Don't Use Cluster Bombs says MP

Neil Gerrard, Labour MP for Walthamstow, questioned Defence Minister Geoff Hoon about the use of cluster bombs in Iraq last week in the Commons. The Minister had said that he wanted to see civilian casualties kept to a minimum, but had refused to rule out the use of cluster bombs.

"Doesn't the Minister see the contradiction between these two statements" asked Mr Gerrard. "In  the first Gulf War the US dropped 61000 cluster bombs, which contained 20 million bomblets. A repetition of this would lead to many more casualties."

"These weapons should not be used" said Mr Gerrard later. "We know that whenever they have been used a significant number of the bomblets fail to explode on impact. They then lie around for months and years causing death and injury to innocent people. Anti-personnel weapons of this nature are likely to lead to many more civilian casualties. Now that fighting is going on in Iraq we should all hope for the minimum number of casualties on both sides."

March 2003

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