Appendix 12: Further memorandum from the
Department of Trade and Industry
LICENSING INFORMATION
RELATED TO
RECENT MEDIA
ALLEGATIONS
Allegations concerning UK military goods exports
were contained in three recent Guardian articles, "Arms sales
breach guidelines" (5 November 2003), "Ministers flout
arms sales code" (6 December 2003), and "FO faces court
over arms to Indonesia" (10 December 2003), and also in the
Menzies Campbell MP report, "UK breaks its own arms sales
guidelines" (23 November 2003).
Each of these articles and the report were based
on, or referred to, information Mr Griffiths provided to Menzies
Campbell on 14 October 2003, at his request.
This information listed the categories of equipment
licensed but not what specific goods were authorised for export
within each category, as this information was not readily available
at that time. Menzies Campbell's 23 November report acknowledges
that the information provided to him lists the categories of equipment
licensed and not the individual items themselves, but nonetheless
suggests that it is the Government's policy to "allow the
export of any such weapons mentioned in each category". This
is not true.
In July 1997 the Government banned the export
and transhipment through the UK of equipment which had been shown
to be used for torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment. Therefore leg-irons, gang chains, electric shock
belts, and shackles, are never licensed for export to any country.
Furthermore, none of the licences in question have authorised
the export of tear gas to any of the destinations.
Mr Griffiths wrote to Mr Campbell on 15 December
2003 outlining his concern that the information he had provided
to him had been misrepresented. He informed Mr Campbell that he
would provide the Committees with full details of licences issued
for the destinations in question, as soon as that information
had been put together. Given the volume of this information, which
includes additional information on what was authorised for export
under the categories in question, and in respect of SIELs also
end-use and end-user information (this information is not provided
for OIELs—as the Committees will be aware, OIELs are exporter
specific and not necessarily end-use/r specific). It is provided
on the enclosed discs.[19]
This information would not normally be disclosed
until publication of the Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls,
but is being done so now in order to correct the misunderstandings
which have arisen. The information on the end-use and end-user
of the goods in question is confidential and would of course not
be published in the Annual Report. It is provided to the Committees
in strict confidence.
As the Committees will see from the enclosed
licensing information, and in respect of the allegations regarding
the UK's export of leg-irons, gang chains, electric shock belts,
and shackles under category PL5001, the SIELs for Afghanistan
and Pakistan covering PL5001 rated goods authorised only the export
of ballistic shields, and those for Jordan and Saudi Arabia authorised
only anti-riot shields and ballistic shields. The OIELs for Sri
Lanka, Egypt and Saudi Arabia covering PL5001 rated equipment
authorised only the export of ballistic shields, and for India,
again ballistic shields, together with components for ballistic
shields.
January 2004
19 Not printed (classified). Back
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