Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Thursday, 23 May 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 11 June 2002. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 June 2002 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the potential threat from (a) Iraq, (b) Iran, (c) Syria, (d) Libya and (e) North Korea.

Answer: Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the potential threat from (a) Iraq, (b) Iran, (c) Syria, (d) Libya and (e) North Korea. [60257] Mr. Hoon: We assess that there is no immediate threat of military attack by Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya or North Korea to the United Kingdom mainland, although Iraq threatens RAF aircraft patrolling the Iraqi No Fly Zones daily. An assessment of the ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programmes of a number of countries was included in a "Supplementary Memorandum to the House of Commons Defence Committee: The Ballistic Missile Threat" of 18 March 2002 and, with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a "Joint Memorandum to the House of Commons Defence Committee: Missile Defence" of 11 February 2002. We continue to monitor developments closely, particularly as they might affect deployed forces.

Secondary information