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Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill [Lords]

The hon. and oleaginous Member is right to suggest that we must ensure that clear legal protection is available to our personnel when they are operating alongside troops from countries that are not signatories to and have not ratified the convention, and when cluster munitions might therefore be used. I believe that the Bill provides for that. We have made it absolutely clear that, when the command and the control are ours, there will be no use of cluster munitions and that all the relevant parts of the treaty will apply. I suspect, however, that this will be one of the areas that hon. Members will want to tease out by means of amendments during Committee stage next week.