Annex 2: Letter from the Chair of the
Committees to the Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform
I am writing on behalf of the Committees on Arms
Export Controls to seek further information in connection with
the recent Notice to Exporters 2010/03 dated 26 January 2010 and
the recent report in the Independent, "Head of bomb
detector company arrested in fraud investigation: Government announces
ban on export of devices to Iraq and Afghanistan". This report
claims that "hundreds of people have been killed in horrific
bombings in Iraq after a British company supplied 'bogus' equipment
which failed to detect explosive devices."
I would be grateful if you could provide the Committees
with the following information:
- Why were electro-statically
powered explosive detectors not previously added to the list of
dual-use goods subject to UK export control for strategic purposes?
- Why will the controlled detectors only require
a licence to be exported if they are being exported to Afghanistan
or Iraq?
- What other countries are these items currently
being exported to?
- What is your assessment of the damage that has
been caused to persons and property by the Iraqi military's use
of these detectors?
8 February 2010
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