Written question asked by Mark Simmonds (Conservative) on Tuesday, 20 May 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 June 2003. It was answered by Mike O'Brien (Labour) on Monday, 9 June 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, what evidence his Department has collated on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction on 18th March.

Answer: Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence his Department has collated on whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction on 18 March. [115513] Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government published its assessment of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes in September 2002, based on evidence drawn from a range of sources, including the reports of the UN weapons inspectors. There remained, on 18 March, no evidence to show that Iraq's weapons had been destroyed. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1441, the onus was firmly on Iraq to demonstrate its full compliance with the disarmament obligations contained in a succession of previous resolutions. They had also failed to address any of the unresolved disarmament issues arising from the final report of the UNSCOM Executive Chairman, Richard Butler, produced in February 1999.

Secondary information