Written question asked by Sandra Gidley (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 13 January 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 April 2005. It was answered by Denis MacShane (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 April 2005 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department makes of the use in other countries of arms that have been supplied by UK manufacturers.

Answer: Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department makes of the use in other countries of arms that have been supplied by UK manufacturers. [209549] Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply. The Government undertake monitoring in the recipient country of arms supplied by UK manufacturers when we believe that this would genuinely help to minimise the risk of diversion and where such monitoring is practical. In addition, UK overseas posts have standing instructions to report any misuse of UK-origin defence equipment. Evidence of misuse would be taken into account when the Government assesses any subsequent licence applications for the end-user. We may also, if appropriate, revoke related licences, and consider whether to prosecute if the Government believed that a criminal offence had been committed.

Secondary information