Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour) on Monday, 2 November 2009.

Iraq: Birth Defects

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports they have received regarding the incidence of congenital abnormalities in babies born since the offensive in Fallujah.

Answer: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have any information of its own on this although we are aware of reports which occasionally appear in the media on congenital abnormalities in babies born in or near Fallujah and of the periodic referral of this issue to the UN. In Iraq more broadly, there are media estimates that cancers in northern Iraq increased five to tenfold following Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons during the Anfal campaign in 1988.

Secondary information