Committees on Arms ExportsLetter to the Chair of the Committees from the Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills

Thank you for your letter of 5 September regarding a report in the Sunday Telegraph of 31 July that alleged that Andert Breivik procured items from the UK. I apologise for the delay in replying but my office did not receive your letter until 1 November.

The items Mr Breivik is said to have obtained from the UK are 500g of sulphur powder and a basic workshop vice valued at £12. Neither of these items is subject to export control and both are widely available for sale to the public in the UK and elsewhere. We have seen no evidence that Mr Breivik obtained, or sought to obtain, controlled goods—including ammunition of any sort or any related components or equipment—from the UK. I am confident that there has been no breach of export control procedures or legislation in respect of Mr Breivik.

We were all shocked and saddened by the events in Norway in July. The Government is determined to ensure that arms and ammunition and the materials for making explosives of the sort used by Mr Breivik do not fall into the wrong hands. However I do not believe that imposing export controls on items as commonplace and freely available as these would be an effective or proportionate response to this tragic event.

8 November 2011