition the UK provides a battalion to the Balkans-wide over the horizon operational reserve force, along with Germany and Italy. Should NATO request the deployment of this asset to Kosovo the UK would respond accordingly, just as we did in March 2004 and March 2005.

Madagascar

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he proposes to close the British Embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar; what net savings he expects; and if he will make a statement. [8385]

Ian Pearson: It is anticipated that the British Embassy in Antananarivo will close at the end of August 2005. We estimate that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will save £300,000 per annum on direct running costs and £265,000 in one-off savings from the sale of assets. There will also be staff and broader running costs savings.

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current value of the small grants scheme in Antananarivo is; and whether it will continue after the closure of the British Embassy. [8386]

Ian Pearson: The Small Grants Scheme allocation to Madagascar for the financial year 2004–05 was £295,000.

We are still considering the precise arrangements for this financial year. Once the Embassy closes, the Small Grants Scheme in Madagascar will not continue on the present basis. It would be inefficient and impractical to administer a large number of small schemes without the presence of an Embassy. We are however considering whether some projects could be run by the High Commission in Port Louis, which will cover British interests in Madagascar when the British Embassy in Antananarivo closes.

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for continuing to represent British interests in Madagascar after the closure of the British Embassy there; and if he will make a statement. [8387]

Ian Pearson: After the closure of our Embassy in Madagascar, our High Commission in Port Louis will cover British interests, supported by Honorary Consuls in Antananarivo and Toamasina. Our High Commissioner from Port Louis will be accredited as non-resident Ambassador to Madagascar. He and his staff will visit Madagascar on a regular basis.

Nigeria

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will make representations to the Nigerian Government to uphold its side of the Bakassi peninsula agreement with Cameroon. [8705]

 
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Ian Pearson: We have made representations to the Nigerian authorities about upholding the International Court of Justice ruling on Bakassi. We maintain a close dialogue with both Nigeria and Cameroon on the completion of the demarcation exercise, and have urged both sides to continue to cooperate closely with the UN Mixed Commission to this end.

Nuclear Weapons (Africa)

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) possession and (b) development of nuclear weapons technologies in African states; and if he will make a statement. [9018]

Mr. Straw: My assessment is that no African country possesses nuclear weapons or is currently developing them.

However, as the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, the former South African President, FW De Klerk, announced in March 1993 that South Africa had decided in 1974 to develop a limited nuclear deterrent capability, and that six of seven projected nuclear fission devices had been completed by the time it decided in 1990 to dismantle and destroy all the nuclear devices and accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). South Africa duly acceded to the NPT in July 1991, and its consequent comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came into force in September 1991. The IAEA subsequently conducted a number of inspections to verify the completeness and correctness of South Africa's initial report of its inventory of nuclear material. In 1993 South Africa also asked the IAEA to conduct visits to confirm the abandoned status of its former nuclear weapon programme. As a result of these activities, the IAEA concluded that it had found nothing inconsistent with the South African account of the programme.

The right hon. Gentleman will also be aware that on 19 December 2003 Libya announced that it had shown US and UK experts the materials, equipments and programmes which lead to the production of internationally proscribed weapons", including centrifuge machines, and that it had decided to eliminate these materials, equipments and programmes". Libya has since acknowledged to the IAEA that it received documentation related to nuclear weapon design and fabrication from a foreign source as well as some pre-assembled centrifuge machines and many components for other such machines. The United Kingdom has strongly welcomed Libya's renunciation of these activities, as well as its conclusion of an Additional Protocol in March 2004 to its existing Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, and strongly supports its continued co-operation with the IAEA.

The United Kingdom is a strong supporter of the Treaty of Pelindaba, which seeks to establish a nuclear weapon free zone in Africa. We have ratified the relevant Protocols to the Treaty, and continue to call on enough states to ratify the Treaty for it to enter into force.
 
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Peru

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects on counter-narcotics strategies of the lifting of the by-law in the Cusco region of Peru legalising the growth of coca; and if he will make a statement. [8288]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Peruvian Government reacted strongly to the recent announcement by the Regional President of Cusco to legalise coca cultivation in certain districts in the Department of Cusco. Although the Peruvian Prime Minister and the Regional President of Cusco have since come to an agreement not to expand legal coca cultivation in the Department of Cusco, we share the Peruvian Government's concern over the message which this announcement conveys about drugs misuse. We continue to co-operate closely with the Peruvian Government and other international partners to tackle drug trafficking from the region.

Sir David Manning

Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report, column 1282W, on Sir David Manning, whether Sir David Manning declined or cancelled any other invitation, or engagement, to be able to introduce Mrs. Blair and attend her lecture in Washington on 6 June; whether he accompanied Mrs. Blair travelling to and from the lecture; whether the ambassador's official car was used for these journeys; and whether any staff of the British embassy in Washington were involved in organising Mrs. Blair's lecture or issuing invitations to it. [8728]

Ian Pearson: Sir David did not cancel or decline any other invitations to attend the lecture by Mrs. Blair on 6 June. He did not accompany Mrs. Blair to or from the lecture. He travelled on his own in his official car. No members of the British embassy were involved in organising the lecture or in issuing the invitations.

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