Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Monday, 8 September 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 September 2003. It was answered by Denis MacShane (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 September 2003 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on which dates the UNSCOM inspectors visited presidential sites in Iraq before 1999; and what facilities were inspected on each date. - (Holding answer 15 September 2003).

Answer: Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which dates the UNSCOM inspectors visited presidential sites in Iraq before 1999; and what facilities were inspected on each date. [129282] Mr. MacShane: [holding answer 15 September 2003]: A special team of inspectors, with 20 senior diplomats acting as observers, was established in March 1998 to carry out inspections at eight presidential sites. The inspection mission, UNSCOM 243, visited the sites on the following dates: Radwaniya on 26 and 27 March; Tikrit on 28 March; Mosul and Jabal Makhul on 29 March; Tharthar and Basrah on 30 March; and the Republican Palace and Sijood sites in Baghdad on 1 and 2 April. The inspectors' report was subsequently published as a United Nations document (S/l 998/326), which can be found on the UN internet website at www.un.org/Depts/unscom/s98-326.htm. There were no further visits to any of these sites.

Secondary information