Letter from Rt Hon David Miliband MP,
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, to the
Chairman
YOUR VISIT
TO KIEV
Many thanks for your letter of 9 June about
your recent FCO-funded visit to Kiev. I was delighted to hear
that the visit went so well, and I have passed on your thanks
to all those involved. Visits such as this one, where we are able
to combine our resources and effort in a shared objective, are
therefore important. As a result, I am extremely grateful to you,
Sir John Stanley and David Borrow for making the time to undertake
the trip, despite the busy parliamentary schedule that you all
faced. In terms of next steps, my staff here in London and at
our Embassy in Kiev are looking to build on the momentum that
your visit has generated. They will be holding detailed discussions
with members of the Ukrainian Parliament with a view to establishing
how and with whom to take forward work on establishing committees
to undertake parliamentary oversight. We will obviously keep the
Committees abreast of progress as these talks go forward.
I would also like to take this opportunity to reassure
you about the list, handed to you by the Deputy Foreign Minister,
which gave details of brokering transactions involving UK-registered
companies. We have already passed the list to both HMRC and the
Export Control Organisation. They are looking into the companies
mentioned and the transactions referred to, but they need time
to establish the facts. First, they need to establish whether
any of the transactions identified in the list needed a licence?
Second, was a licence applied for? And third, if no licence was
applied for, was an offence committed? I can assure you that we
will keep the CAEC informed of progress. From our perspective,
it would be preferable if the CAEC did not at this point make
public the details contained in the list, as it would alert the
companies to the fact that we are investigating, and might lead
those who have committed an offence to try and cover their tracks.
Finally, can I reiterate my thanks to the CAEC
for the interest you continue to take in the area of strategic
export controls. I strongly believe that the constructive engagement
of the Committees has enabled us to both strengthen and improve
our export control system, and at a time of heightened interest
in the issues surrounding the subject, demonstrate that the Government
not only takes it responsibilities seriously but is also rigorously
held to account by the body charged with its oversight.
11 July 2009
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