Written question asked by Llew Smith (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 March 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 12 March 2003. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 March 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what benefits to United Kingdom national defence will accrue from the granting of permission to the United States of landing rights for United States Air Force B-52 bombers. - Inc ref to 400 c566, 3 March 2003.

Answer: Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what benefits to United Kingdom national defence will accrue from the granting of permission to the United States of landing rights for United States Air Force B-52 bombers. [101993] Mr. Hoon: As I told the House on the 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 566, I agreed to the United States Air Force deployment at RAF Fairford as part of our continuing contingency preparations for possible military action in Iraq. The Government have made clear on many occasions the threat posed to the United Kingdom by Iraq's continued possession, in contravention of successive UN Security Council Resolutions, of weapons of mass destruction.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 101993; 401 c275W;401 c274W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Armed conflict Deployment Iraq Military bases Military aircraft USA Iraq conflict RAF Fairford
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk