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Torture

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the use in England and Wales of intelligence obtained by torture upon (a) the United Kingdom's international standing and reputation and (b) the effectiveness of British foreign policy. [29109]

Mr. Straw: The Government, including the intelligence and security agencies, never uses torture for any purposes, including to obtain information. Nor would we instigate others to do so. Where we are helping other countries to develop their own counter-terrorism capability, we ensure that our training or other assistance promotes human rights compliance. Our rejection of the use of torture is well known by our liaison partners.

I am unaware of any adverse impact on the UK's international standing and reputation and the success of British foreign policy from this approach.

Uganda

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the international community regarding the implications of the issuing of warrants by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of the leaders of the Lords Resistance Army of Uganda. [33102]

Ian Pearson: We work closely with other members of the international community regarding the long-running conflict on Northern Uganda. Our dialogue includes discussion of the recent historic step by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue its first arrest warrants for five Lord's Resistance Army commanders. The UK is a strong supporter of the work
 
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of the ICC and together with our EU partners, we have called on all those involved to work to facilitate the arrest of the individuals subject to the warrants.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the issuing of warrants against leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army by the International Criminal Court on the policy of amnesty previously advanced by the Ugandan authorities. [33103]

Ian Pearson: The recent historic decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue its first arrest warrants for five Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders is an important step towards ending impunity for the most horrific crimes committed in this brutal conflict. We are pressing governments in the region to take action against those subject to arrest warrants.

The Government of Uganda has assured us that their amnesty policy remains in place for all those LRA members not subject to ICC arrest warrants. There are various programmes in northern Uganda actively encouraging these LRA members to take advantage of the amnesty and rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.

United States (Prince of Wales's Visit)

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will place in the Library the guest list for the cocktail party held as part of the official visit of HRH the Prince of Wales at the New York museum of Modern Art; [31868]

(2) if he will place in the Library the guest list for the party hosted by the British ambassador at his residence in Washington DC, held as part of the official visit ofHRH the Prince of Wales to the United States of America. [31869]

Mr. Douglas Alexander [holding answers 28 November 2005]: A copy of the guest lists will be placed in the Library of the House.

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