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Monitoring the Economy
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the report of the Panel on Monitoring the Economy following the meeting of the panel at the end of January. [118697]
Mr. Byers: Members of the Panel contribute their views frankly and in confidence to help the Government with their work. Publication of a report prepared on the same basis would be a breach of faith.
New Motor Cars
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the embargoed press release on the supply of new motor cars complied with paragraph 9.1 of his Department's Guidance on how monopoly reports are published. [119213]
Mr. Byers: No embargoed press releases were issued to the media concerning the Competition Commission report on New Cars (Cm 4660).
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Turkey (Football Deaths)
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight in Istanbul on 5 April; if he will publish the report of these investigations as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement. [119046]
Mr. Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have any jurisdiction to investigate these crimes. The investigation into the deaths of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight is a matter for the Turkish authorities. We have, however, made it very clear to the Turkish authorities the importance we attach to bringing the killers to justice. The Chief of Police in Istanbul called on the British Consul-General on 8 April to update him on the investigation. He has undertaken to continue to update our consular staff on a regular basis. Consular staff in London will keep the families informed of developments.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Hilda Murrell
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 April 2000, Official Report, column 64W, whether the evidence in the case of Hilda Murrell currently with West Mercia Police has been referred to the DNA Centre in Birmingham for the purpose of matching tissue; and if he will make a statement. [119045]
Mr. Straw: I understand from the West Mercia Constabulary that a number of forensic exhibits from the Hilda Murrell case are currently with the Forensic Science Service (FSS) laboratory in Birmingham for review to identify any which might give a positive result with the new DNA techniques (Second Generation Multiplex plus and Low Copy Number systems), which have only recently become available. Discussions involving the FSS Major Crime Specialist Adviser on the strategic way ahead for this review are in progress. No DNA sequences were recovered from an earlier forensic review carried out in 1992.
Oakington Reception Centre
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current unit cost per week of keeping a detainee at Oakington; what will be the weekly unit cost per detainee when Oakington is operating at full capacity; and if he will make a statement. [119142]
Mrs. Roche: The current direct unit cost per week of an available place at the Oakington Reception Centre comes to about £1,880. This will reduce to about £527 per week when Oakington is operating at full capacity.
DEFENCE
Strategic Defence Review
Mr. Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the two studies concerning defence fissile material production and a national capability for arms control verification referred to in Supporting Essay Five of the Strategic Defence Review; and if he will make a statement. [119575]
Mr. Hoon: The decision to produce by this spring an initial report of defence fissile material production since the commencement of the UK's nuclear programme in the 1940s was both ambitious and challenging. There remains much work to be done. However, I am pleased to announce that our reports on the production of plutonium for the Defence programme and arms control verification have now been completed within the timescale set out in the Strategic Defence Review. Copies of the reports, and their associated summary capping papers, will be placed in the Library of the House and published on the MOD website. I also intend to have the summary capping papers circulated at the forthcoming Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, and at the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva, as a contribution to wider consideration of these complex issues. Their publication demonstrates our continuing
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determination to work constructively towards our goal of the global elimination of nuclear weapons, and our commitment to openness in government.
Airborne Navigation and Attack System
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the France-UK joint co-operation on the Joint Airborne Navigation and Attack electro-optical targeting system; and if he make a statement. [117849]
Mr. Hoon: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Robert Walmsley to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 14 April 2000:
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about what representations he has received on the France-UK joint co-operation on the Joint Airborne Navigation and Attack electro-optical targeting system. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
I can confirm that, following a competitive invitation to tender for the Anglo-French JOANNA programme, only one tender response was received, a joint response from BAE SYSTEMS and Thomson-CSF. We are considering the tender and hope to be in a position to make a decision in the next few months.
Army Dismissal Policy
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the review of the decision of the Army not to dismiss the soldiers associated with the death of Mr. Peter McBride in 1992; [118882]
- (2) what, in ruling whether a soldier should be dismissed from the Army after having served a custodial sentence, is the definition of exceptional circumstances which would justify the dismissal being waived; and if he will make a statement; [118881]
(3) if it is the practice that soldiers convicted of serious charges relating to murder and who (a) are facing or (b) have served custodial sentences are dismissed from the Army; and if he will make a statement. [118880]
Mr. Hoon: The decision of the Army Board to retain Guardsmen Fisher and Wright was recently subjected to judicial review. The Judgment of Mr. Justice Kerr quashed the earlier decision of the Army Board. The Army Board is now obliged to consider afresh the case of the two Guardsmen. This will be a completely fresh consideration and the Board members who made the previous decision will not be involved this time. In considering the case the Board will, of course, take the fullest account of all the circumstances including the content of the Judgment.
Queen's Regulations (9.404) state that a soldier is to be discharged if he has been sentenced by a civil court (or by court-martial) to imprisonment or to detention or to any other form of custodial sentence.
Queen's Regulations (9.404) also state that if in the opinion of the Commanding Officer there are exceptional reasons that make the retention of the solider desirable, the case is submitted with valid and explicit reasons through the Chain of Command for a decision. There are
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no specific exceptional reasons laid down: Commanding Officers make their recommendations solely on the circumstances of each individual case.
Asymmetric Warfare
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the United Kingdom will help to prepare NATO forces for asymmetric warfare; and if he will make a statement. [117847]
Mr. Spellar: NATO's updated Strategic Concept, launched at the Washington Summit in April 1999, recognises, at paragraph 24, that
- Alliance security interests can be affected by other risks of a wider nature, including acts of terrorism, sabotage and organised crime, and by the disruption of the flow of vital resources.
NATO's defence planning processes are designed to adapt Alliance forces to address these changing risks. In addition, much of the follow-on work from last year's Summit, including the Defence Capabilities Initiative (DCI), NATO's Force Structure Review (FSR), and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Initiative (WMDI), will help provide the capabilities that national forces assigned to NATO require if the Alliance is to meet a wide range of threats. The UK is making an important contribution to each of these initiatives.
Lawyers
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many lawyers are employed by his Department; and how many were employed in 1995. [117815]
Mr. Spellar: On 31 March 1995, the Ministry of Defence employed 99 Service lawyers and had 15 lawyers on loan from the Treasury Solicitor's Department. Two of the latter were employed abroad. On 31 March 2000, the corresponding numbers were 159 Service lawyers and 23 Treasury Solicitor's Department lawyers on loan, with three of the latter employed abroad. Throughout this period, my Department also used the services of other branches of the Treasury Solicitor's Department, the Crown Solicitor in Northern Ireland, the Department's solicitors in Scotland, and lawyers from private firms when their expertise could not be obtained elsewhere.
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