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Iraq

My Lords, can the Leader of the House confirm that current coalition military operations in Iraq are being carried out with the authority of a Security Council resolution? Can she remind us what proportion of Britain’s £40 billion defence expenditure is being spent on operations in Iraq? As we are carrying out a disproportionately large amount of the military operation in Iraq, does she regard it as reasonable that Britain should also be paying the whole cost of that contribution? Are the Government doing anything to secure some sort of burden sharing with those on whose behalf we are carrying out our military operations? I say that in the context of the financial cash-flow crisis that the Government face, which, as the Minister will probably recognise, could well result in government borrowing going up by £70 billion—that is, another 5 per cent of GDP.