Blunkett rules out interning Iraqis in Britain
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Your support makes all the difference.David Blunkett has ruled out interning Iraqis despite the increased threat of terrorists exploiting the outbreak of war against Saddam Hussein
He said yesterday that the Home Office was interviewing the "very small number" of people in Britain sympathetic to President Saddam's regime but would not repeat the decision in 1991 to intern about 80 Iraqi nationals after the start of military action.
Mr Blunkett insisted that the Government was "taking every feasible precautionary measure" to protect British citizens. He warned: "The terrorist threat remains real and is serious."
The Home Secretary said £96m had been spent on increasing Britain's defences against chemical, biological and nuclear threats since 11 September 2001. But emergency equipment, including thousands of suits to protect firefighters and ambulance staff from chemical or biological attack, will not be ready before the summer.
The Cabinet Office confirmed that thousands of protection suits would not be delivered until July, while ministers confirmed that leaks had been found in biochemical protection suits issued to local health authorities. John Hutton, the Health Minister, told the BBC: "We are in the middle of a programme of replacing these suits with a modified version."
Mr Blunkett said in a Commons written statement: "We have taken precautionary measures to deal with the events that we can anticipate. We cannot guarantee 100 per cent security but we are preparing for a range of eventualities."
Mr Blunkett added: "Many people will be aware that action taken in 1991 to detain Iraqi citizens proved to be ineffective. I do not consider that the action taken in 1991 was the most appropriate means to deal with the situation then and I do not intend to repeat it now."
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