Written question asked by Tam Dalyell (Labour) on Wednesday, 31 October 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 November 2001. It was answered by Tony Blair (Labour) on Monday, 5 November 2001 on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the holdings of anthrax by the Iraqi government, with special reference to the particular strains held.

Answer: Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the holdings of anthrax by the Iraqi Government, with special reference to the particular strains held. [12583] The Prime Minister: After years of denial, Iraq eventually declared to UNSCOM in 1995 that it had produced anthrax as a biological weapon fill for ballistic missile warheads and bombs. It declared it had possessed a number of different strains of the micro-organism. At the time, Iraq claimed to have already destroyed all of its BW weapons and agents. However, it did not provide the evidence, then or subsequently, to enable UNSCOM to verify this.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 12583; 374 c6W
Session: 2001-02
Subjects: Biological weapons Iraq Verification UN Special Commission on Iraq Anthrax
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk