One of my next ports of call was the New Labour government in 1997. I wrote to Tony Blair asking if he had anything he'd like to add about this alleged deal involving GEC (UK) engines.
Among a number of interesting responses, the most amusing was from one 'D. Walters,' in the Foreign Office. You've got to love the remnants of the British Empire. While the rest of us have moved on, and generally refer to each other by our first names, the old public school boys still affect the last name and initial salutation. Bless them!
Anyway, 'D.' responded by saying that as far as the New Labour government was concerned, there never had been any sales of dual-use technology to Iraq.
I creased up. And then got onto the UK Parliament web-site, to start counting the left-wing Labour MPs who would probably have had seven kinds of conniption if they knew what was being claimed as their government's standing policy on the subject. I got as far as 171 before I lost interest...!
Among a number of interesting responses, the most amusing was from one 'D. Walters,' in the Foreign Office. You've got to love the remnants of the British Empire. While the rest of us have moved on, and generally refer to each other by our first names, the old public school boys still affect the last name and initial salutation. Bless them!
Anyway, 'D.' responded by saying that as far as the New Labour government was concerned, there never had been any sales of dual-use technology to Iraq.
I creased up. And then got onto the UK Parliament web-site, to start counting the left-wing Labour MPs who would probably have had seven kinds of conniption if they knew what was being claimed as their government's standing policy on the subject. I got as far as 171 before I lost interest...!
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