Written question asked by Llew Smith (Labour) on Tuesday, 27 January 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 February 2004. It was answered by Denis MacShane (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 February 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether evidence of nuclear weapons of mass destruction programme-related activities have been discovered in Iraq by the Iraq Survey Group since the statement to the United Nations Security Council on 27th January 2003 by Dr Mohamed El-Baradei on the status of nuclear inspections in Iraq.

Answer: Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether evidence of nuclear weapons of mass destruction programme- related activities have been discovered in Iraq by the Iraq Survey Group since the statement to the United Nations Security Council on 27th January 2003 by Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei on the status of nuclear inspections in Iraq. [151968] Mr. MacShane: In his interim report of 2 October 2003, Dr. David Kay reported that the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) had uncovered evidence that a senior scientist at the Iraq Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Sa'id, had started work on several small and relatively unsophisticated research initiatives in 2000 that could be applied to nuclear weapons development, and which could have been useful in developing a weapons- relevant science base for the long-term. Dr. Kay also referred to uncovering evidence of a number of other steps taken by Iraq to preserve some technological capability from its earlier nuclear weapons programme. Iraqi scientists and senior government officials have told the ISG that Saddam Hussein remained firmly committed to acquiring nuclear weapons. The text of Dr. Kay's interim report can be found on the CIA internet website at www.cia.gov.

Secondary information