To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress made in investigating issues raised by the UN Panel of Experts on the illegal exploitation of the natural resources and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Following the publication of the UN Expert Panel's final report in October 2004, we asked the UN for the documentary evidence supporting the listing of British companies in Annexe III of the report. This is a list of all entities the Panel considers to be in breach of the OECD guidelines. Despite repeated requests, we have only recently received documentary material that the Panel obtained relating to the British companies considered by the Panel. This material is wide ranging in scope and quality. We are currently assessing this material to identify outstanding issues with relation to breaches of the OECD Guidelines. We are in the process of approaching the companies concerned to respond to specific issues raised in the documentation. The UN National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines has recently made a statement relating to allegations made against De Beers that is available on the website and that I will place in the Libraries of the House.