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Adjournment debate on Thursday, 5 November 2009, in the House of Commons, led by Roger Berry. The answering member was Ian Lucas.

Arms Export Controls

Westminster hall debate on a motion for the adjournment on arms control exports. (Relevant documents: First Joint Report from the Committees on Arms Export Controls, on Scrutiny of Arms Export Controls (2009): UK Strategic Export Controls Annual Report 2007, Quarterly Reports for 2008, licensing policy and review of export control legislation, HC 178, and the Government response, Cm 7698.) Motion made, and Question proposed, That the sitting be now adjourned.—(Mary Creagh.)

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
498 c311-48WH 
Session
2008-09
Department
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Chamber / Committee
Westminster Hall
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Mike Hancock | 498 c321WH (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman might be interested to know that one of the phrases that continuously comes...
John Stanley | 498 c321-3WH (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman. We are on all fours with the Government on this issue, in so far as...
Show all contributions (58)
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c323WH (Link to this contribution) In considering arms sales to Israel, did any of the Committees consider the question of nuclear tech...
Roger Berry | 498 c315-7WH (Link to this contribution) The case of Guinea provides a powerful argument for an international arms trade treaty rather than i...
Mike Gapes | 498 c317WH (Link to this contribution) I should like to update my hon. Friend. Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee were at the United ...
Roger Berry | 498 c317-8WH (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for his comments. Concern has been expre...
John Stanley | 498 c318-21WH (Link to this contribution) It is always a pleasure to follow the Chairman of the Committee on Arms Export Controls, the hon. Me...
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c314WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is dealing with the issue of Ukraine, where there are vast numbers of arms left over ...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 498 c315WH (Link to this contribution) I want to draw a link between two parts of the hon. Gentleman's speech that he has not linked. Is he...
Roger Berry | 498 c314-5WH (Link to this contribution) I emphasise that our purpose was not to examine Ukraine's policy in relation to its domestic matters...
Roger Berry | 498 c314WH (Link to this contribution) I do not know whether there is a register of Ukrainian arms exporters in Ukraine. All I know is that...
Roger Berry | 498 c311-4WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure again to introduce a debate on our Committees' report on arms export controls, the ...
Mike Hancock | 498 c314WH (Link to this contribution) Has the hon. Gentleman ever heard a conclusive argument against having a register of arms brokers, a...
Mike Gapes | 498 c326-7WH (Link to this contribution) I refer the hon. Gentleman to the report. An annexe sets out information sent by the organisation Sa...
Mike Hancock | 498 c326WH (Link to this contribution) What the hon. Gentleman says has serious implications for the Government. He is in the privileged po...
Mike Gapes | 498 c324-6WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir John Stanley). May I...
John Stanley | 498 c323-4WH (Link to this contribution) I do not think that we have considered that specific issue in the four Committees, because we are ch...
Ian Lucas | 498 c348WH (Link to this contribution) The Government have been clear about the strength of their position on torture—they are not prepared...
Roger Berry | 498 c348WH (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for his responses, and we look forward to the further written ones. May I say t...
Roger Berry | 498 c346-7WH (Link to this contribution) I know that officials in the relevant Departments are scrupulous about the efforts that they make in...
Ian Lucas | 498 c347WH (Link to this contribution) End use will always cause issues within decisions made on applications. Clearly, having as much info...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 498 c347WH (Link to this contribution) The Chairman, the hon. Member for Kingswood, made a very interesting point at the beginning of the d...
Ian Lucas | 498 c347-8WH (Link to this contribution) It certainly would be a thought. I hesitate to return to the discussion that I had with my hon. Frie...
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c348WH (Link to this contribution) On the point I raised about torture, the Government gave a somewhat guarded response to the issue in...
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c332-5WH (Link to this contribution) I welcome this debate. The issue was ignored for many years and we should give credit to Parliament ...
Richard Burden | 498 c330-2WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. It would be trying your patience, Mr. Pope, and going beyond the remit of t...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 498 c338-41WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Pope, and I welcome the Minister to the Chamb...
Mike Hancock | 498 c335-8WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Pope, and it is also a pleasure to follow the...
Roger Berry | 498 c342WH (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister confirm, or otherwise, that one proposal was submitted by both the NGOs and the de...
Ian Lucas | 498 c341-2WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon and to appear before you, Mr. Pope. It has been a privile...
Roger Berry | 498 c342WH (Link to this contribution) An agreed proposal, that is, from the NGOs and the defence manufacturers?
Ian Lucas | 498 c342WH (Link to this contribution) I think that is correct; that is my understanding.
Roger Berry | 498 c343WH (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister not agree that there is a simple sanction? If there is an export to a Polish compa...
Ian Lucas | 498 c342-3WH (Link to this contribution) I understand that it was a joint proposal from the NGOs and the industry. Secondly, on brokers and ...
Ian Lucas | 498 c343WH (Link to this contribution) I understand my hon. Friend's point but, carrying the argument a little further forward, it would me...
Roger Berry | 498 c343WH (Link to this contribution) I accept that being able to take legal action is the first-best solution, but would the Government n...
Ian Lucas | 498 c343WH (Link to this contribution) That sanction would not be taken under the terms of the contract by the exporter from the UK. There ...
Ian Lucas | 498 c344WH (Link to this contribution) My understanding is that the transfer to Burma did not take place, although that may not be relevant...
Mike Hancock | 498 c344WH (Link to this contribution) The evidence to the Committees made it clear that the lack of such a clause was a drawback, as was a...
Ian Lucas | 498 c344WH (Link to this contribution) The only disadvantage is that although that might send a clear signal, it would suggest a legally en...
Roger Berry | 498 c344WH (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister agree that administratively it is not a big problem to insert such a non-re-export...
Ian Lucas | 498 c343-4WH (Link to this contribution) If an export licence has no such clause in the contract now, and the product ends up in an embargoed...
Roger Berry | 498 c343WH (Link to this contribution) If it were a condition of every licence for export from the UK that the initial end user could not r...
Ian Lucas | 498 c344-5WH (Link to this contribution) I was going to say "more overt", but I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for helping me out. I under...
Ian Lucas | 498 c345WH (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that I cannot give my hon. Friend a specific response on that individualised and sharp p...
Mike Gapes | 498 c345WH (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister take this opportunity to answer my specific question about whether the Sri Lankan ...
Ian Lucas | 498 c346WH (Link to this contribution) I will certainly look into that matter and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising it at this ju...
Richard Burden | 498 c346WH (Link to this contribution) I do not expect the Minister to know the answer to this question now, but perhaps he could write to ...
Ian Lucas | 498 c345-6WH (Link to this contribution) I am happy to do so, and I was going to say that. I am happy to return to my hon. Friend on that poi...
Mike Gapes | 498 c345WH (Link to this contribution) Perhaps the Minister will write to me.
Ian Lucas | 498 c346WH (Link to this contribution) The specific usage of the naval vessel concerned was something of which the UK Government had not pr...
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c346WH (Link to this contribution) Could the Minister help us and say why that change of heart took place? I ask that because the use h...
Richard Burden | 498 c328-30WH (Link to this contribution) I, too, welcome this debate and endorse the report that we are discussing. I will focus on one issue...
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c330WH (Link to this contribution) I compliment my hon. Friend on the work he has done to bring about justice for the Palestinian peopl...
Mike Gapes | 498 c327-8WH (Link to this contribution) I do not have any direct evidence to confirm or deny what my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, N...
Jeremy Corbyn | 498 c327WH (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend share my concern that the excessive detention of large numbers of Tamil people, ...
Speaker | 498 c327WH (Link to this contribution) Order. Before the hon. Member for Ilford, South continues, may I gently point him back to arms expor...
Subjects
Accountability Corruption Arms control Arms trade Enforcement Exports Regulation Weapons
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