Hoon attacked for authorising cluster bombs

Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, faced a torrent of criticism from Labour MPs yesterday after he said that British forces would use cluster bombs and depleted uranium (DU) shells in Iraq if necessary.

In an emergency Commons statement, Mr Hoon said British special forces were already in action and warned that the conflict could take longer than many expected.

His backing for the use of controversial munitions was condemned by Labour backbenchers worried about the threat to civilians. Aid agencies have called repeatedly for cluster bombs to be outlawed as part of the Ottawa agreement banning anti-personnel land-mines. Gulf War veterans also claim that DU shells may have links to Gulf War Syndrome and could cause cancers.

Mr Hoon surprised colleagues by saying it was his "duty" as Defence Secretary to give British troops the best equipment possible and stressing that such weapons would be used. He also dismissed suggestions that DU caused cancer.

"A range of weapons will have to be used in order to prosecute this campaign successfully. I am not going to allow our forces to be prevented from using those lawful weapons which are most suitable for achieving those tasks.

"Those weapons are only used after the most careful consideration," he said. "Specifically, as far as DU and cluster bombs are concerned, they have a particular military purpose. If that purpose is necessary, they will be used. If it is not, they will not be."

Neil Gerrard, MP for Walthamstow, said Mr Hoon's comments contradicted the Government's claim that it wanted to minimise civilian casualties. He said: "The record of the use of cluster bombs is that they do cause civilian casualties by their very nature. Since, in the first Gulf War, the US used something like 60,000 cluster bombs, containing 20 million bomblets, in Iraq and Kuwait, does he really believe that a repetition of that sort of behaviour will not cause civilian casualties?"

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North, said DU weapons left a "poisonous, cancerous residue for generations to come". He asked: "Why are they being used against the people of Iraq?"

Mr Hoon said: "These weapons have a particular purpose. They will be used to achieve that purpose if it is necessary. I would be failing in my duty as Secretary of State for Defence if I did not allow our armed forces to use the most appropriate weapon to deal with the threats against them."

Mr Hoon went on to say there was "not the slightest evidence" that DU caused cancers and ridiculed suggestions that it had played a part in Gulf War Syndrome. The Defence Secretary also told MPs that British forces were "already engaged in certain military operations", the first time a government minister had confirmed that the SAS and SBS were already in action.

He also promised to look into calls by Crispin Blunt, the Tory MP for Reigate, for all forces in the Gulf not to fly the Union Flag or Stars and Stripes "to show the people of Iraq that this action was a war of liberation".