Mr Derek Fatchett: We enjoy a full range of contacts with Israel. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is looking forward to his visit to Israel later this month as part of a tour of the middle east.
Mr Derek Fatchett: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's visit was a success, and I have every confidence that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's visit to Israel will be a similar success.
Mr Derek Fatchett: I am delighted to say that we are not responsible for the behaviour of Opposition Back Benchers. That task would be too great for even this Government. My hon. Friend is right. We have in the European Union a clear statement of principles. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary always acted in accordance with those principles: that is why his conduct and his visit to the middle east were...
Mr Derek Fatchett: I think that, on reflection, the hon. Gentleman will accept that that question was unworthy even of his own normal standards. Throughout the lifetime of this Government, we have said that we have a keen commitment to the peace process, and we will continue that commitment. Let me tell the hon. Gentleman that the only way in which to make progress in the middle east is to ensure that we push...
Mr Derek Fatchett: My hon. Friend is right to say that there can be no peace in the middle east until there is justice and security for Israelis and Palestinians, and that is the objective to which my right hon. Friend and the Government are working.
Mr Derek Fatchett: I am satisfied that Iraq has so far adhered to the commitments it gave to the United Nations Secretary-General on 23 February. At present, it is allowing weapons inspections to proceed in line with its obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions.
Mr Derek Fatchett: I agree with my hon. Friend. The position taken by the Government and supported by the other political parties in the House was the right one to take. When he was in Baghdad, Kofi Annan acknowledged that the threat of force helped in the negotiations. It is in all our interests for the agreement to be adhered to, and we shall continue to monitor the situation closely.
Mr Derek Fatchett: I had a meeting last week with Richard Butler of UNSCOM, who told me what was happening on the ground and that UNSCOM was able to carry out its work. It is important that we maintain our vigilance: we must be cautious and must not become over-optimistic about the delivery of the agreement. We want the agreement to be honoured, and it is important that we free Iraq of weapons of mass...
Mr Derek Fatchett: Paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1153 requests the Secretary-General to establish a group of experts to assess Iraq's ability to export sufficient petroleum or petroleum products to finance the expanded oil-for-food programme. On the basis of the group's recommendations, authorisation may be given for certain equipment to be imported to enable Iraq to increase oil output. Some of...
Mr Derek Fatchett: I remind my hon. Friend of the answer that I have just given, which is that, under the new procedures of resolution 1153, it is possible to satisfy some of the needs to which he refers. The matter will be controlled and regulated under the Security Council resolution. My hon. Friend may also be keen to know that, as part of its EU presidency, the United Kingdom is organising a conference on...
Mr Derek Fatchett: I have every confidence in Richard Butler and his team. They are getting on with their work to the best of their ability and at the speed at which they are allowed to proceed by the Iraqi regime. We shall certainly encourage them to move as quickly as possible, but the objective for all of us is to ensure that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. That is the responsibility of the...
Mr Derek Fatchett: My hon. Friend makes a valid point. If the system is working in the way he fears, we would certainly wish to hear evidence to substantiate his concerns. We are keen to make sure that the sanctions regime is fair and efficient—it should be fair to the ordinary people of Iraq, but should also allow the United Nations to meet its objectives and targets. Certainly, we do not wish to see the...
Mr Derek Fatchett: He did not vote for the new leader.
Mr Derek Fatchett: I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr. Cohen) for raising the subject of Tibet and China and the related issues of human rights and the UK's relationship with China. I shall reply to his speech by making a few general points, then turning to human rights and China, and finally making more specific points relating to Tibet. In that way, I should be able to...
Mr Derek Fatchett: I shall come to the details of our relationship with China in terms of Tibet in a moment. My hon. Friend is correct to state that the troika wishes to see the Panchen Lama. We welcome the recent press reports that information about the child's whereabouts was given to the Austrian Foreign Minister when he visited Tibet in March. That is a step forward, and we hope to build on that move in...
Mr Derek Fatchett: May I first thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Kelvin (Mr. Galloway) for his remarks and his congratulations to our right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary? I agree with my hon. Friend that those congratulations were well earned. I shall first address the need for urgent progress in the middle east peace process. My hon. Friend is right to say that a deep sense of frustration and...
Mr Derek Fatchett: I want to pick up on the concluding comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) about our relationship with the Muslim community in the United Kingdom and with the religion of Islam. We should avoid at all costs demonising any one religion in the world. One of the tasks that I have set myself is to ensure that, whatever representations I make, I never fall into the...
Mr Derek Fatchett: My hon. Friend makes a valid point, which I understand. I have regular meetings with representatives of the Iraqi Opposition, and that is one of the points that they have made about the nature of the infrastructure in Iraq. We shall certainly take their points and that made by my hon. Friend into account. This is a double-headed debate, so I shall now refer to Iran. I probably ought to...
Mr Derek Fatchett: Does my hon. Friend want to intervene?
Mr Derek Fatchett: All right. Again, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow on introducing the subject. In the 20 or so minutes that I have been speaking, I hope that I have been able to set out clearly the Government's position. I shall probably have disappointed my hon. Friend yet again in some of my remarks. One thing about our relationship is that at least I consistently disappoint him, so...