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
FOLLOW UP TO ORAL EVIDENCE TO THE COMMITTEES ON ARMS EXPORT CONTROLS
I welcomed the opportunity to give oral evidence to the Committees on Arms Export Controls earlier this week. I agreed to follow up in writing on several points.
First, I would like to apologise that the Committees did not receive my letter regarding the UKTI Defence & Security Organisation (DSO) priority markets for 2011–12. I have attached the letter sent on Monday 6 February 2012 for the Committees’ information.
During my evidence session, the Committees asked about certain events at the “Defence and Security Equipment International” (DSEI) Exhibition in September 2011.
This exhibition is a commercial event organised by the company Clarion Events. My department issued an Open Individual Trade Control Licence to Clarion Events to cover any activities which might take place at DSEI which might fall under the heading of “acts calculated to promote the supply or delivery of military goods from one overseas country to another” and therefore require a licence.
The terms and conditions of this licence made clear that no “Category A” goods —which would include cluster munitions and torture equipment — were to be exhibited at the exhibition. As has been the practice at past exhibitions, my Department and officials from other Government Departments worked closely with Clarion Events to assist them in ensuring that these conditions were adhered to.
On 14 September 2011, it came to the attention of Clarion that the company Beechwood Equipment were displaying on their stand a brochure which included certain Category A items. Clarion closed the stand with immediate effect.
On 15 September, Clarion were notified that literature promoting cluster munitions had been found in material from both the Defence Export Promotion Organisation (DEPO) of Pakistan and also the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF). Having consulted the relevant Government departments Clarion immediately closed the DEPO pavilion, which included the POF stand.
Both cluster munitions and leg shackles are classified as category A goods and are subject to control under the Export Control Order 2008. Under Article 21, it is prohibited for persons carrying out activities in the United Kingdom or United Kingdom persons anywhere in the world to “...(c) do any act calculated to promote the supply or delivery of any category A goods, where that person knows or has reason to believe that such action or actions will, or may, result in the removal of those goods from one third country to another third country”.
To successfully prove an offence has been committed, HMRC would need to show that the company’s action “will, or may, result in the removal of those goods from one third country to another third country”. Having an item listed in a catalogue may not in itself be sufficient to prove an offence has occurred. HMRC officers must make a judgement on the appropriate enforcement action to take based on the details of each case, including what action is proportionate and what is in the best interests of law enforcement. In these cases officers judged that the action taken by the organisers was proportionate and appropriate and there were not sufficient grounds to take further action.
The Committee also asked whether allowing people to exhibit catalogues for equipment whose export was prohibited represented a “loophole” in the law. I have asked my officials to look into this and I will write to the Committees again with my conclusions.
13 February 2012