Written question asked by Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 4 February 2005. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Friday, 4 February 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contacts the Government has had with General Augustus Pinochet since 1990 concerning military relations with Chile.

Answer: Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contacts the Government has had with General Augustus Pinochet since 1990 concerning military relations with Chile. [207697] Mr. Hoon: From available records, senior UK military officers visiting Chile briefly met General Pinochet in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army, a position he held between 1990 and 1998, on a limited number of occasions. Two such meetings occurred with the visits in March 1995 of the then Chief of the Naval Staff, and in 1996 of the former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. In addition, General Pinochet was present at a lunch attended by the then Secretary of State for Defence during his visit to Chile in December 1996. The UK Defence Attache« in Santiago met General Pinochet in the course of routine duties, and other British embassy staff did so at official state and military functions.

Secondary information