Written question asked by Teddy Taylor (Conservative) on Monday, 8 January 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 January 2001. It was answered by John Battle (Labour) on Thursday, 11 January 2001 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reason was given by the Syrian Government to justify their refusal to provide documents requested by the Government during the Lockerbie trial; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reason was given by the Syrian Government to justify their refusal to provide documents requested by the Government during the Lockerbie trial; and if he will make a statement. [144770] Mr. Battle: The Syrian authorities, in their reply to the letter of request sent by the Scottish Court in the Netherlands, stressed that, in their opinion, they should not have been asked the question in the first place and would therefore prefer not to have to send a formal reply. The Lord Advocate, therefore, informed the court on 8 January that it was unlikely that the court would get a formal response, certainly not within any short time scale, and that any formal response would undoubtedly be negative.

Secondary information