The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, yesterday denied vehemently that Foreign Office officials were involved in "any kind of conspiracy" or gave prior approval for any breach of the UN arms embargo on Sierra Leone.
In his second statement to the Commons in six days, Mr Cook stood across the despatch box from Tories baying for his blood and hit back at what he described as the "wild allegations" made against his officials over the arms-to-Sierra Leone affair.
Cheered to his feet by Labour backbenchers, Mr Cook insisted that the first document he had received about an alleged breach of the arms embargo or shipment of arms to Sierra Leone was on April 28th. A member of his private office had brought him a letter from lawyers acting for Sandline International, the military consultancy alleged to have broken the arms embargo.
"No other paper on this matter had either been put into a red box for me, a file or folder, or put on my desk or any other piece of office furniture you care to mention," Mr Cook told MPs.
He accused the shadow foreign secretary, Mr Michael Howard, who tabled an emergency question on the affair, of blowing the issue "out of all proportion". Restoring President Kabbah to power by democratic means remained "the sole policy" of the British government, he said, and he urged Mr Howard to desist from referring to the allegations against his officials "as if they were proven fact".
Mr Howard rose to his feet and accused the government of operating a "shambles" that not only made a "laughing stock" of Mr Cook's position but also of his prized ethical foreign policy. Mr Howard asked if it were true that Foreign Office officials knew in December about Sandline's activities but failed to inform ministers until April. "Does that not indicate that the Foreign Office is wholly out of ministerial control?"
Mr Cook said he "strongly resented" any suggestion that he or his minister, Mr Tony Lloyd, had not read all the briefing papers relating to the affair. He wanted the public to know the truth, he said, and the Foreign Office would work in "full and open" co-operation with a Customs and Excise investigation.
Mr Cook told Mr Howard that his accusations were "a bit rich" coming from MPs who were involved in the repeated cover-up of the arms-to-Iraq affair that "discredited" the Tory government.
Asked by the Liberal Democrat MP, Mr Mike Hancock, to confirm the role of HMS Cornwall in Sierra Leone, Mr Cook repeated his assertion that the ship was not there as part of Sandline's activities in west Africa. The ship had done a "fantastic job" in providing humanitarian relief in the area, he said, and he denied that the Royal Nay had assisted mercenaries operating in Sierra Leone.
Earlier, Downing Street closed ranks behind Mr Cook when it released a letter written to the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, by President Kabbah of Sierra Leone. In the letter, dated May 11th, Mr Kabbah expressed his "regret" that the British government's democratic support of his position was being called into question.
"I did not address to you any specific requests for military assistance even though I was aware of the strong support by your government for the restoration of democracy to Sierra Leone," Mr Kabbah wrote. The government also went some way to point out that Mr Kabbah's letter credited Mr Lloyd with the offer of British "diplomatic support and other support" but not "lethal material or weapons. As far as I was concerned the matter was closed".