Letter: Apologise to Sudan

Sir: In view of the fact that there is to be a debate in the House of Commons next Wednesday, there is now an opportunity for MPs to make sure that the Government is open with us concerning the attack on the pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan by US missiles.

No chemicals of any kind which can be linked to nerve gas production have been found by new analyses of the soil around the factory. The factory was incapable of producing any such chemicals. There are no links between the factory and any terrorist activities.

Every time questions are asked in Parliament on these points the Prime Minister has replied evasively by reference to the early remarks of US officials, which everyone I know believes to have been mistaken. Now he is aware of the facts, can not the Prime Minister apologise and attempt to persuade the US government to do the same?

Professor R J P WILLIAMS FRS

Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

University of Oxford