Written question asked by David Winnick (Labour) on Thursday, 17 October 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 October 2002. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 October 2002 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measures he takes to ensure that the Iraqi regime is not able to purchase indirectly British arms from the arms fair in Oman; and if he will make a statement. (Holding answer 22 October 2002).

Answer: David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he takes to ensure that the Iraqi regime is not able to purchase indirectly British arms from the arms fair in Oman; and if he will make a statement. [76327] Dr. Lewis Moonie: [holding answer 22 October 2002]: I presume the hon. Member is referring to the recent Special Operations Forces Exhibition in Amman, Jordan. There is a UN embargo on arms exports to Iraq. The Government takes all appropriate measures to ensure that United Kingdom exporters do not breach the terms of the embargo. Defence exports from the UK, including goods that are displayed by industry at overseas defence exhibitions, require appropriate export licences. The Government considers applications on a case by case basis and against our Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. In doing so, we take into account the risk that exported goods might be diverted to an undesirable end-user.

Secondary information