To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United Nations has any plans to assess the safety and security implications for the oilfields in the Gulf area of possible conflagration.

We are not aware of any United Nations plans to carry out such an assessment. For our part, we are fully aware that hostilities in the Gulf would have serious consequences of many kinds. Hence our determination to bring maximum pressure to bear on Saddam Hussein to comply with the Security Council resolutions in order to resolve the crisis.