Reid admits British use of white phosphorous
British troops have used white phosphorous but only as a “smokescreen” and never against civilians, John Reid has admitted.
The defence secretary was speaking after US forces admitted to using the substance, which burns down to the bone on contact with the skin, in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Although both the British and American governments deny using the weapon against civilians, Pentagon spokesman Barry Venable admitted the substance had been used as an “incendiary weapon” against “enemy combatants”.
The US state department previously insisted that white phosphorous was only used for illumination purposes, but Mr Venable said that was based on “poor information”.
He said the substance was a “conventional munition”, not a chemical weapon, and was not “outlawed or illegal”.
Some critics have accused the two countries of hypocrisy over chemical weapons and are calling for a UN inquiry. Coalition forces went to war in 2003 to rid Saddam Hussein’s regime of chemical weapons.
Speaking to BBC Radio Four’s PM yesterday, Mr Reid said: “All I can say is that for the British armed forces the only use to which we put white phosphorous, which we do use, is as a smokescreen for our own troops.
“Neither it nor any other munitions are ever used against civilians. It is not a chemical weapon prohibited by convention or definition, but obviously with something like this we only use it for a very limited purpose.”
Questioned over the use of white phosphorus by the US military, Mr Reid said it was “up to the Americans to answer”.
“I will not issue condemnations against the Americans over allegations I have not heard, then I will simply return to what I know in that the British armed forces only use it in a limited fashion,” he added.
Mike Gapes, Labour chairman of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, said white phosphorus was defined as an “incendiary”, not a chemical weapon, but he called on the US to “come clean” on the issue.
