Arms export controls wholly unsatisfactory - Kramer

5.53.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 29th Sep 2006

Serious flaws have been revealed in the control of arms exports from the United Kingdom. The problems were exposed in answers to Parliamentary questions posed by Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, Susan Kramer MP.

John Healey MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, admitted that Customs & Excise "does not make systematic assessments of unreported breaches of arms export controls" and could only say that "there is not widespread abuse of export controls and that UK exporters are broadly compliant."

Susan Kramer said "These answers expose serious flaws in our arms control process.

"The fact there have been only six prosecutions since 2000 raises more questions than it answers. The Government must urgently explain its failure to carry out systematic assessments of breaches of the regulations.

"The Government's confidence that exporters are broadly compliant is wholly unsatisfactory, any non-compliance with arms export controls must be taken extremely seriously.

"The Government must ensure that its support for an Arms Trade Treaty is matched with strengthening of measures to control the export of UK arms and rigorous monitoring of their end use."